Real Talk About Plants and Pets
It's the perfect time of year to add some lush green beauty to your home. But we know lots of you have questions about keeping pets safe from plants (and vice versa!). Here's some inspiration and tips for growing an indoor garden with fur babies in mind.
SF jewelry designer Kirsten Muenster recently gave us a sneak peek of her own plant collection, beloved by her Maine Coon cats (Miles and Milu) and mostly brought home from Flora Grubb.
"Plants are a major inspiration for my work," Kirsten says, "so I need to see fresh green life all around me." She uses the forms, textures, and colors of plants as models for her exquisite handmade bracelets, rings, and other jewelry.
Kirsten loves to sort through stones, create new designs, and do her knotting in her sunny front room overlooking Glen Canyon. "It has the best light," she says, "and the cats love 'helping.'"
Kirsten's cats often interact with the plants, so she's had to be careful about her indoor garden, choosing pet-safe plants and hanging potentially toxic varieties out of reach.
Recently Kirsten's added several bromeliads to her collection. She's inspired by their striking colors and patterns, and her cats love to play with the leaves.
Tough, non-toxic bromeliads are a great choice for pet owners. Both our stores routinely stock a wide variety of bromeliads that can be grown indoors.
But bromeliads aren't the only houseplants you can safely grow within reach of your pets. Clarke de Mornay, our resident cat-loving plant expert, has some tips for growing your pet-friendly indoor garden.
When he's helping customers choose pet-safe plants, these are the categories Clarke looks for:
Bromeliads (including tillandsias)
Palms
Ferns (like our fave Phlebodium 'Blue Star,' below)
Peperomias
Calatheas
Pachiras (money plants)
Of course, pet owners can keep plants that don't fall into these categories; just hang them or place them out of reach of pets, like Kirsten does with some of her more delicate plants (below).
Clarke suggests that customers keep in mind their particular animal's personality, too. Some cats and dogs will show no interest in plants, but others, like Kirsten's kitties, can't resist playing with the foliage.
"In my experience," Clarke says, "cats tend to prefer plants with strappy, grass-like leaves, so you can avoid these choices if you'd rather not tempt them." He also suggests using a non-toxic bitter apple spray, which is safe for plants and pets and deters chewing.
Kirsten loves that her cats are into the plants, since they're gentle enough not to destroy them. "I always tell people to use their best judgement based on their particular animal," Clarke says. "You have to kind of get to know how your pets will act, and then be ready to move plants around or rethink your choices."
Thanks to Kirsten, Miles, and Milu for sharing your home with us! Check out Kirsten's stunning jewelry designs and more of her botanical inspiration on her Instagram.
Need a houseplant refresh for the last few weeks of winter? Browse our indoor plants blog for lots more inspiration, then come see us and pick out your new plant babies.
For more of this kind of inspiration delivered to your inbox, join our mailing list.