Container Garden

Why hello there, if there's anyone still reading this blog... I've been away for a stretch. I wasn't really growing anything so I sort of fell away from this blog a bit. Sorry about that. One of the plants from before the absence continues to thrive, though sadly the others were unable to tolerate my poor indoor gardening skills, and I've been magically keeping a little cactus-like plant going for the past few years... Actually that one might've been featured on here before my disappearance... It decided to grace me with the presence of beautiful pink flowers this year!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. I decided to have a container garden this year because I wanted to grow my own fresh herbs and a few vegetables and fruits but there is a ton of work going on around the house that would inevitably destroy any ground garden I might try to plant... plus Topper loves to dig and a traditional garden would just be too tempting for his little paws to resist.

This year's garden consists of 1 mild jalapeño plant, a patio tomato plant, a sweet pepper plant, basil, thyme, rosemary, dill, parsley, chives, mint (it is soooo good in my mojitos because it's so fresh), oregano, catnip (Nellie insisted), and a potted lime tree. The lime tree has 3 decent sized limes growing on it so far and a bunch of baby limes I'm hoping will turn into grownup limes that can be used in my drinks and cooking. Check out a little collage of the "garden":

I sure love spending time out there!

The Plants have been Identified

I have finally identified all 5 of the plants received in the basket at my Aunt Thomasene's funeral and can now find the best way to care for them so they may live on.  Hopefully my elusive "green thumb" makes an appearance for these little gems.

First, we have the Peace Lily.  More on how to care for this beautiful plant in a later post.

Next, we have the Heart Shaped Philodendron.  A reportedly easy plant to care for.  We shall see.

Now, the Dracaena, or "Spike" plant. More on this one later.

The Areca Palm, located behind the former "mystery plant".  It's the one that looks like a bunch of tiny palm trees.

Last, but certainly not least, the Coffee Plant.  This little beauty was the last plant in my list of plants to identify, mostly because the other 4 were relatively easy to figure out.  I had to call in an expert for this one and a friend suggested that I submit a request to Ask Judy at http://www.houseplant411.com/askjudy.  She is a really nice lady and helped me identify plant #5.  More to come on how to care for it as it grows.

Thanks for reading and come again soon.  I'm also starting an indoor herb garden and will be moving/repotting these 5 plants in the coming weeks as I get settled in to my new place.

Help! I need to identify these plants!

If you know your houseplants (and common condolence basket plants), please comment to assist me in identifying and caring for these ones. I am going to separate them soon because I doubt they share the same needs and really want them to thrive.  So far I think I have a peace lily identified... just not sure what its needs are and the internet tends to have conflicting ideas.

 

Thank you.  As I find identification and care instructions for the plants, I'll start posting them.

What's the deal, Phil?

The giant rodent in Punxsutawney must have been mistaken when he didn't see his shadow and told us Spring was just around the corner. After all, he is a weatherman of sorts, so a strikingly inaccurate prediction is really not very surprising. We will have to see how the weather fairs over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully it warms up and we can start gardening once again.

Patience is a virtue and I will continue to try being virtuous until the weather improves enough to get back into the garden. My excitement for picking the first basket of peas and other fresh veggies is continuing to grow. Hopefully Mother Nature plays nice and gives us some fabulous garden weather.

Is it Spring yet???

I am so ready to get back into the garden! Hopefully Phil was right and Spring is just around the corner. This winter weather has got to go.

Thanks for the hope, Phil!

I generally don't take any weather forecast seriously, regardless of whether it is delivered by human or rodent... but I must admit that I hope the weather-predicting critter commonly known as Punxsutawney Phil was correct. Ladies and gentlemen, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning and, delightfully, that means Spring should be just around the corner.

As I despise winter weather, news of Phil's missing shadow was fantastic. If his shadow's invisibility is correct, winter should be over soon! I'm very excited to get Garden 2011 started, so bring on the warm weather!

Thanks Santa!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. Mine was lovely. Dinner was tasty, and my family shared a few laughs while opening our presents. All in all, it was a nice day.

As usual, "Santa Claus" spoiled me again this Christmas. :) Among my awesome new gifts was the AeroGarden7 I wanted. Not only did I receive the garden system, but 2 seed pod kits, spare bulbs, and the dressing/marinade blender as well! Now I just have to decide what to grow first and where to put my cool new garden. :)

Check back soon to hear more about my new little garden and see pictures of the plants' progress (once I start the first kit). I'm so very excited to start growing the indoor garden!

By the way, the picture in this post is of my umbrella plant, Herman. Sitting down for the holiday festivities, I noticed he had some new growth. It was so cute and little, I had to take a picture. :) By the way, yes, I name my house plants... I also have Gerardo the palm tree and Chloe the clover in the living room. I haven't named the new Christmas pine just yet.