Inside Greens

My garden life in the winter is pretty much focused on my houseplants and flowering winter bulbs. I'm happy to report my slow-poke amaryllis is finally growing and even the one I found hidden in the basement is starting to sprout green leaves. My big bowl of paperwhites are fading, but they have provided a cheery and fragrant presence during the dreary month of January. I like to have some sweet smelling plants in the winter, and I'm happy I brought inside my scented geranium from the summer. It's doing really well, and I will be able to take some cuttings in the spring for new plants.  

Window Views~~ September

Winter Blooms

Well, my Christmas cactus is blooming right on schedule--during Thanksgiving week. Mine always seems to bloom early, no matter what I do, which means I will probably buy another Christmas cactus when I am in the nursery next time (because I can't resist them) and that's why I have so many Christmas cactus in my house. My new amaryllis arrived on Saturday from White Flower Farm, so I quickly unpacked it and watered it and put it in a sunny window. I'll keep you posted.

It's a busy week getting ready for Thanksgiving. I spent yesterday cleaning the house and cleaning the refrigerator, making room for the turkey and all the other food that is starting to make its way into the house. I think I've been to the grocery store every day for the past five days.

It's really really cold here right now, and we had lots of wind yesterday. My Japanese Maple was so pretty this fall, good thing I took this picture of it last week, as I think all the leaves are down now. There's not much of interest to take pictures of outside right now. We need some snow to pretty things up!

Obsessed With Wardian Cases

Image via Pinterest

One of these days I am going to get myself a Wardian Case. I keep browsing Pinterest and online, searching for just the perfect one. I would really like a freestanding one, like the one above, but maybe the tabletop ones are more practical?  I would love to plant mine with some ferns, mosses, and begonias. I can tell summer is coming to an end because I am getting interested in house plants again. My sister had an interesting ruffled fern at her house and now I may have to look for that...

Antique Wardian Case,  Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pottery Barn

The case below is one I always look for when we visit the U.S. Botanic Gardens in D.C.  They move it around and change it up periodically so you have to hunt for it. But I always find it and I always start thinking about Wardian cases again.

Fiddle Leaf Fig

Well the last thing in the world I need is another houseplant, but I couldn't resist this dwarf fiddle leaf fig plant the other day while browsing around the greenhouse at Merrifield on a rainy day. Fiddle leaf figs (ficus lyrata) are apparently very big right now, as I see them everywhere, in magazines and on HGTV, and on home design blogs. They have very large, oversized leathery leaves and are very architectural plants. I do like them, but thought they were way too big for my house, as they are really small trees. Where am I going to put that? But when I saw this cute little specimen that was marked 'dwarf,' I thought, well I can work with that. And now I love my little fiddle leaf fig. Let's just hope it really is a dwarf--we'll see.

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

Oops!

So this is what happens when you forget to water a button fern. Crispy. And dead. I hate when I do that.

Obsessed With Ferns

Bird's Nest Fern

I am kind of obsessed with this bird's nest fern right now. I saw it at Merrifield a few weeks ago, and I didn't buy it, because the very last thing I need is another houseplant. But I keep thinking about it.  I love love love those ruffled edges.  Yes please. And then looking at this one made me start looking at my other ferns,  so here for your Thursday morning enjoyment are some of my gorgeous ferns. The first few are maidenhair ferns, their delicate lacy ferns were a favorite of my dear friend Patty, and I always grow a few for her.

And I love the dark glossy buttons of this button fern. They love water and are not very forgiving if you forget about them, so every few months or so mine crisps up and pretends to be dead. But if you cut it totally back and water it, new growth comes back and in a month or so it is back to life. This one is looking good right now. Until the next time it dies.

And of course I have to show my oldest and dearest fern (36 years old now!!), which is still going strong.  It is looking kind of crazy here, so it's probably time to divide it and get in under control.  If you are interested, you can read about its history here.

Poinsettia Dilemma

Every year comes the problem, how long do I keep my poinsettias? I know this is a huge dilemma I face, but I have a lot of houseplants, and I don't need another five or six plants to take care of.  I used to keep them around for months, but I always ended up throwing them away at some point, so why even bother?  They get long and leggy, and I have never had one re-bloom. So my rule is to keep them through the month of January and then out they go.  I usually take them outside, dump them in a corner of the garden, and use a shovel to chop them up a little bit. Poinsettias are for Christmas in my book. Now Christmas cactus are another matter...

Christmas Cactus

I've been watching my Christmas cactus for signs of life, and I am just beginning to see some buds. I usually stop watering my Christmas cactus at the end of summer, let them go dormant, and then watch them for the new tiny buds. It's kind of amazing these cycles that plants have. So it looks like I'll have Thanksgiving cactus again this year. I have a hanging Christmas cactus that I put outside all summer, and then I keep it in the garage in the fall until it starts to set buds, which is also happening now. Meanwhile, my amaryllis is resting in the dark and cool basement, gathering up its strength, and in 8 weeks I will bring it out and hope for flowers in January.

Button Ferns and Paris

Planting button fern in Paris, 1974

As I was watering my indoor plants the other day,  I started thinking about which plants are my favs. I have several kinds of ferns that I like, but if I had to pick one it would be my button ferns (pellae rotundifolia). They are a very graceful small fern, with dark green button-like leaves. The first button fern I ever had was when I lived in Paris in graduate school. I planted it in an old yogurt pot that I had brought back from Turkey after visiting Tom and Evie in Istanbul. So many times I have wished I still had that pot! Anyway, since then I have always had one or two button ferns. They need frequent watering and I can't tell you how many times I have found one all shriveled up. But fortunately, they are great rebounders, so you can cut them all the way back and new growth always comes up and in a month or so it is a happy plant again.

Maidenhair ferns getting a drink

Button fern

Button fern

Creamy Whites

It's such a dreary day outside today, so I thought I'd come inside and show off my beautiful white orchid (it's a Phalaenopsis).  I love the creamy color and texture of this orchid, I just want to take a bite out of it. This is an old orchid, it must be ten years old by now. I have two other orchids,  so I usually have at least one blooming sometime during the year. What I like about orchids is that they bloom for such a long time. My last one bloomed from February through September of this year. I water them once a week, and fertilize every other watering.