Chez Alice, a garden and 100 indoor plants to make you feel good

Alice fell into gardening as a child. With confinement, her garden and that of the condominium were no longer enough to satisfy her passion. So she turned her house into a rainforest.

I was lucky enough to grow up with a garden. I've always had a space to plant. My father taught me to take care of simple varieties, like tulips, dahlias... After that, I always had a plant at home, a cactus, a Tillandsia, a ficus..

Then came COVID and containment. Like many people, I needed to stabilize a certain part of my mental health... We know today, and it's been proven by numerous studies, that gardening improves well-being. In my case, it helped a lot. I started to think that plants were really cool, so I added a few indoors..

When I moved house, I was able to have my own garden. I have about forty succulents. I've just taken out my twenty or so caladiums, which were taking up an awful lot of space in the house. I have a few potted shrubs, a cherry tree, a camerisier, a shrimp willow... As I have a shady spot at the foot of a wall, I took the opportunity to put in some ferns. I love ferns. Finally, I put up a fence with a few clematis to separate our plot from the common areas.

I soon became the official gardener for the condominium. I have 40 meters of borders where I can grow almost anything I want. I've installed rose bushes, fruit trees..

But above all, I have around a hundred houseplants, most of them exotic varieties. I'm very attracted to alocasias - I guess I'm a masochist! But for the moment, they're living their best life, everything's under control. I'm a Monstera fan. I have a magnificent Monstera adansonii, for which I don't do much. I just water it and give it a little fertilizer from time to time.

Finally, I have a collection of philodendrons, marantas, calatheas and indoor ferns (Asplenium). All these plants live together in my living room and in a room upstairs reserved for plants. Up there, by grouping them together, I manage to maintain a temperature of 25 degrees and 57% humidity, without the need for a humidifier.

It's hard to say! Probably my Philodendron Florida Ghost and my Philodendron Majestic. I love their foliage. The Majestic has big heart-shaped leaves with silver streaks. The Florida Ghost's leaves come out completely white and then turn green. I find this evolution interesting to watch.

And then there's my Philodendron Golden Violin. It has no spots, but the shape and color of its leaves are very beautiful. They change shade over time. They come out yellow and then turn green.

I'm not at all attracted to certain varieties, like crotons. The same goes for Aglaonema. Some of them do have colorful foliage, but that's not my thing.

And then there are things I won't necessarily buy again. Terrarium plants like Hypoestes, for example.

Alocasia Jacklyn, which is starting to come into fashion. I'm waiting for the price to drop. It seems to be a bit complicated, so I'm not sure I'll be able to manage it. I prefer not to pay too much for it, so that failure is still allowed.

Keeping alocasias like Alocasia Sarian this winter. It makes incredible leaves! Seeing them grow and put down roots is pretty cool and rewarding.

Without a doubt, my Piper ornatum takes the cake for being the most sloppy plant. It was superb, but its roots rotted away. So I cut off the leaves to make cuttings. Once in water, they rooted enormously. I put them in sphagnum moss and in my greenhouse, everything went well. When I came back from vacation, the roots had rotted again. I had to recut them and put them back in sphagnum moss. This time, I didn't put it back in the greenhouse, thinking it might be because of the heating mat. It's under glass in my living room, waiting to see how things develop.

The Monstera app is really useful on a daily basis to keep track of where I'm at, on the last watering date, the last repotting, the last fertilizer... Instead of organizing my plants by room, I've arranged them by family: alocasias, philodendrons, begonias... It's simpler for me.

I also use notes, for example, to remember the date and place of purchase. I really like the identity card aspect, with a photo of the plant in its first days. It allows me to keep track and follow its evolution.

The first would be to find out what you're buying. What does the plant need, how to care for it... You can sometimes find everything and its opposite on the Internet. The best thing is to cross-reference information and browse social networks. There you'll find a huge number of enthusiasts ready to give advice. On Instagram, they form an ultra-friendly community.

And don't be afraid to test as much as you can, to understand what works and what doesn't in terms of soil, watering and exposure. That's why it's best to start with cheap, easy plants. Otherwise, there's too much pressure and it becomes a constant source of stress. Keep it fun!

Finally, I recommend transparent pots. I know some people are on the terracotta team, but transparent pots change everything. You can see the roots and their development. I couldn't look after my tropical plants without them!

To discover Alice's entire collection and watch her garden evolve with the seasons, you can follow her Instagram account @alice_in_the_jungle.