I wish I'd taken some "before" photos of a few of my most struggling plants....a bougainvillea, a classic Millennial monstera, a large alocasia that REALLY wanted to die on me....They were already a little sad, but when I moved them inside from my three-season porch, they all seemed ready to give up the ghost. The indoor heating, inconsistent humidity, sad midwestern winter light, and my staggering inability to adjust their watering needs, had me preparing for a mass burial.
I took a chance and grabbed two 750 ml Cowbells at a local maker's market, and my plant game has CHANGED. I previously relied on water sensors and my very poor intuition when it came to watering in the past, but the Cowbell has turned my finicky plants into very happy, thriving beauties.
No, Cowbells are not completely fool proof (depending on substrate, strength of the plants' roots, and some other factors), but are awesome enough that I've purchased MANY more. They're much less visually distracting than gravity waterers, and their simplicity and satisfying maintenance is PERFECT for someone like me. I love knowing that I can leave my plants unattended for travel, but even more than that, they've helped me keep my green babies alive and happy (even when I'm sitting in the room with them).
Here's a photo of my bougainvillea about a week and a half after I started using Cowbell--the second is two months later. (Yes, there are still other sad plants along the edges. Working on it. ;) )