• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Random pictures of the garden

November 17, 2012 By Carol Michel 9 Comments

Dormant garden bed

There are some who think I should post more pictures of my gardens on my blog, so I went out this morning and took some random pictures to share.

The vegetable garden is dormant now. It is considered dormant because our growing season has passed for this year and the ground is cleared and bare.  If I showed you this picture in June, and it was still bare ground,  I would call it fallow ground because that’s what bare ground that isn’t planted during the growing season is called.

I’ve been thinking a lot about fallow ground lately.

In one of the garden beds, I planted winter rye as a cover crop.

Winter rye cover crop

This cover crop should benefit the soil in many ways.  Its deep roots will help break up hard clay soils and add some organic matter deep down.  Then when I cut this back in the spring and turn it under, it will add more organic matter to the soil.  That’s why cover crops are also called green manure.  Finally, while it is growing and covering the ground, this cover crop should help control erosion and keep other weeds from growing in this bed.   All good.

I should sow more cover crops in future years.

I spent quite a bit of time this morning looking at the garden border that I call The Shrubbery.

It never seems quite full enough, quite lush enough for me.  But then I looked at the shrubs in the back and duh, how long have I been gardening? I figured it out. If one is going to plant a garden that is mostly shrubs, some of which will grow rather large, one must realize that it is going to take a few years for it to fill in.

I promise I will be more patient with The Shrubbery, and not over plant it, though I still may add a path through it.

Inside, I noted that the Thanksgiving cacti are both blooming now.

I got a cutting for this orange flowering Thanksgiving cactus from a friend at work. Her aunt had it growing on a screened-in porch for years and I begged for a cutting.  Begged. Demanded. Insisted. Asked every day.

I was patient, and she was gracious enough to give me a cutting.

It clashes nicely with the pink flowering Thanksgiving cactus that I bought about 15 years ago.

I am planning a future post about the difference between Thanksgiving cactus and Christmas cactus as it confusing. Of course, I don’t have any Christmas cactus, so I’ll be buying one or two or three, for the blog. For the blog!

Readers may recall that a few weeks ago, I planted up the Wardian case. The very one that sat empty, fallow, for eight years.  Here’s a bird’s eye view of what’s growing in it now.

In typical plant geek fashion, I deviated immediately from any kind of design when I figured out what a great environment this is for plants in general.

Starting in the lower left, I have a little amaryllis, offshoot of some amaryllis I was repotting. Who could not plant up a little baby amaryllis bulb to see how long it takes to grow to blooming size? No self-respecting plant geek would have thrown it out.

In the upper left is a creeping fig. I bought it when I thought I didn’t have enough plants on hand for the Wardian case.  I may have to take it out if it gets too crowded in there.

In the  upper right is an arrowhead plant, one that came out of a planter from my Mom’s funeral. It’s hard to believe that was over a year ago. I have several plants from funeral planters that I am keeping going for as long as possible. These new plants are a good companion for some pothos vine that originally came from funeral planters from my Dad’s funeral over 25 years ago.

Yes, you can keep houseplants growing for a long time.

The pot just below the arrowhead plant is a little plantlet of Tasmanian violets, Viola banksii,  that I’m attempting to root. So far so good.  The other three little pots are Viola labradorica, which I transplanted from outside just when they were starting to go dormant. They responded by drying up, but, but, but, I could see a tiny bit of green coming up from the roots so I am babying them through and hope they continue to grow and one day, hopefully in the middle of winter, they will flower for me. For me!

The rest of the sunroom is not as exciting as the Wardian case.

It will be more exciting if some of those amaryllis plants bloom. 

You know, if I move some of those pots closer together, I think I have room for more plants. I need some Christmas cactus, maybe other holiday plants, some bulbs to force…

Random pictures of the garden of the garden can be dangerous. You study them, you learn from them, and then you go out and buy more plants.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: gardening, houseplants

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. growingagardenindavis says

    November 17, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    I find the sunroom photo just as exciting as the Wardian case. And yes, you have room for quite a few more plants to be bought because you have to. A gardener has to do what a gardener has to do.

    Reply
  2. Joani says

    November 17, 2012 at 5:09 pm

    Lovely. I especially like the Christmas Cactus. Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend.

    Reply
  3. Cindy, MCOK says

    November 17, 2012 at 5:19 pm

    Yes, go out and buy more plants for the sunroom!

    Reply
  4. Layanee says

    November 17, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    More plants = cleaner air inside. I am sure of it. Get more although your indoor garden is very inviting as it is.

    Reply
  5. Beth Cawein says

    November 17, 2012 at 6:23 pm

    My Thanksgiving cactus is stunning right now and I got it from my Mom who died in 1976. Also I have pothos still around from her. I wish she could see what a gardener I have become.

    Reply
  6. Gail says

    November 17, 2012 at 7:15 pm

    Yes, more plants~There's always room for more.

    Reply
  7. Jennifer says

    November 18, 2012 at 2:09 pm

    Thanks for posting! I enjoyed reading about the cover crops…I've always wanted to know more and will think about doing that in the beds where I grow veggies!

    Reply
  8. Rohrerbot says

    November 18, 2012 at 6:56 pm

    Love your Christmas cactus. So pretty. I have several who feel the same about my blog:) When things start cooling down more and the holidays are over, I'll publish more:) Right now, it's birds and stuff:)

    Reply
  9. Unknown says

    November 19, 2012 at 11:32 am

    Carol, I'm looking forward to your post about Thanksgiving vs. Christmas cacti–because I never heard of a Thanksgiving cactus until recently! I suppose I could just Google it, but I'd rather read your post about it…so I'll wait. I'm such a failure with houseplants, but I'm determined to succeed. (We now finally have a bit of light in the house after a major remodel, so I'm hopeful.) Have a lovely week!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,048)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT