Shop
Let’s get some plants.
Sure, looking at plants is fun, but why not start filling your home with green amazingness? And I get it, sometimes it’s really hard to find the plant you want locally, let alone a pet-safe one. With a little help from your L&P friends, we’ve assembled a catalog just for you. Many of these guys are sold by Costa Farms and Hirt’s Gardens*, two great nurseries where I buy most of my tropicals. Also need some plant gear? Keep scrolling for all of your essentials, expertly separated by price point and item.
If you need a refresher course on what plants are toxic and safe, you should probably browse this awesome blog.
Pet Safe Plants
Let’s Get Some Plant Tools
After ruining my favorite scissors “pruning” my rubber tree, using chopsticks as stakes, and grounding up various piece of styrofoam as perlite, I’ve since equipped myself with proper gardening ammunition. I can do anything now. Pruners, stakes, fertilizer, small jars – I now have a collection of plant tools that I use everyday. And you can too! Here’s a list of my favorite tools that are actually meant for plant care and not for eating or shipping.
Watering Cans
IKEA Watering Can
I’ve had this watering can for years and I love it. Not only can I find it due to its bright color, but it’s easily refillable and still looks new despite being dropped several hundred times.
Bloem Watering Can
A perfectly pointy spout ensures no African Violet leaves will be vandalized during weekely waterings. Most all garden ceneters use this model for small, fussy and fuzzy plants.
Immea Watering Vessel
Works for rejuvenating the Tin Man or watering your ficus, this little lux watering can is so pretty.
Pruning Shears
Simple Shears
These Fiskars staples are my favorite for small pruning and the handy knife stops me from tearing the soil bag open like an animal.
Fiskars Shears
A bit more industrial than the above pruners, these are better for heavy stems (like Rubber Tress and Fiddle Leaf Figs), plus they’re grippy.
Hiyndoor Shears
The ultimate precision shears, these babies are build to last and are really a great all around pair of pruners.
Growing Media
Basic Garden Soil
All gardeners have their own preference for soil, but because I have pets, I always opt for organic. I can find this Espoma soil at my local garden center; it’s a little more expensive than your typical soil, but I like that it doesn’t contain fertilizer, so I can control how much my plants eat.
Cactus Mix
Regular potting mix doesn’t cut it for succulents, so this media is my go-to. Also by Espoma, it’s organic, and I find it contains the perfect amount of sand. I sometimes mix some in with my tropicals.
Perlite
Perlite is neat. It’s a volcanic glass and is used for a few different ways in indoor gardening; it allows better soil drainage, water retainment, and helps air circulate into plants’ roots.
Trowel
Sure, hands work fine, but sometimes I like the precision on a shovel, and this one is my favorite. I’m picky about my shovels like Goldilocks (if she were a plantmom), and this ticks all of my boxes – lightweight, metal, and durable.
Stakes
As Monty became unwieldy, I needed these in my life. They are mandatory for any floppy or unruley plants that needs a stern staking. I like that they’re green and blend in and come in a bunch of different sizes. PS, you an usually find single ones at Lowe’s, ACE, or Home Depot.
Ties
These are basically what you find in the grocery store to seal your produce bags, but better. They’re coated in a waterproof plastic and are long for multiple stem wrapping. Ties are usually needed when you finally realize you need to start staking.
*Leaf and Paw participates in the Amazon Affiliates Program. When you click on these links, you help fund Leaf and Paw. See my product policy for more info.