How To Grow Anthuriums Indoors
Name: Anthurium species and varieties, aka flamingo flower (or so I read…everyone I know just calls them “Anthuriums.”) Type of Plant: Herbaceous epiphytes that grow in tropical areas from Central to South America. The heart-shaped spathe that we call the flower is...
A New Year’s Television Detour
If you’re only here for the plants and gardening, skip this post. But on this New Year’s Day I’m looking at the offerings on selected television stations and thinking about what they are telling us about 2020. I’m looking at some listings for...
I Love The Long-Blooming Patrinia scabiosifolia
Name: Patrinia scabiosifolia aka patrinia Type of Plant: Long blooming perennial with upright flower stems that grow to about four feet tall. The flowers and their calyxes are a bright yellow. Why I Love/Hate this plant: I love patrinia because it’s easy to grow and...
Expectations and Mail Order Plants
(This piece was originally posted ten years ago on my first blog, Whole Life Gardening.) My first experience with mail order was in the mid-1950’s. In the back of my mother’s magazines I saw a small ad that read, “100 Dolls for $1.00!” A hundred dolls for only a...
I Love Billbergia nutans aka The Queen’s Tears
Name: Queen’s tears bromeliad, aka Bilbergia nutans, or friendship plant. Type of Plant: An epiphytic bromeliad native to South America. The shallow roots are used for anchoring the plant onto trees, so they don’t really need soil. Orchid bark is fine. Why I...
Vegan Nachos
Anyone who has ever dined with me knows that I’m an omnivore who eats more vegetables than anything else. But on my doctor’s advice I’ve recently gone dairy-free, so I’m always on the lookout for ways to make favorite dishes without cheese,...
I Love Norfolk Island Pine, aka Araucaria heterophylla
Name: Norfolk Island Pine aka, Araucaria heterophylla Type of Plant: Evergreen conifer that has a straight trunk and symmetrical branches…Native to Norfolk Island which is in the ocean almost equidistant from New Zealand and Australia, but these are not true pine...
I Hate Oriental bittersweet aka Celastrus orbiculatus
Name: Oriental bittersweet – aka Celastrus orbiculatus aka Chinese bittersweet or round-leaf bittersweet Type of Plant: A vine that has round or oval leaves and orange roots. This plant was brought to this country in the 1800’s as an ornamental vine because it has...
I Love Paperwhite Narcissus aka Narcissus papyraceus
Name: Paperwhite Narcissus aka Narcissus papyraceus Type of Plant: A fragrant variety of narcissus, bulbs that are easily forced and grown indoors at this time of year. Why I Love/Hate this plant: I love paper whites because they are fun to watch grow. In December,...