OTHELLO – That lush green landscape of flowers and foliage doesn’t have to disappear with the cold weather and shorter days this fall. Keeping houseplants around is a great way to keep that greenery around while waiting for the growing season to return.

Korbi Ashton, a local photographer, had to make a tough call as she and her husband and seven children stay with family in Othello while their new home is built in Moses Lake. With limited space, she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep all of her houseplants she has collected over the years.

“It was either the kids or the plants,” Ashton joked. “So, unfortunately, the plants had to go.”

Luckily for her, friends she had met through the Moses Lake Houseplant Lovers Facebook page offered to “babysit” some of her plants until she has room for them again.

Ashton said her collection of plants around the house started when she got a small tree around the time she and her husband got married about 17 years ago.

From there, she said, she collected a few more from funeral services of loved ones, and she picked up one or two here and there from a store too. As she moved from home to home, she said her collection just kept going with her.

Friends of hers would travel to plant nurseries on the west side of the state and come back with plants, too, adding to her collection.

“I got really crazy about three or four years ago, because I just really love the green inside my house,” Ashton said.

She said her friend Heather Gessele really nurtured her love for plants and helped by sharing her knowledge along the way. Ashton said she has always been an avid gardener around her house outside, planting lillies and her personal favorite, poppies.

“I kept wanting to bring them inside, and so then I kind of went crazy,” Ashton said. “I already had 15 or so houseplants and then I just kept going.”

Her collection reached up to about 100 houseplants before selling off some as she waits for her new home, which will have a sunroom, to be finished. Ashton said she is down to about 28 she just couldn’t part with. About 10 of those are being “babysat” by friends and family.

Ashton said she’s hoping she can remember where they all went when she’s ready to retrieve them, but said her friends are nice enough to send photos and updates to let her know how her plants are doing.

For people starting out their own collection of houseplants, Ashton recommended beginning with something that they might not need to worry about as much. Cacti and succulents are plants she recommend that can be easy to take care of as long as they don’t get overwatered.

“Start with something easy that it’s OK if you kind of forget about it for a little bit,” Ashton said.

Pilea peperomioides, more commonly known as Chinese money plants, are some of her favorite houseplants to keep around. Because they can grow rather tall, she said she likes to group them together into different layers that look really nice together.

Alocasia plants, or dinosaur plants as she called them, are another favorite for their almost prehistoric look.

When arranging a new collection, she recommends placing plants where they do best before worrying about layout or arrangement.

“Is morning light better, is afternoon light better, should it be in the window all the time or can you shove it back in the corner, like a snake plant, because they don’t need a lot of light?” Ashton asked.

Having houseplants around just makes you feel good, she said. The green is a reminder of life, she added. With so much going on in the world, she said, it can give you something else to focus on and take your mind off some of the other things.

“When one dies, I get sad, or if I can’t help one thrive, I’m researching like crazy,” Ashton said.

Having the Facebook community around is helpful as well, she said. Ashton said she has received some rather rare plants from other members who simply offered to share a cutting from their own prized possession.

“Where else would I have found a bunch of people that volunteered to babysit houseplants for me for maybe a year?” Ashton said. “It was just so nice to have that.”