TY so much for the kind comments! And going plant-crazy is much more fun with such awesome company!
I've only ever bought 1 pot, smallest they had available, of any kind of plant that can be propagated, unless I killed the first one and had to try again. And some came from swapping cuttings & leaves. So one could say all of the plants are about $3-10 each, or free, and it would be a great debate with a good argument to be made on both sides.
Sitting little pots inside bigger pots to cram everybody near the windows over winter is how this got to what most would agree are my extreme levels of combo'ing. And having multiple copies of everything that can be put in various exposures reduces the learning curve with those plants, and so clearly exposes the different appearances caused by varying conditions. One can learn in 1 year what would have taken 5 if observing 1 individual in 1 location at a time, at least in regard to light, the only variable over which I really have significant control.
And, I admit, I've gotten kind of weird about being able to see the soil. I become fixated with thinking about what could use that space. People who don't enjoy potting, repotting, &/or propagating would probably never get this far into a discussion like this, but that kind of action is my 2nd-fav part of having the plants, right after that moment when finally, after years of waiting, there is a bloom to document.
...and I also feel strongly about putting 1-5 bay leaves in various dishes, and also don't really notice the difference if I don't have any to use at the time, but I *feel* so much better when they're in. It's the way mom & gramma did it, so it must be *the* way to prepare it. Now I want to mess around the next time I'm eating something that someone else fixed, "This is great, did you use a bay leaf?" LOL!!
