I acquired this photo for a post on mid century wall-to-wall carpeting, but that will have to wait ’til later. Today’s post is about arguably your most important retro reno room accessory: a Monsterosa Deliciosa plant!
You can see it in the foreground of this image – to the left of the fireplace. When we first moved into our 1951 ranch, we bought one right away, for our large living room.
Our daughter named it — PAVA, for Plant And Vine Agent. My husband takes care of it religiously and it’s thrived. Just recently he made an awesome moss pole for it. PAVA really makes a huge difference in our interior in terms of giving it an authentic retro feel! Mind you, these do get big, so plan for the space.
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It’s really hard to see it. Is this it?
http://www.toptropicals.com/pics/toptropicals/contest/2004/tt/2/Monstera_deliciosa.jpg
Yup, Rebecca. That’s it. We have one in our house. We named it Pava. For: Plant And Vine Agent. Don’t ask me how we come up with this stuff. Have you started scouring all the antiques places in the county? When I lived next door in Saline, I remember going to some great places in Tecumseh all the time. And the Ann Arbor Antiques Show — several times yearly at the Saline Fair Grounds was pricey – but FABULOUS.
My mom has had one all my life in the living room. Used to be a real one and now at age 86 she has a fake one. I was often asked to wipe off the leave of the “split leaf philodendron”. Even put some kind of plant polish on it for that shine. Absolutely a must!
I took a cutting from my mother’s monsterosa this past Summer, and it has now rooted quite nicely. It really *does* impart that “authentic” feel to a mid-century themed room.
Sometimes called the Swiss Cheese plant! Is is sometimes classes as an epiphyte plant, which explains in part the excellent endurance and climbing abilities.