Give a living plant this year for long-term beauty It's almost Valentine's Day and you might be thinking of sending your loved one cut flowers - but wouldn't it be nice if you got the beauty of flowers but they lasted longer? There are several potted plants available at this time of year that would make a great Valentine's Day gift, especially if your loved one is a gardener :) 1. Cyclamen I love the looks of a cyclamen, but they can be … [Read more...]
Give Birds Water Not Ice in Winter: Unfreeze Your Bird Bath
Winter is here and the birds in your backyard are thirsty. Sure, they can get liquid from snow, but in order to process it, they have to warm it up. Birds have to expend precious calories and use the warmth of their bodies to melt the snow. When the temperature drops below freezing, how do you keep your bird bath from freezing over? Birds need fresh water even in the winter. Use these tips to keep your bird bath filled with water in liquid … [Read more...]
Yellow fungus in potting soil – the yellow houseplant mushroom
Have you ever seen a yellow fungus growing from the soil of one of your potted plants? You might be surprised to know that these yellow mushrooms aren’t uncommon. They won’t hurt your plant and they aren’t harmful to you. They’re just a small part of the ecosystem doing their job in a pot of soil that happens to be in your house (or in my case, in a plant on the front porch). The yellow houseplant mushroom (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) is a … [Read more...]
My Favorite Plant-It-And-Forget-It Flower: Black-eyed Susan
If you're looking for a plant-it-and-forget-it type of plant that still produces lots of flowers AND attracts pollinators, then look no further than the black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). This easy-to-grow wildflower is found throughout North America where you can find it alongside roads, in grassy openings and prairies, and even along the edge of forests. They bloom in mid to late summer through fall and vary in height from one foot to … [Read more...]
How to Help a Turtle Cross the Road
If you drive down a country road or through neighborhood street in the spring, you’re likely to see at least one turtle trying to cross the road and maybe even some that didn’t make it across the road. Sometimes you’ll even see them on big four-lane roads. It’s hard to see a turtle with his head and tail pulled back into his shell while cars go speeding past him. Several years back, I saw one such tiny turtle making slow progress across a … [Read more...]
Do you lichen me? Circle one (yes!)
In the fall and winter, I like to go lichen-hunting. The trees have lost their leaves and there isn’t much undergrowth, so it’s a lot easier to spot these frilly, hairy, fuzzy, and crusty organisms. There are so many shapes, textures, and colors of lichens to look at, it can take me hours to get down a trail. I once had a bicyclist whizz past me on a trail, only to come back a few seconds later, stop his bike, and say, “I have to know, what … [Read more...]
The Tiniest Among Us
When February arrives, I am tired of winter. Tired of the cold, dreary, gray days and tired of being stuck indoors (mostly because I can't stand to be cold, not because of any severe weather). This is when I need an escape. Enter a trip to warmer climates. Yay! Here I sit in my office chair with the remnants of a fading tan and memories of sunshine and blue skies with the sound of surf and turquoise waters. Thank you, Puerto Rico. The … [Read more...]
Indoor Gardening to Avoid the Winter Blues
Southern winters harbor a secret. Every once and a while, the long periods of gray skies, strong wind, and rain of a typical winter are punctuated by 24 hours of sinfully warm temperatures and sunny skies. These days are a much needed and appreciated break from the weariness of a dreary winter sky. It brings me so much joy. My green fingers itch on days like this. They want to turn the soil and plant seeds. But like our winters, … [Read more...]
A Flash Of Pink From the Car Window
Sundays after church, my dad would pile the family into the car and take us for a drive through the countryside just outside boundaries of the big city. We would see miles of delicate pink flowers lining the edges of the roads, the cracks in the sidewalk, and the banks of the hills. Pink evening primrose is one of the wildflowers of my childhood. Some people may call it a weed, but this plant holds a special place in my heart. When I see them … [Read more...]
Flowers of Belgium – A Walk in Bruges
There are lots of tiny gardens and planters or container gardens in the streets and alleys of Bruges, Belgium. Most of the streets and fronts and backs of the houses in the city center are lined with cobblestones or other paved material so there isn't a lot of greenspace. So the residents of this lovely city have taken to making every square inch of dirt count and added in lots of container gardens too. Here are some of my favorites from my … [Read more...]
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