Need suggestions for a new space!
SO... our district FINALLY built us a brand new school (YAAYYYYY because we were in a 100 year-old building that was a different fresh new hell of health and safety violation every 3 feet 🤦🏻♀️😂). We are in the process of moving in right now and students will start next Tuesday. Naturally, my classroom is landlocked, zero windows, however... one of my coworkers has an AMAZING space on the 3rd floor—an ENTIRE WALL OF WINDOWS!! He is really wanting to green up the room but has no idea what to put there. This is a West-facing "wall" that gets full-on direct late afternoon sun starting approximately 2-3ish until sunset around 8:30. Hit me with your best suggestions!
P.S. He would really like something that could possibly climb the diagonal beams.
@Alucen @DreamMachine @FunLentenrose37 @Idplantthat @IWantThatPlant @Malagueña @MariansOasis @princesspitstop @SillyPlantGirl @uhhh.haileyyy @debbiedo @Kittylover1612 @MamaLinne @Ms.Persnickety @planthoe40 @HolyLacealoe @Succulent_Soul #happyplants #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantaddict #newgrowth #propagationstation #planttherapy #monsteramonday #plantcorner #thewateringhole
P.S. He would really like something that could possibly climb the diagonal beams.
@Alucen @DreamMachine @FunLentenrose37 @Idplantthat @IWantThatPlant @Malagueña @MariansOasis @princesspitstop @SillyPlantGirl @uhhh.haileyyy @debbiedo @Kittylover1612 @MamaLinne @Ms.Persnickety @planthoe40 @HolyLacealoe @Succulent_Soul #happyplants #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantaddict #newgrowth #propagationstation #planttherapy #monsteramonday #plantcorner #thewateringhole
29
My biggest concern is scorch. I initially rattled off a whole slew of plants I thought would do great and then realized I was looking out a west window (it's going to take me a minute to get my cardinal directions straightened out in the new building 🤦🏻♀️😂). I'm worried that 5+ hours in direct afternoon sun during the warmer months and 4ish in the winter is going to be too much for a lot of house plants to handle. If the windows were north or even south-facing it would more or less be a non-issue as the light would be bright but indirect. 🤔🤔🤷🏻♀️
For inside, right? Will there be someone who can care for the plants over the summer? If they climb the beams they’d be impossible to untangle! I would probably get strong magnetic hooks or command strips and hang baskets of plants- obviously pothos would give you a lot of bang for your buck since they grow fast and are relatively inexpensive. A removable succulent shelf would be really cool too with some cacti and other succulents. Another idea would be to have kids bring plants from home to help decorate and care for! You can gradually espose them to that level of sun and they should do fine. Likely those windows have UV protection on them anyway since it’s a classroom.
@MamaLinne He already has some magnetic hooks on one of the diagonals that are so strong he can't pull them off 😂😂 They're rated for 45+ lbs. My thought for the climbers was also pothos, maybe philodendron brasil or something similar, giving them something smaller to latch onto since the beams are roughly 6"x6", if not a little thicker.
So could he put some of the privacy film on the windows? It could dim the sunlight a little. @SpyderLily
@planthoe40 We can't do anything that would affect the building in any way. We can do curtains but only if they're on tension rods, we can only put stuff on the walls using approved 3M adhesive—no nails, staples, paint, etc.—nothing that would permanently alter any part of the structure.
It's a $116 million building. We're fighting tooth and nail just to be able to put personal knicknacks on our shelves 😑😑🙄 We were initially told we couldn't bring ANYTHING into the new building, that everything would be provided for us. There is one teacher desk and office chair per classroom, but then what does that mean for those of us who share rooms? There are 3 adults in my classroom—1 teacher and 2 paraprofessionals. So, the teacher got a desk and chair, and the other para and I were not provided with ANYTHING. We have 6 triangle desks, 4 trapezoid desks, and 10 chairs... and we will have 16 students in our program.......... They're already being forced to make accommodations for things that they never had the forethought to consider (paras have been told we are allowed to bring our own rolly chair, which is good, because my backside is NOT chilling in one of those plastic chairs for 8 hours a day 5 days a week, I'll quit!) Now we're pushing to be able to bring a small table in to use as a desk. At our own cost, naturally 😑😑😑🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 But I can't do my freaking job without a place to write and use my computer 🤦🏻♀️
It's a $116 million building. We're fighting tooth and nail just to be able to put personal knicknacks on our shelves 😑😑🙄 We were initially told we couldn't bring ANYTHING into the new building, that everything would be provided for us. There is one teacher desk and office chair per classroom, but then what does that mean for those of us who share rooms? There are 3 adults in my classroom—1 teacher and 2 paraprofessionals. So, the teacher got a desk and chair, and the other para and I were not provided with ANYTHING. We have 6 triangle desks, 4 trapezoid desks, and 10 chairs... and we will have 16 students in our program.......... They're already being forced to make accommodations for things that they never had the forethought to consider (paras have been told we are allowed to bring our own rolly chair, which is good, because my backside is NOT chilling in one of those plastic chairs for 8 hours a day 5 days a week, I'll quit!) Now we're pushing to be able to bring a small table in to use as a desk. At our own cost, naturally 😑😑😑🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 But I can't do my freaking job without a place to write and use my computer 🤦🏻♀️
@SpyderLily privacy film then like @planthoe40 suggested would be great! Look for holographic window cling film. You literally just put it on with soapy water. It reduces uva/uvb rays so that harsh west light would be dimmed some, and you just peel it off the window whenever you want.
@SpyderLily West-facing windows receive intense, hot afternoon sun. Great low-maintenance, heat-tolerant indoor choices include the Snake Plant (Sansevieria), Jade Plant (Crassula ovata), Hoya, and Yucca Plant, which love direct light and need very little water. Just a thought!
@DreamMachine I guarantee they will never let him put film on the windows. Whether or not it's easily removable is irrelevant 😣😩😩 They have gone total Nazi control freak on this new building.
@Ms.Persnickety Snake plant was also one of my thoughts. That is literally the lowest maintenance plant I have ever owned in my life. I think I forgot to water her at one time last year for, like, 3 months, and you'd never be able to tell by looking at her 🤦🏻♀️😂😂 Since then she has obviously been cared for in a more attentive manner. She has nearly quadrupled in size since I moved her from my craft room onto my kitchen sink 5 months ago (she was in the craft room under a grow light for over a year with no progression whatsoever—but she also didn't deteriorate, either, so I count that as a win LMAO).
@SpyderLily I second the plant suggestions from @Ms.Persnickety
The jade and snake plants are slow growers and they can go a stretch without watering, but they won’t climb.
Hoyas (for a lot of the varieties) will absolutely climb, and you have the added benefit of flowers. I’m new to the Hoya world, so I can’t say which varieties are better for the windows. If Nadia @DreamMachine
has time, she’s a great resource for Hoyas. And @Idplantthat has a huge greenhouse.
The jade and snake plants are slow growers and they can go a stretch without watering, but they won’t climb.
Hoyas (for a lot of the varieties) will absolutely climb, and you have the added benefit of flowers. I’m new to the Hoya world, so I can’t say which varieties are better for the windows. If Nadia @DreamMachine
has time, she’s a great resource for Hoyas. And @Idplantthat has a huge greenhouse.
@SpyderLily Great looking Snake plant. i agree they are real troopers, and so easy to care for! They do actually deserve the name „Cast Iron Plant „ in my opinion!!😂
@SpyderLily
Hi Alexandria I'm late here but if I may, It would be amazing if you had a medicinal plants shelf, I've found that once established lemon grass can actually be an amazing house plant, you can easily mageiver a grow light from a single led bulb. t
That's how I've kept my snake plant alive.
And a row of edible lemon grass with led strip lighting using command hooks would be so cool
Hi Alexandria I'm late here but if I may, It would be amazing if you had a medicinal plants shelf, I've found that once established lemon grass can actually be an amazing house plant, you can easily mageiver a grow light from a single led bulb. t
That's how I've kept my snake plant alive.
And a row of edible lemon grass with led strip lighting using command hooks would be so cool
Congrats on the new school! Check with your local Fire Marshal to make sure if you use the beam to grow a vine like plant that it is not a fire code violation due to the location. I remember a teacher that had spent her summer hanging jungle vines made out of paper on the suspended ceiling and only to have her heart broken when it was pointed out it was a fire code violation due to the location of the sprinkler heads for the fire suppression system.
@FunLentenrose37 I don't think it would be a violation 🤔🤔 Nothing would be hanging from the ceiling, only snaking partway up the beam, and it certainly wouldn't be blocking an emergency exit right there 😂😂 I believe the fire marshal will be back tomorrow morning to go over some information with us in our staff meeting. I'll try to remember to ask.
@SpyderLily I’m actually doing a client’s office right now at a law firm, and they kinda had some of the same issues and desires… so I’m happy you asked about it right now! Congratulations on the beautiful new classrooms! I hope they let you guys get some more say in your classrooms. 🩵🫶
@Idplantthat My classroom has zero windows and is right next to the cafeteria....... 🤦🏻♀️😂 SpEd has its own wing on first floor, though, and we have a GORGEOUS Life Skills Lab—fully furnished kitchen plus a washer and dryer!! 😱😍 I have a picture but it isn't finished. Or, at least, it wasn't yesterday when I took it. We were off-site today for professional development, so they may have tidied up while we were gone. I'll take another picture tomorrow, and also get a few pics of my classroom.
@SpyderLily that’s so exciting! Wow, a washer and a dryer and all the bells and whistles sound amazing, 😻 I remember when I was in school the ongoing joke was the school would just crumble around us while we hid under our 1980’ish desks.. ha ha 🤣 oh gosh, at least nowadays they are a little more structurally sound 😅 and we don’t believe hiding under a desk will now save the day 😉
Hi @SpyderLily I like Portulacaria afra ‘Elephant bush’ for hot bright locations. It’s a shrub that you can train. Doesn’t require much water and doesn’t get all drama 🎭 queen if neglected for a bit. It should do great in west facing windows with 5-6 hours of sun. ☀️
@Idplantthat The cell service in my new classroom is shite, clearly, because I posted pictures of our lab like NINE HOURS AGO 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ Anyway, here it is. Not gonna lie, I'm stupidly jealous of all the storage space 😭😭
And a couple pictures of my classroom. We personalized the 4 square cubby space above the counter with the sink (because that's about the only space we're allowed to jazz up with personal items 😑😑 They're trying to make this new building so freaking sterile, it's ridiculous🤦🏻♀️😤😤). The teacher has the bottom two, I'm the top right, and the other para is top left. I have purple bat lights sitting in my space right now, I need to put some hooks on the edges around my cubby so I can hang them and turn them on/off every day. The two paintings on top of the cabinets in the third picture are mine.
