Storm

Stormers love green. Green energy, green rooftops, green juices, you name it. Of course, Stormers also love green in their living environment in the form of houseplants. Having these cosy, jolly, pretty living organisms in your room is not always as easy as it seems. Unfortunately, some of them might perish even though you had the best intentions. Having and caring for plants is a challenge, since they can die from too little water, but also from too much water. With too much water, their roots begin to rot which causes that they can no longer take up water and nutrients. The soil might seem dry, but the lower layers are still humid (you can check this by putting in one of your fingers).  

There will be a point on which you want to buy a new plant for your house, either because one passed away or because you would like to expand your collection and thus you purchase another plant-friend. I normally just go to a garden centre and wander around until I have found something that fits with me. However, visiting a garden centre is not necessary anymore, since now you even can get second-hand plants. Exciting!!

In Utrecht, there are two locations where you can adopt orphan plants. The first one is Het Groene Weeshuis (the Green Orphanage). This is a Facebook page on which pictures of plants are being posted once in a while. You can then react on the post and if you are the lucky one, you will get the plant for free! However, if you really need a new plant in a certain timespan, then is probably not the best option since there is no guarantee that you actually are chosen as adoptive parent.

The second option for Utrecht is Het Plantenhuis on Oudenoord. Here you can come by and see if they have a plant matching your wishes (and capabilities ?). The plants come from all sorts of places: they are found on the streets (dumped by people), remained in unused office buildings, or donated by people because they could not care for them anymore. They also have a Facebook page on which they post pictures of the plants you can pick up. Again, the plants do not have fixed prices, but a suited donation is being expected. On their website (click on the bolded words) you can find the opening hours and more background information.  

Next to the ‘plant orphanages’, you can also grow new plants by the use of cuttings. The Green Office always has plants you can take, but also keep an eye on specific days in the Botanical Gardens! Or just ask a fellow Stormer, they might have plants that you can use for this.

All the above might sound cool, but do you still prefer new plants? Then the following is quite interesting for you! This Saturday, the 23rd of March between 10:00h and 15:00h, the Intratuin has an event during which you can swap a sidewalk tile for two free plants! Disclaimer, you cannot choose them yourself. So if you have a garden or balcony with tiles (or just look around you, there are plenty) and no money for new plants, then this offer might be quite nice.