Just another plant can’t hurt

Crossing the threshold of Ms Latorre’s home, the layout opens into their lounge room, a wall full of north-facing windows and high ceilings.

Judging by the sea of green that meets the eye, the environment is perfect for the hundreds of plants adorning the room.

After four years of collecting, Ms Latorre admits she’s in deep.

“I sort of got into it and then you know, get an extra plant and then another plant and the next minute I'm like this full addict,“ she said with a laugh.

The plant community accepted Ms Latorre with open arms; she joined many online and Facebook plant pages and even made her own, The Beer Garden: Plants and Succulents.

It is a place for fellow plant lovers to share ‘planty’ knowledge, get advice and support each other, all in the most laid-back manner with a prerequisite for the group being ‘if you have no sense of humour, you probably won't like it here’.

The hundreds of plants throughout the whole house take upwards of an hour each night to be cared for and with four kids, it can sometimes be a daunting task.

“I usually think, ‘bugger, what have I got myself in to?’ But then I start and it’s quite therapeutic, it’s my time that I can just potter about and wind down, it goes so quickly,” Ms Latorre said.

“I’m at the stage now were I can look at them or feel them and know if it needs a water, but it’s all been trial and error of knowing what light they need and the conditions.

“It’s just one of those things, you learn as they grow.”

The Shepparton home proves the perfect haven for an indoor paradise.

Plants have trickled into each room; lining the brightly lit spaces are Swiss cheese monsteras, alocasias, and metres of devil’s ivy tendrils.

A collection has also gathered under the outdoor shaded pergola, where it is humid yet airy.

The space hosts an array of succulents, caladiums and some happily hanging string of pearls plants.

The majority of plants have been sourced locally or propagated, while a few were bought from nurseries across the country.

During Ms Latorre’s time as a plant mum only a few plants haven’t made it, one in particular being her kryptonite, the fiddle-leaf fig.

Among her growths, Ms Latorre’s pride and joy is Monty, a monstera that was once a baby but now spans upwards of two metres in width and height.

“They do calm me down, they’re very grounding,” she said.

“I do tell myself I’ll stop soon, then I buy more, I’m always running out of room.”

Mr Alessi also joins in the fun — Ms Latorre said he could be quite the enabler.

“I think we have everything Bunnings has at the moment but I don’t think she’ll stop until every square inch of the house is taken up,” he said with a laugh.

“More space, more room, more plants, anywhere that there is light there’s a plant, she’ll always find a way.”