It’s been snowy and cloudy here for the last several weeks, every now and then we might see a peek of sunshine. Gotta love those Ohio winters! I’ve been waiting for a couple months for my amaryllis to bloom, and it’s finally in full bloom and looking very cheery in my laundry room window.

I love plants that bloom in the winter, they just make my day (or even week or month). I think the thing I have the hardest time with in winter is the lack of green outside my door, so it helps when there’s a little green inside …read more

Yesterday I talked a little about planning your container garden, today I want to talk a little more about container gardens, and link to a couple posts that I made about container gardens over the last couple years.

I wrote earlier this year about P Allen Smith’s Container Garden deck. I love some of the combinations and ideas in this deck. I’m planning to use some of them when I plan my container garden this summer.
You can even grow tomatoes in containers if you have limited space for a garden. This is great for gardeners who don’t have much sun, or …read more

I love having a couple well planned out container gardens every summer. I do most of my gardening right in the ground, but I love to plan out a few containers for my front and back porch steps. I usually go with a certain color scheme, or combination of colors. I love to change it up every year and do something a little different.

I usually throw a few herbs in with the flowers, because many help repel bugs and pests, but I can also step right outside the door to clip some fresh herbs.
I love using unusual containers, not just …read more

I can’t believe it’s the middle of February, well I guess I can since we’ve had over a foot of snow on the ground for about a week and a half now. With more falling right now. If I had something blooming in the garden, I’d never be able to find it, hah!
I was hoping my amaryllis would decide to burst into bloom for bloom day, but nope. It’s thinking about it. The stem shot up in a day or two, but it’s spent the last couple weeks filling out that bloom.

I’ll make sure I come back with photos as …read more

I planted an amaryllis bulb way back in October. I’ve been faithfully watering it every week and keeping an eye on it, but nothing happened. Until just a couple days ago I there was nothing green on the bulb except the stubs of a couple cut off leaves from a previous year’s growth.

I wrote it off as being a dud, and decided it wasn’t going to bloom. I thought maybe I’d just save it until the spring, then plant it out in the yard and leave it to fend for itself.
Then I was looking at one of my other plants …read more

I totally missed bloom day on the 15th this month! January has just flown by for me. I really don’t have much blooming here this month. It’s about the same as December’s garden blogger bloom day.

The only plant that’s blooming here is my geraniums. I have three, and they’re blooming in red, light pink, and hot pink right now.
I planted an amaryllis back in October but it’s just not doing much yet. This is the second year in a row I’ve tried forcing one, and not had much luck. I think next year I’ll try something different.
I have been busy …read more

You don’t have to throw out your Christmas cactus after the holidays, they’re a very pretty addition to your houseplant collection even when they’re not blooming.
Christmas cactus is not hard to care for, they just need a little indirect sunlight and a regular watering schedule. Christmas cactus is really more of a tropical plant than a true cactus, so they need to be kept above freezing temperatures.

After the holidays you should let your cactus rest through the winter months, keep the plant in a cool room, with indirect sunlight. Then in the spring you can prune or repot your cactus …read more

I have to admit, I keep my poinsettias long past their days of glory. Many years I’m buying a new one, and I still have my poinsettia from the year before growing in one of my windowsills.

I have a wonderful sunny window in the living room where I usually put my poinsettia, and the sunlight (and a little care from me) usually keeps my poinsettias looking good through the winter months. I always notice they start fading away in the spring no matter what I do.
I’ve never been successful at making them re-bloom. I’ve gotten a tiny red leaf or …read more

I can’t believe it’s actually December 16th already! I meant to post my December blooms yesterday for Garden Blogger’s Bloom day, then totally zoned out that it could be the 15th already. Christmas is a little over a week away! I still have a couple gifts to buy, looks like I’ll be shopping this weekend.
I do have a couple plants in my house blooming this month, not many. There’s nothing blooming outside any more. We’ve had some freezing cold days in the last couple weeks, with temperatures in the single digits (brrr!).
Here’s what’s blooming at my house in December.
I bought …read more

During the winter most houseplants go into a rest period caused by the short days and long nights. During the winter months most plants don’t grow or change much. It’s a good time to just let your plants rest, don’t fertilize them, just an occasional water or spritz with the sprayer to keep their soil moist will keep them happy.

I keep my houseplants on a once a week watering schedule. About once a month it’s also good to give them a good look over to check for any pests or bugs that may have found them. Look for telltale signs …read more