I got into rare plants last summer during the first lockdown. Since i lost all work in March I went full blast into finding alternative income streams. At this point my crypto is doing very well but back then that wasn't the case. I am actually pretty happy about lockdown as for ages now I had wanted to move out of photography and into art , perhaps a spiritual retreat and even more flexible things that didn't requite me to be in the capital city or be dictated to by clients. I guess I wanted that absolute freedom but I kept taking jobs for £ and because everyone kept telling me I was so talented and shouldn't leave ,and the cycle always continued.
Lockdown for me, even though I will always fight for and stand for freedom has been maybe the best year of my life. It was the year that forced me to follow things closer to who I am today, not 15 years ago when I first got into photography. It gave me that space to be like, well no money is coming in anyways and photography is blocked, so I may as well try! Along with my painting, online shop and blog etc I also took to a side hobby of growing rare plants, ,which quickly became an addiction.
Over winter they mostly stopped growing and it became more about keeping them alive than taking cuttings! Finally the sun is here and I am seeing some new leaves pop up and its really exciting. I will go through some of my favourites in my collection.
Philodendron plowmanii
I bought this little one as a three leaf cutting and although the leaves are very slow to come out they have grown HUGE.
Maybe one day she will get like this
**Florida Ghost
**
This is one of my favourites! i bought her at the end of last summer as a one leaf rooted cutting and have had to wait all the way to this year to see a new leaf emerge finally! These plants are amazing as the new leaves come through bright white and then turn green as they mature.
This is how they look when they have more than one leaf
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/274015958564316513/
**Variegated Monstera
**
This has been my wish list plant for a long time before I got one. They are jsut like regular monsteras but variegated and 100 times more expensive lol.
**Philodendron Prince of orange
**
A bit like the philodendron ghosts but orange, the new leaves come through bright orange and mature into green over time
**Pink Princess Philodendron
**
These are some of the most converted plants in the plant world. They are highly prized cause who doesn't like pink and to find highly variegated one can set you back hundreds of pounds for a tiny plant. My little baby iss unfurling a new highly pink variegated leaf. She was actually much bigger when i bought her but I stupidly took cuttings going into winter and none of them made it :((( lesson learnt, so now she has had to start from scratch.
Here is a great example of a more mature one
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/384424518195184954/
**Philodendron verrucosum
**
One of my favourite plants thats almost velvety.
**Philodendron camposportoanum
**
Not really rare but I have honed one of my pink calethea triostar plants to be very pink!
