Kokedama with ivy I just finished cleaning up the sunroom after making my first kokedama. Kokedama is a Japanese word that translates into English as "moss balls" though all the auto-correct editors want to translate it into chokedamp. The idea is to mix a combination of peat and clay soil, generally a 70-30 ratio, so you can form the soil into a ball and it stays as a ball. Then you plant something in the ball, generally a plant that will like the same moist conditions moss likes, and cover … [Read more...] about Kokedama – Must be willing to make a little bit of a mess…
houseplants
Real gardeners grow plants indoors, too.
"I do not do houseplants." If you tell me that, then I know you are not a real gardener. Real gardeners also have indoor plants. Or houseplants. Or house plants. Whichever you prefer. Real gardeners do not stop gardening when the garden outdoors goes dormant. We don't. We can't. Even if we don't intend to have plants indoors, we somehow, somewhere, end up with plants in our houses. It just happens. If you are thinking right now, "well, I'm a real gardener and I don't have … [Read more...] about Real gardeners grow plants indoors, too.
Obsessed gardener looking for an old variety…
Begonia 'Gloire de Lorraine' (American Gardening, 1900) Obsessed gardener looking for an old variety of Begonia, 'Gloire de Lorraine'. Described by Buckner Hollingsworth in Gardening on Main Street (1968) ~ "From a tight cushion of bright green foliage a great many lax stems emerged, each tipped with only two flowers, but when these fade and fall the stem lengthens and two more flowers appear. There are so many stems of so many varying lengths that the plant becomes a fountain of rose-colored … [Read more...] about Obsessed gardener looking for an old variety…
The Optimist and The Pessimist
Two houseplants just got put out on the patio to spend the rest of the summer in plant rehab. We'll call one plant "Purple Leaf" and the other "Ivy". Let's listen in as they discuss their situation. Purple Leaf: Oh, look! Look! We are outside. Isn't it wonderful to see the sun like this and not through a window? Ivy: Are you kidding me? I'm going to burn up here. It's so bright. I want to go back inside. Who's in charge here? Purple Leaf: Relax, Ivy. … [Read more...] about The Optimist and The Pessimist
The Rabbit Holes of Winter
I've recently decided that January is one of my favorite months to think about gardening. There is time in January to relax a bit. The holidays are over. The winds howl and only the hardiest of souls try to garden when the ground is frozen, or nearly so. It's best to just stay indoors. Indoors where there are gardening books, and houseplants, and seed catalogs, and warmth, and books. I'm currently watching my Lily of the Valley pips grow indoors. I see the beginnings … [Read more...] about The Rabbit Holes of Winter
Blooms for the Twelves Days of Christmas
I suppose it really does work out better if the blooms of the Christmas season reach their peak after the 25th of December. I will have more time to enjoy them while I relax after the hustle and bustle of pre-Christmas preparations. Imagine me sitting in an easy chair by the window so I have view out into the garden where I can see the birds flitting around the feeders I set out and filled with the finest "boss", black oil sunflower seed. If I crane my neck just a bit … [Read more...] about Blooms for the Twelves Days of Christmas
