Friday, January 15, 2016

January Update

Not too much going on outside these days, so I thought I'd share this little painting of a flowery front porch that I recently found at a consignment store.  It's such a cheery little canvas, so I have it propped up on my desk against several piles of books. It makes me feel oddly happy to look at it.

Hello everyone! Just checking in with a mid-January update, so you don't think I've totally disappeared. Now that the holidays are over and cold weather has finally caught up with us (after our strangely warm December), it's a good time to for me to hole up inside with a warm cat on my lap and a big pile of books.

Mostly I've been reading about sunrooms and conservatories, and about the plants that are commonly grown in them, as well as house plants in general. I'm still hoping to enclose my front porch into a sunroom this year, and I've been researching this and planning the layout and materials of the project, as well as thinking about the plants I'd like to grow in the sunroom. My collection of books on the subjects of conservatories, sunrooms, greenhouses and house plants has grown to nearly forty titles, and has provided me with many hours of research and dreaming.

This is a particularly inspiring book, filled with portraits
of drool-worthy plant-filled conservatories, garden rooms and
indoor oases, all in the US (not in England -- most books
about conservatories are published there).


Additionally, I've been adding to my house plant collection -- I honestly thought that the season for buying plants wouldn't start until April, but I discovered the world of house plants this fall. Yes, I've had a few indoor plants before, but I've been on somewhat of a binge for the past two months. It's amazing how many beautiful and interesting plants can be found at Lowe's, Walmart, Aldi and one of the local nurseries, and for incredibly reasonable prices. My husband is beginning to look askance each time I bring home a few more, and it's true that I do sometimes wonder where I will put them -- but I guess that's not so different than buying outdoor plants (except that I have five acres to plant in outside, and only a limited number of windows in my house...). 

Here are a few shots of my growing indoor gardens:

My latest acquisitions, from Wednesday's trip to town, which I haven't had a chance to repot yet. I found the beautiful Calathea on the left at Lowe's, the potted hyacinth and bulb vase at Aldi, and both the strangely textured Pilea 'Moon Valley' and alien-looking Hoya carnosa Hindu Rope at Walmart -- all at extremely reasonable prices.

I wanted to grow some plants on my kitchen windowsill, but it's less than three inches deep. So I bought a drawer organizer 15" long by 3" wide, and put mini plants in 2" pots that are intended for terrariums in it. About twice a week I put the pots in a flat-bottomed bowl and fill the bottom of it with warm water to water the plants. Eventually I will probably have to repot these and buy new mini plants, but it should tide me over for some time, giving me a little "mini garden" to look at when nothing is green or growing outside my window. 

My upstairs east window is becoming filled with several kinds of ferns (including an unusual Blue Star fern or Phlebodium aureum mandaianum at left), an Arabica coffee plant, an Artemisia and a little Ficus 'Curly Fig'.

OK, my husband may be somewhat justified in his concern. It should be obvious that I need a sunroom so
that our bedroom, with its south facing double window, can be freed from the plant takeover.

But isn't it beautiful? A closeup of the plant table, with Phalaenopsis orchids, the lovely pink and green Aglaonema and the
fascinating "ZZ plant" or Zamioculcas zamiifolia at right with its shiny architectural leaves.

I think being able to focus on indoor plants has made this winter easier for me so far. I know we've had an unusually warm and easy winter (until the bitterly cold recent temperatures), but compared to last year, when I was thoroughly ready for spring on December 26th, I feel much less desperate for spring's green growth and flowers.

Now I just need to find a few more spots for some plants.... I am getting ready to repaint our upstairs bathroom in an all-white scheme in order to maximize the north light in that room. The ferns would love the higher humidity in there. I'll post photos of the before-and-after when I've finished the project. 

And I'm thinking of making a terrarium or two, and trying to figure out how to transform a fish tank that I found at Goodwill into a Victorian-style Wardian Case like the one in the photo below:

This lovely Wardian Case was sold by
Lee Valley and Veritas (although it seems not to be
available any longer). But I want to make one for
around $20, not the $200-$400 that they sell for online.
I'll share my results if I succeed.


Anyway, that's what I've been up to recently. I hope you are enjoying some winter projects as well, and keeping warm too! (Sunday is forecast to stay below o°F all day here, and get down to -11°F [-24°C] at night.... Brrr.)

Thanks for reading! -Beth

20 comments:

  1. You have a lot of wonderful plants in your house, Beth. I have a few but we don't have good light. I absolutely love your mini garden in the drawer organizer. What a great idea -- I'll be copying that! P x

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    1. Hi Pam, I'm glad you like the mini garden -- I'll look forward to seeing what yours looks like if you make one. Thanks for reading! -Beth

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  2. My goodness, that porch painting is beautiful. I want to redecorate my porch with brighter accessories this spring.
    Your indoor plants are all lovely, beautiful adornment for your home. I can't wait to see what you decide about your front porch conversion.

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    1. Janice, I look forward to seeing your redecorated porch this spring. Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  3. Hello Beth. Thank you for visiting my blog. I've replied to your comment and query about the shrub with the yellow flowers that you saw in one photo. It will be good when you can construct a sun room so that you can display your impressive collection of indoor plants. I'm pleased that my husband completely covered our side yard so that it's now a conservatory, a place to sit in during warm weather and an extension of the garden for growing and storing plants. Staying indoors reading your books on gardening sounds like a good idea with such cold weather.

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    1. Hi Linda, I'm happy to hear that you get so much use and enjoyment from your conservatory -- I'm sure you can grow many beautiful plants in it. Thanks for your encouraging words about my project, and for reading. -Beth

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  4. So good to hear from you here in Sachse, TX, a suburb of Dallas, where we are having highs in the 60's one day and the highs in the 40's the next. I know, we are whimps. None the less, winter time dreaming of the coming spring is a fun thing to do. Love the upcoming before and after of bath room and the conversion of your porch to a sunroom.
    I saw the hyacinth at Aldi's but (as a newbie gardener) didn't know if you were supposed to keep it in the vase as a newbie or put it in the ground eventually.
    Thanks for the January report. Enjoy your plant search!

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    1. Hi Kim, Welcome, and thanks so much for visiting! I'm sure your weather in the Dallas area would feel warm to me, but highs in the 40s probably feel pretty chilly to you! As far as the Hyacinth, you should leave it in the glass to bloom indoors. They can be planted outside after blooming, but they don't usually bloom as well after the first year (unlike daffodils), and I'm not certain that it gets cold enough in your area to give it the winter chill it requires before blooming again. But you could buy pre-chilled bulbs next autumn (as many southerners do) and use the Aldi glass again for those. (Or just enjoy it once.) Thanks again for stopping by! -Beth

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  5. Oh that would be awesome to have a sunroom! You have an impressive amount of houseplants - I love your little mini plant garden!! I wish I could have more houseplants, but sadly one of my cats chews on anything green. But with all the warm weather we've had, my desperation for spring green has been not quite as bad this winter so far, and I'm tiding myself over with plant catalogs. We'll see how it is by February...

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    1. Hi Indie, I understand about the cats -- I have one who looks interested in the plants and occasionally nibbles a bit, but mostly leaves them alone. I've been careful not to bring home anything that's seriously toxic (my husband is a cat vet, so I'm aware of the short list of really deadly poisonous plants for cats, but the ones that merely make them throw up or feel sick for a short time I just try to put up a bit higher...). I hope you are getting along well in the January cold, and derive many hours of enjoyment from the exciting and tempting catalog offerings! Thanks for reading, -Beth

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  6. Hello Beth! I just love all your indoor plants and they all look so happy and healthy! I was interested to see that you bought a Hoya recently. I just got a couple for my porch recently as they seem such fascinating plants so I will see how they do. I know you say there is not much to look at from your windows but honestly the view from your kitchen across that wide open landscape is just beautiful! I loved the little painting and also that indoor garden book. It will be so exciting to see your porch plans come to fruition and its lovely to have something to plan towards during the winter months. Thank you so much for sharing the photos of your lovely home!
    - Kate

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    1. Hi Kate, thanks for your kind words. I'm interested in finding out more about Hoya plants -- I'd love to see yours, especially if it blooms. Thanks for stopping by! -Beth

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  7. The only houseplant I have is a Christmas cactus that blooms every Thanksgiving. But if I had a sunroom it would be packed with plants! I love your little caladiums. :o)

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    1. Hi Casa, I found a Christmas cactus too before the holidays, but mine's pretty small. I'm sure yours must be very impressive. Thanks for reading! -Beth

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  8. Now that is a collection of houseplants...wow! I can see why you want to enclose your porch.

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    1. Thanks, Donna. I hope it will work out that we're able to do the project. Thanks for stopping by! -Beth

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  9. Hi Beth. I got a terrible case of cabin fever this time last year and visited Walmart's garden shop and bought lots of plants. They survived the winter and went outside for the summer. Brought them in this winter but many haven't adjusted well to the indoors. Of the ones that are doing well, the best of the bunch is the hoya. I have two huge plants that don't seem to mind the central heat and the decreased sunlight. They go into the bathtub every two weeks and get a shower. I see you have the curly hoya in your collection. You will love it.

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    1. Hi Roses, I'm sorry to hear that your house plants haven't all adjusted that well to coming back inside. I hope they get used to the heat and dryness and perk up soon. Thanks for reading! -Beth

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  10. Beth, you will definitely put a greenhouse to good use! I am the worst indoor gardener, just dreadful, but mostly because I have so few south-facing windows in the hut here. (And stained glass everywhere else.) I can't wait to see what type of sunroom you decide on eventually. :-)

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    1. Hi Karen, Thanks for your encouraging words -- I hope the sunroom happens this year. I'm sure you must have beautiful color everywhere in your house because of all the stained glass that you make, and it must be beautiful! Thanks for stopping by, -Beth

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