February 1, 2010

Houseplants – Indoor gardening – Part 1

I must humbly confess, I have not always had a green thumb.  I killed every single plant I brought into our Boston apartment on Beacon Hill when we were first married.  15 years later, I know what I did wrong:  I over watered them.

You will kill more houseplants from over watering than you will from under watering.  Gardening outdoors taught me how to garden indoors. Many of my houseplants are simply plants I like to grow in my garden, but they are not hardy in my Wisconsin Zone 5 and cannot stay outside during the winter.

Houseplants offer a variety of benefits.  They look great; they clean your air for free, providing everyone with a healthier living space; they help add humidity to a dry winter house; and they give you something to care for, which makes one feel better.

The following is a list of great plants that I currently grow:

Ferns

Foxtail Fern, Asparagus Fern, Boston Fern, Elephant Ears, Cordyline, Peace Lily, Coleus, Banana Plants, Sweet-Potato Vine, Jade Plant.

Herbs

Rosemary, Basil

Houseplants that flower

Christmas Cactus, Hibiscus, Orange Trees, Mandevilla, Geraniums, African Violets, Agapanthus or Lily of the Nile, Begonias, Clivia and Orchids

Houseplants love to be outside in the summer.  You can move them outside when the nighttime temps are in the 50s and 60s consistently.  Start by placing them in a shady spot, or they will get a sunburn just like we do if we lie in the sun all day after a long winter.  Slowly move them into sunnier conditions.

If they do get sunburned, don’t give up and discard them.  They will bounce back in 3 weeks and remain strong, vital houseplants.  I have sunburned many a houseplant to the point where they look completely dead with no hope of returning, but I let them be and continued watering and they always made a strong comeback.  So never give up!

Since I am green, I do not use any chemicals and I always start off with a good organic potting-soil mix.  Never use topsoil or dirt, as it will harden like clay in a pot and kill your plant.  I probably do not fertilize enough, according to textbooks or experts, but nature seems to take good care of my plants and they seem to be living a long and happy life.  I sometimes add earthworm castings to my potting mix when they are outside for the summer, but only in the earlier part of the summer.  It is best to let your houseplants take a rest in the winter, by watering less and not fertilizing.

To give you additional incentive to add more houseplants to your life, here is another great article from Organic Gardening:

Weeping fig and fatsia work day and night to remove contaminants from the air.

Findings:  Two common houseplants reduced aerial concentrations of volatile formaldehyde by 50 percent in two hours or less, according to a joint study by Korean and U.S. researchers.  If you’re wondering ‘What does this have to do with me?’  you may be dismayed to know that formaldehyde is emitted from products found in most homes, including carpet, plywood, particleboard, curtains, and adhesives.  Formaldehyde levels are several times higher in new houses than in older ones, the researchers report.  Aerial parts of the plant–the leaves and stems–absorb the volatiles during the day:  the root zone continues the work at night.

Our advice:  Take a tip from Stanley Kays, Ph.D., of the University of Georgia, one of the study’s authors, and place a houseplant or two in every room to improve air quality.  Kays also recommends Boston fern and areca palm.

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January 28, 2010

Paperwhite and Amaryllis Bulbs – Forcing Bulbs Indoors




Paperwhites and amaryllis bulbs are two terrific bulbs to force indoors with very little effort and very low maintenance.  I have forced both indoors for over 11 years with a 0% failure rate.

I have bought these bulbs everywhere from White Flower Farm and Johannsen’s to Sam’s Club, Home Dept and Target.  They are usually all great, but for a unique amaryllis, higher-end stores have a wider variety.

For paperwhites (part of the narcissus family, like daffodils), you simply plant the bulbs in potting soil, rocks or even cranberries in the container of your choice and water well, making sure not to let them dry out.  Within 2 to 3 weeks, you will have beautiful flowers.  Simply discard the bulbs after they are done flowering, as the paperwhite bulb is a one-shot deal.

For the amaryllis bulb, plant in a pot, not burying the entire bulb; the tip-top of the bulb likes a little light.  I have had mixed results with how long it will take to grow and bloom, but often you get more than one cycle of flowers on one bulb.  When the amaryllis is done blooming, trim off the blooms and treat as a houseplant.  You can get the amaryllis bulb to re-bloom again next year by treating it like your other houseplants until August/September and then placing it in a closet or basement and allowing it to rest until Thanksgiving. Then bring it back out and expose it to warmth, water and sunlight, and it should bloom again.

It is nice to plant these bulbs every two to three weeks starting in October to have constant blooms throughout the winter months.

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January 23, 2010

Invisible Trellis

As I write my list of hits and misses for Mel’s Green Garden 2009, one big hit was using clear fishing line for an invisible trellis.

I used this all over my garden this past summer for my Grandpa Ott’s Morning Glory to climb.  My daughter had an idea two summers ago that she wanted to wake up and look out the window and be able to see the Morning Glory we all love.  It was August, so I tried staking it and growing it and it did well, but did not go all the way up the family room window.

So, this past summer with some help from my dear old dad, we installed little screws at the top and bottom of my family room windows and tied the strongest clear fishing line from my dad’s and brother’s tackle boxes, and the Morning Glory LOVED it and expressed this by climbing all the way up and across, covering the windows.  It was such a sight to see each morning!

It also helped, as these windows are so sunny and can be so hot in the afternoon, by giving us a little shade and a lot of privacy.  This was such a huge success, I added these invisible trellises to my dining room windows and the entire height of the side of my garage, and I did use it for clematis for one of my clients.

This idea is something I look forward to repeating in Mel’s Green Garden 2010!



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January 15, 2010

The White Cleome

Looking for a way to light up your garden in the evening?  The White Cleome is your answer.  The cleome comes in many colors, and I have planted this flower for all of my gardening years; but I fell in love with the white variety because of its ability to help light up the garden at night with minimal exterior light.

The White Cleome has many strengths as a flower.

  1. It gives your garden an instant English Cottage Garden style.
  2. It is very easy to grow and grows best in full sun, but I have had success growing it in partial sun and even some shadier spots.
  3. It is also very easy to grow from seed in the sunnier areas of your garden.

My favorite method for growing the cleome is to buy a flat of them at Brennan’s or Johannsen’s.  Then I plant them around my entire yard.  After they are all planted, I then sprinkle the white cleome seeds I saved from the year before all around the newly planted flowers.  This way when the first plant has grown, bloomed and gone to seed, the new little seedlings are up and strongly growing, extending the period this flower will be in full bloom until the first frost.The White Cleome is an annual, but it does re-seed itself, and the seeds are super-easy to collect, as they are the part of the flower that looks like cat’s whiskers.

Another growing tip for this flower is to stake it.  Or since I grow so many and stakes are a hot commodity in my garden, I prefer to put my grass clippings from my lawn mower around them, with coffee grounds over the clippings to hide them.  This gives the flower enough support and also provides beneficial nutrients and does wonders to amend my garden soil.  Earthworms love my yard.

I developed this method of growing the White Cleome throughout the entire border of my yard, both sun and shade, the first summer we lived in our current house.  I started this garden from scratch and needed something to fill in between the baby perennials and shrubs to give my garden bed a full English Cottage Garden look.

This flower will give your garden a very full look, as one plant will produce many, many flowers.  Even now that my perennials have filled out, I continue to plant the White Cleome flower throughout the entire border of my yard because I love the way it looks in the daytime and lights up the yard at night.

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January 12, 2010

In Defense of Dandelions

What is bright yellow, cheerful, edible and can detoxify your liver?  Yes, the little old dandelion.

Last spring I watched my then 17-month-old son pick up one of those fuzzy seed pods from the dandelion and blow again and again, having such a joyful ball!  Then I watched my daughters make dandelion crowns.

Later that week I drove through the Wisconsin countryside because my hairdresser moved from Madison to New Glarus, and admired the bright yellow fields of dandelions and wondered why is it we spend money planting yellow pansies, yellow marigolds, yellow sunflowers, yellow begonias, and yet we can’t stand the sight of a yellow dandelion.

In some neighborhoods, having a yard full of dandelions is more than frowned upon.  And we will subject ourselves, our children, our pets, and our environment to toxins to get rid of this yellow, cheerful, edible flower?

In last month’s Delicious Living Magazine, Jessica Rubino highlighted the benefits of dandelions in “3 herbs to detox your liver“,

Related to chicory, dandelion’s historical uses include treating upset stomach, heartburn, and spleen ailments, pus enhancing immunity.  Some health practitioners recommend dandelion to stimulate the liver and kidneys to filter toxins out of the blood.

So… you don’t want a garden full of dandelions, I understand, I get that…..  How do you get rid of them?  Since they are magnets for kids of all ages to grab and play with, let’s not spray them with one of the many popular weed-killers.

Instead, I recommend pulling them out with a dandelion picker.  I bought one from Home Depot several years ago, and my kids really fight over who gets to use it.  It is a great gardening tool.  You don’t have to bend over, and it gets that long tap root all the way out.  At the same time, it has the added advantage of aerating your lawn!

3 herbs to detox your liver

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January 9, 2010

Dinner Plate Dahlias

One of my garden’s big success stories this past summer was dinner-plate dahlias.  I have tried to grow a variety of dahlias for years with little to moderate  success, but for 2009, I tried a different growing approach and I enjoyed a bumper crop!

Dinner-plate dahlias definitely won most improved flower of the summer.

In the past,  I would plant the bulbs all around my garden, trying to fill in gaps, and not always in the sunniest spots.

But this year, I put all my dahlias in one spot – in full sun behind my garage. When I planted the bulbs I put tall, strong stakes in.  I also kept the plants well staked throughout the entire growing process. This proved to be the magic formula for the batch of bulbs I picked up at Costco.

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January 7, 2010

Window Boxes around Madison



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January 7, 2010

Summer Window Boxes



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November 30, 2009

Winter Window Boxes



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November 16, 2009

Ornamental Grasses

What looks good in the garden in November?  Grasses!

This is the 2nd week of November and the zinnias are long-gone; the last of the hosta leaves have been raked away; most of the perennials have died back and gone dormant for the winter; and the last of the lily bulbs’ stalks have been cut back.  But the grasses in my garden are still growing strong.  Such show-offs.  The fancy plumes on the top are poking through, making them actually look better than ever.

I personally overlooked grasses my first 5 years of gardening.  I did not garden at all with grasses in my first two gardens.  I first noticed and loved purple fountain grass.  It is an annual grass that my mother-in-law grew in her pots in RI, and I tried that one first.  It taught me the benefits of having an ornamental grass in the garden.  I love that particular grass and still grow it in my pots every summer, but it is no different than an annual because it is not hardy in my zone 5 garden.  Another annual grass I couldn’t live without in my pots each summer is King Tut grass.  This one was hard for me to find this past summer so I am trying to overwinter it inside this year as a house plant; will let you know in a future blog if that is successful.

IMG_2651I have successfully grown several varieties of grasses in my garden for years.  One of my favorites and a must-have for every garden is zebra grass.  I prefer the taller version.

Another grass I have successfully grown and would recommend is Variegatus Miscanthus, or Japanese Silver Grass.  This one can be a thug.  On the bright side, it will look full and established within just a few years.  It can then be divided for other parts of your garden or to share with friends.

My newest favorite grass is Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass.  It is like learning a new word.  I now see it everywhere and after asking about it, have planted several.

Another grass I have grown for winter interest in the view from my kitchen window is a pampas-like grass; it is very tall and the plumes move in the winter wind.  This variety is called Japanese switch grass.  I also have a friend who grows it as a hedge in the very back of their yard, and it provides nice privacy from the bike path.

There are even grasses that will grow in shade.  I have not grown the shade-loving ornamental Japenese forest grass myself, but see it again and again in gardening magazines and I just love it.  Another shade grass is Aureola Hakone Grass; it can be found at Jung Garden Center.

Why should you grow an ornamental grass in your garden?

  1. You won’t find a lower-maintenance plant.
  2. They make a great hedge for privacy or to create a dividing border.
  3. They are easy to grow.
  4. All sorts of varieties are out there:  shade or sun, poor soil, tall or wide or short.
  5. They are long-lasting and will look good for 3 solid seasons.

Grasses should not be overlooked as key tools in landscaping.  Not only can they provide a very nice hedge for privacy, but they also make a nice statement at the end of a garden bed, like a punctuation mark.  They also do a great job filling space and suppressing weeds.

Not a whole lot looks great in my yard right now, and the past week has been unusually warm for a typical November Wisconsin day.  So it has been fun hanging out on my outdoor couch with my kids, surrounded by the beauty of the tall grasses, and watching the plumes blow back and forth in the wind.

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