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Gardening Projects and Ideas for a Rainy Day

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As I looked out the window at the rain coming down I thought of all the things I should be doing in the garden. “Where does the time go”, I thought to myself. “Why did you frolic in all that sunshine last month instead of transplanting and moving plants to better spots”?? I could tell from the conversation going on in my head that I needed some inspiration so off I went to visit a local garden store. I knew I was in trouble as I explored and wanted to buy nearly every cool plant I saw. Here are some of the plants that really caught my eye.

tillandsia_on_apple_branchLast month for my birthday a friend gave me a collection of tillandsia attached to an gnarled, mossy apple branch that had fallen from a tree in her garden. There are many kinds of these bromeliads or air plants as they are sometimes called and they can be displayed in lots of ways. At the garden store, I saw miniature hanging terrariums that looked awesome with several tiny tillandsia specimens, glossy pebbles and moss bits arranged inside. The humidity inside the glass as well as the bright light from a window is just what they like.

Other tillandsia were mounted on bark, some on driftwood, some in table top terrariums and some displayed in beautiful baskets. Tillandsia, like their relatives, Spanish moss and pineapple, have tiny scales on their leaves called trichomes which serve as very efficient absorption systems to gather water. They are very tolerant of drought conditions and will grow with just a spritzing of water although I like to run mine under lukewarm water to mimic the showers they might get where they normally grow in tropical tree limbs. They prefer the light from bright window but not direct sunlight and are among the easiest of indoor plants to grow and maintain.

I’m always on the lookout for ideas for landscape plants that might be perfect in an edgeworthia_chrysanthaupcoming design. Often what is needed to complement a house or view from a window is a plant with interesting foliage color or? branching pattern and bark in the dormant season. Showy, fragrant flowers make a welcome addition to the front entry at any time of year but I found one new to me and it’s blooming now.

Tucked among other plants with soft yellow and green foliage I saw my first Edgeworthia or Chinese Paper Bush. Also called yellow daphne, this daphne relative is grown mainly for its flowers. Tubular, bright yellow flower clusters fade to creamy white. The showy display is memorable. They definitely possess that weird appeal that collectors love. In China this plant is used to make paper and medicine.

Edgeworthia chyrsantha are hardy to 10 degrees and prefer half day sun or afternoon shade during the hot summer sun. They grow to about 6 feet tall and a bit wider. The tropical looking foliage is attractive during the summer but it’s the overwhelmingly fragrant display of pendent, golden yellow flowers that will make you want to grow this shrub in your garden. I’m looking forward to planting it next to a fragrant daphne.

pittosporum_tenuifolium_Irene_PattersonAnother plant that caught my eye was an Irene Patterson pittosporum tenuifolium. With speckled frosty green leaves this shrub will really light up a dark area. It can take full sun but it’s the shady areas I have in mind. Hardy to 15-20 degrees it will survive our winters and is adaptable to most soils. I think it would look great paired with the variegated huge green and white leaves of ligularia argentea.

I was also inspired to plant up my own succulent garden after seeing the display planted in recycled wooden boxes, old tins, antique cheese boxes and weathered boots. Whatever you have on hand with a drainage hole will look?? succulent_garden2great with a succulent or two planted inside. Succulents in containers can be moved out of winter frost and rain which increases the variety that can survive in our area. I have a vintage Swift’s Silverleaf pure lard tin that’s just waiting to provide a home for some new succulents.? I’m looking forward to going back to the garden store to choose just the right specimens for his special container.

It’s fun to have some gardening projects that I can do indoors. There’s lots of time to plant those new landscape plants that caught my eye on a rainy day.

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Winter Houseplant Care

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sansevieriaI miss the Christmas tree and decorations that bring color to the house over the holidays.? After they’re packed away for another year and the tree recycled it looks a bit bare around here. The houseplants get their favorite places back now near the windows. This an important month for them when the garden is asleep. I want them to look great but Mother Nature delivers darker skies and less daylight hours. Even though they are still green they are taking a break and don’t grow much over the dark days of winter. Don’t become a clueless houseplant killer. Remember houseplants clean the air. We need them.

Light and water are the two main factors that cause a houseplant to go south.? A typical houseplant lives in the understory of a tropical rain forest where it gets filtered light until it grows big enough to reach up into the canopy for brighter light.? They’re used to lots of warm rain but perfect drainage, too.? We put them into pots inside our homes where they have much different conditions to contend with.? Most houseplants would like bright filtered morning sun by an east window but many will tolerate darker locations if you adjust your watering to accommodate the slower growth rate.

pathosWater just enough to keep the soil from going totally dry. Poke your finger into the soil. As a rule of thumb, if your plant is in a 4-6″ pot let the soil dry half an inch down between waterings then water thoroughly with room temperature water. Don’t let the pot sit in a saucer with water for over an hour or the roots will rot. If your plant is in an 8-12″ pot let the soil dry to 1-2″ down before watering and if you have a bigger specimen the soil should be dry? 2-3″ down before watering.? Don’t panic if this takes 2-3 wks before the soil has dried sufficiently for a plant in a big pot.? A moisture meter is very helpful for your larger plants.

I’m like the cobbler who has holes in his shoes when it comes to plants.? I love to have lots of them around cymbidiumbut they have to be tough and easy to care for. If you have have medium to low light conditions like me in your house some of my favorite upright plants are split-leaf? philodendron or philodendron selloum,? spathiphylum ( peace lily), Chinese evergreen, cast-iron plant, schefflera, arboricola and parlor palm.? The low-light hanging plants that I love are the heart-shaped philodendron, pathos and grape ivy. Most of these houseplants grow naturally in low light areas of the jungle.
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Houseplants don’t like to be transplanted during their dormant period in the winter.? They are slow to grow new roots at this time.? You can transfer a plant to a new pot that is about the same size or a just a little bit bigger if you need to but it’s better to put off any major potting projects until spring.? Remember to choose a pot only? 2″ bigger than the old pot each time you transplant.? The soil can dry between waterings this way allowing oxygen to move into the root zone.

Fertilize less often.? Some houseplant growers skip fertilizing in December and January, starting up again with half strength fertilizer in mid-February.? Think of your houseplants as essentially dormant in winter.? They need fertilizer only when active growth resumes.

Avoid cold drafts.? Most houseplants can handle slightly cooler temperatures at night but detest blasts of chilly air.? Avoid placing most plants near drafty, high-traffic areas such as a foyer or hallway.? Ficus trees are famous for dropping leaves when exposed to temperature changes.

Plants get dusty decreasing the amount of light they can use to photosynthesize.? Insects such as spider mites actually thrive in dusty conditions.? Take your plants to the kitchen sink or tub every few months and wash them off with luke warm water or use a moist cloth or paper towel to wipe the dust off the leaves.? In the summer when it’s warm you can wash them off outside with the hose in the shade but it’s too cold now for this.? How would you like to have a cold hose turned on you these days?

If you do find insects on your plants,? a spray of mild insecticidal soap for houseplants usually does the trick if you do a follow up spraying a week later.? Horticultural oil works well, too, by smothering the insects and its eggs.? If you have little black fungus gnats flying over the soil, you are watering too frequently.? They feed on the algae growing on moist soil. Scrape off the surface, spray with insecticidal soap and let the soil dry out.

Many common houseplants? help fight pollution indoors. They are able to scrub significant amounts of harmful gases out of the air through the everyday processes of photosynthesis and I’ll tell you which ones are the most effective in an upcoming column.

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Colorful Houseplants

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My birthday falls in February and Valentine's Day does, too. The weather this month can be a bit gloomy some years. That's why I'm always thrilled to receive a flowering indoor plant to brighten things up. Many bloom for a very long time making them a good investment. They are easier than you think to take care. Color inside the house is like seeing a rainbow. Flowering plants make you smile.

My mother used to love anthuriums so I always think of her whenever I see them. Found in wet tropical mountain forests of Central and South America some varieties have the unique ability to swivel their leaves toward the sun. Anthurium andraeanum is the common variety grown mainly in Florida and the Netherlands as an indoor house plant.

anthurium_closeup_rrAnthuriums are durable and will survive for a remarkable period of time, even under adverse conditions. The beautiful waxy flowers along with large, heart-shaped glossy leaves are able to handle dryness around the root ball but then need to be watered thoroughly and allowed to dry slightly between waterings. They can take as much indirect light as you can provide. Lower levels of light will slow down flower production but the plant will survive just about anything. They make me think I'm in Hawaii again.

The amazing bromeliad family includes Spanish moss and the edible pineapple. Bromeliads are commonly called "air plants" but really they are epiphytes growing up in the air on tree limbs and crotches or in rock crevices, free of any connection to the ground. There are just a few species which grow on the ground and are rooted in soil. Bromeliads are distinctive as they have so many forms, textures, colorful leaves and long-lasting blooms. That's why I like them. They are among the easiest of indoor plants to grow and maintain.

I have a collection of tillandsias also in the bromeliad family. Some grow in shells, some on drift wood, some in terrariums. These are what most people think of as air plants but really they do need a lukewarm shower now and again like they would get in the tropics.

Then there are the bromeliads with bright, colorful bracts or modified leaves surrounding a tiny bromeliad_rflower. Bromeliads flower only once, then send out new young offsets. All bromeliads share a common characteristic: trichomes which are tiny scales on their leaves. These scales serve as a very efficient absorption system. Bromeliads are very tolerant of drought conditions. In a normal house, it's not necessary to keep the central cup filled with water. If your plant is growing in a lot of light and you do fill the cup with water, make sure to flush it every so often to remove any salt build up.

Bromeliads are not heavy feeders and normally live on the scanty nutrients their roots obtain from rotting leaves. During the growing season you can use a liquid fertilizer at half or quarter strength. There are so many types of bromeliads to choose from. All are beautiful and provide color for a very long time.

There a several other blooming houseplants that are also personal favorites. We all have a couple of African violets happily blooming in a windowsill. Phalaenopsis orchids are pretty easy to bring into bloom in the average house. And one of the best houseplants for a hanging basket that takes lower light levels and dry conditions is the Lipstick plant. Free-flowering in shades of orange or red, the Lipstick plant is a relative of African violet and Streptocarpus. With showy flowers they are also related to "Goldfish plants". They prefer a well-drained potting mix since they are accustomed to surviving on rainwater running off the trees in the wild.

Remember that hanging plants that are closer to the ceiling where the air is warmer will dry out faster and need to be watered more frequently.

Living plants bring the outside in, clean the air and provide color when the sky is grey.