Pothos (Epipremnum)

Pothos (Epipremnum) is a beautiful, low maintenance house plant that with white or yellow variegated leaves, or the leaves can be solid green.  It is commonly called devil's ivy or variegated philodendron.   My pothos is about 10 years old.  It grew nicely until we moved to our last house where no plants wanted to grow indoors.  I struggled for 4 years to keep him alive and I do mean struggle. 

Repotting Houseplants and Starting Seeds

It's that time of year!  Spring is just around the corner and with our ADLF quickly approaching it is time to start seeds.  I have been busy repotting all of my houseplants into self-watering pots.  I really do like the pots!  The larger self-watering pots for the floor plants are only $7.47 at Wal-Mart which is rather inexpensive compared to some of the regular pots that size (12 - inch).   I

Talk to Your Plants

Years ago as a newlywed way back when terrariums were all in vogue there was a movement encouraging talking to your plants to stimulate healthy growth.  Some likely thought that this idea was a sure sign of an unhinged gardener heading to the confines of a padded cell but you know talking to plants has a lot of merits.  I talk to my plants even name some of them.  The benefits of talking to

Using Fertilizers

Yesterday I discussed what fertilizers are and understanding the numbers on the label.  If you recall, fertilizers are either organic or inorganic and are labeled with the N-P-K content but some may also include the S content in the form of N-P-K-S.  It is important to choose a fertilizer based on the plant's needs.  If you want a nice, bushy plant with lush greenery, choose a fertilizer high in

Tips for Using Self-Watering Planters

Using self-watering planter for houseplants, on the patio or deck and in the garden makes a lot of sense.  They result is healthier, stress-free plants that are better equipped in warding of disease and infestations.  I have been busy repotting all of my houseplants and starting planted pots for outdoors using self-watering planters.  Here's a few tips for using self-watering planters:
size of

Why Use Self-Watering Planters?

There is a wide range of self-watering planters available or you can make your own.  Basically a self-watering planter consists of two chambers.  The upper chamber is the potting chamber.  There is a series of slits in the bottom of the upper chamber allowing water to be drawn from the lower chamber (water reservoir) by the plant roots using capillary action.  There is some type of hole at the

Arboricola Bush in EEZY-GRO Self-Watering Planter

Arboricola Bush(Umbrella Plant)
One of our local grocery stores was selling gorgeous floor plants in 10" pots for $9.99 so I bought a few.  Plants breath life into a room but at the same time help clean the air so they should be included in every room of the house.  Floor plants are wonderful for adding that extra touch without spending a lot of money. Pictured is the Arboricola bush I bought

Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata 'Bostoniensis')

Boston Fern(Nephrolepis exaltata 'Bostoniensis')
I have had a Boston fern in every home we have had.  My oldest Boston fern was acquired during our early newlywed days, moved with us from Ontario to Alberta and back, then graced our first four owned homes.  It had a long, long history and really was more like a family member.  I was devastated when it failed to thrive at our last house.  As

Houseplants and Watering Globes

Dollarama is likely quite happy with me!  I discovered their watering globes back in May of 2010 and have been experimenting with them ever since.  We spend upwards of five weeks at a time away from our permanent residence to enjoy our vacation home.  That leaves the dilemna of houseplant watering.  In our case, this is not a huge issue as our kids look after the house while we are away but I'm

Mother-in-Law's Tongue (Sansevieria)

Sansevieria

Sansevieria is commonly called Mother-in-Law's Tongue.  It is a good air purifier that removes toxins such as formaldehyde, xylene and toulene all of which can occur in homes with laminate flooring, panelling, other manmade wood composite building materials, carpeting and upholsteried furniture.  The release of these chemicals is known as off-gassing, something quite common in

My First New Houseplant at Our New Home

First New Houseplant at Our New HomeOctober 12, 2011

The beauty of houseplants is aside of adding life and vitality to a room while softening the hard edges of the room is they can be used to camouflage those little room idiosyncrasies that can be a bit annoying.  When the Bell satellite television installer ran our lines he made the assumption we would place the television in the corner thus

Houseplant Problem at Our Last House

I have always had an abundance of houseplants in every home we've lived in.  I do mean an abundance too, with houseplants in pretty much every room.  Houseplants are a wonderful natural way to soften a room, bring interest and life into a room and improve air quality.  Our last hose was horrid for houseplants and yet I never did figure out what the problem was.  I honestly believe the house was

Waterball Garden Update

Waterball Garden UpdateJuly 16, 2010
Last month I posted on setting up a waterball garden using polyacrylamide decorative gel.  The waterballs had a wonderful, whimsical look so I used them to set up three vases of cuttings.  The gel works well and I have no complaints as far as starting non-edible plant cuttings.  They are quite pretty at first.  Pictured to the right are the crystal balls fully

Watering Globe Update

I posted back in mid-May about the automatic watering globes I bought.  I thought these would be a nice water management tool especially for indoor use.  I've had a chance to use the watering globes for almost 2 months now so thought I would report back on my experience.   The watering globes are very easy to use.  You simply fill them then insert into the planter.  However I did find that the

My Waterball Garden

[Please note that this is not a paid post.  I am not being compensated by JM Chemicals but rather sharing a neat product I found with you.] 

We went to a couple of fleamarkets while on vacation.  It's a great way to spend the morning and  you never know what you will find.  Quite often there is one or more booths selling plants and there are always a few booths selling fresh local produce.  Well

Tropical Dome at The Mitchell Park Conservatory

If you have been following this blog you will know that I have highlighting our visit to the Mitchell Park Conservatory (The Domes) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The last dome we visited was the tropical dome. Unlike the show and desert domes, the tropical dome was blissfully warm and humid. It was wonderful walking through enjoying the sights and sounds. Many tropical plants make wonderful

Let the Fun Begin!

It's that time of year folks! Time to get all the seed packets in order, start seedlings indoors and get your hands dirty. It's also a good time to rejuvenate and start houseplants. Let the fun begin!Seeds Everywhere!I admit it, I'm just a little behind on starting my seeds indoors but only by a few days. Yesterday was sunny and a balmy 63ºF so that spurred me into action. Unfortunately the

Vegetation & Gardening in Las Vegas

Our winter vacation was spent in Las Vegas, Nevada. We stayed at the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street in the downtown core area. While the main attractions in Las Vegas are entertainment and gambling, the area offers so much more. As always we rented a vehicle for sight seeing.Las Vegas lies in the northern region of the Mojave Desert, a desert that is hot and dry with little precipitation,

Don't Throw Out That Poinsettia!

This doesn't look all that much like a poinsettia but it is a left over one from last year. It had special meaning so I decided to try saving it. I'm not sure if any red will appear this year but the plant is alive and thriving.Once the holiday season was over, I removed the foil cover from the pot and gave the plant a good watering then kept it moist but not wet. After a couple of weeks it