Photo by Melissa Kaseman

A few months ago we used the apartment of Sunset deputy art director Becky Eaton as a location for the “I found it in my garage!” story photo shoot (see Monday’s post). It was my first time to Becky’s place, and it was just as I’d imagined: some fabulous second-hand furnishings, a lot of handmade projects (Becky formerly worked at Readymade), and just the right little dose of edge. I totally wanted to move in.

My favorite (and unexpected) detail was all the little plant still life vignettes around the place.

Becky was happy to let me snap some pics, and chat with me about her casual, curious, and beautiful plant life.

On unconventional gardening: I laugh when people say “Oh you work at Sunset! You must have the most amazing garden!” because I don’t even have a yard! I dream about having a traditional garden someday, or even a patch of dirt, but for now I just have to make the most out of what I’ve got. I don’t even know that much about gardening, but I’ve learned a bit by experimenting (and working at Sunset).

I think having plants is a great way to add some personality to a room, and really makes a space feel like home. Whenever I go to someone’s house without any plants, I really depressed and bored [she jokes], unless their house is really cute. I think having plants, even just a few in terra cotta pots, can make a world of difference.

On being an “accidental gardener”: I consider myself to be a bit of a dumpster diver—I love free stuff! I’ve found a number of plants on the curb. Once at an old apartment building, I saw about 10 half-dead potted plants. I took them in and pruned and watered them. Some of them died anyway, but a few came back to life pretty quickly. One of them ended up being an orchid that I still have—it’s bloomed three times!

I love giving little abandoned plants new life because it’s really simple to do. I just repot them if they’re overgrown; I’ve found that giving them more space makes a huge difference. Or if I have a little sprig of something, I just re-root it in a glass of water, then pot it in soil after the roots are fully formed (I don’t know if this is technically the right thing to do, but it works for me). Succulents are easiest because in most cases you can just put it directly into the soil without it even growing any roots. Plus plants can be expensive, so if I see a sickly little plant on the side of the street, why not try to bring it back to life? It’s free, easy, and in most cases you can bring it back.

I pass some succulent cuttings on to my friends. I love that you can make a lot of little plants out of one big plant.

I also have a few plants that I’ve somehow held onto since college. They’re like a special piece of furniture—no matter what, I want to keep them with me, wherever I live, even if I have to drive across the country with them.

On gardening without a garden: It’s pretty easy to have plants where I live because my apartment gets great sun. I also have a tiny sunny deck out back, and I’ve been experimenting with seeds and bulbs—just planted some lettuces, basil, and wildflower seeds. I feel like a kid again, but it’s so exciting to see a little seed sprout into a green plant. I’m really looking forward to the little gem lettuces. I’ve only grown herbs, so I’m curious how my first crop will do.

Sometimes if a houseplant is doing really poorly, I’ll prune off all the leaves and leave it outside. It always seems to come back to life healthier than it was before. There are usually a few of these in my “dying plant gallery,” as you can see.

I’m always experimenting to see where a plant works best. My cat likes to eat particular plants, and of course I don’t find out which ones she likes until its too late. That can be annoying, especially if it’s something I love. Sometimes a plant will get scorched from a sunny window, or one will be hanging too high that I forget to water it. I keep trying out different locations and eventually I find a place where it will thrive. Or it just goes outside.

On die-hard plants: Succulents are by far the easiest ones for me. They really do well here in San Francisco—there will be a plant I didn’t even know grew flowers, and all of a sudden it’s blooming!

I also really enjoyed growing the hyacinths. [See image above.] It was my first bulb experience and it was so easy. I just watered it and that was it. I saw progress everyday and they smelled so beautiful. I plan to plant more bulbs in the future.

On her gardening toolbox: I keep gardening gloves, a trowel, some plant food I always forget to use, a pair of pruners, a spray bottle of insect soap (lots of little bugs live on my houseplants, which ruins my life), and seed packets in a little wooden box outside. Every now and then, I’ll get a Zipcar and buy a big bag of soil, which lasts for a couple months. I’ve also built up quite the collection of terra cotta pots and random Ikea pots—yes, those annoying ones without drainage holes. So I guess I have all the basics.

(I love how Becky turns kitchenware into little plant/flower vessels—like the cup and measuring beaker pictured here.)

On what her boyfriend, Aaron, thinks of her green thumb: He definitely loves all the plants, and sometimes helps me with them. He even has a few of his own plants that he’s repotted himself. He recognizes that they actually make our place look nice, and he jokingly takes all the credit when we have friends over: “I’ve been working on these plants ALL weekend!” And he mostly humors me when I get overly excited about a seed sprouting or a plant blooming.

On her first garden-related experience and what she wants to try next: I first learned about the importance of homegrown plants at an early age, when my mom would send me to school with freshly cut Lily of the Valley wrapped in wet paper towels for my teachers. People really appreciate the thoughtfulness of that kind of sharing, especially school teachers.

I also want to try more container gardening with food—tomatoes, lettuces, strawberries, etc. I like the idea of growing your own food, and after being in Johanna’s test garden at at work, I’m so inspired to just give it a shot.

Thanks Becky! I’m totally coming over for a salad party when your gem lettuces are ready for picking.

Love the idea that you can garden anywhere? The folks at Chronicle just sent me a fabulous new book on the topic: Garden Anywhere: How to grow gorgeous container gardens, herb gardens, kitchen gardens, and more—without spending a fortune.

Here’s to aspiring green thumbs (without a yard, or much of a budget) everywhere.

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