Peperomia

This spring we visited IKEA in the Twin Cities.  On my way out I spotted a lovely house plant that caught my eye with its distinctive coloring and leaf texture.  It was a reasonable price and it hopped right into my cart!  No name on it, of course.  It turned out to be a prize house plant as it thrived with neglect, medium light conditions and fairly slow growth pattern.  It stayed attractive in size and leaves were always healthy looking while never drooping or looking withered from lack of moisture!  Finally, I found the name 'Peperomia' on a plant like this in a local store and made a note of it.

Recently I was in the Hort. Dept. at RCTC, our local college, and found a similar plant with red edges on the leaves and the leaves were more elongated than the one I have, but  no question that it belonged to the same family.  I asked what kind of plant it was and Robin said it was a 'Peperomia' so I quickly decided to take it home for only $5!  Then I went directly to my computer and started some research!  Wow!  Would you believe there are a 1,000 plants in this family!  Needless to say, I have a long list of rare ones that I'd love to have!   

My original plant Peperomia obtusifolia  'Golden Gate

My new plant  Peperomia' clusifolia 'Variegata'

  FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PEPEROMIA CLICK HERE!

Flowers blooming in January in MN

Wheee!  What fun!

While doing my gardening fun in "KJ's She Shed" this week, I noticed the first African Violet I purchased this late fall was now blooming again!  So, I guess I must be taking the right care of it and it is happy in it's new home!  Love it!  

I so appreciate seeing flowers blooming in my house! 

First one to rebloom for me!

April 2020 Spring Gardening Day

Yep, we are all set for our third annual Spring Gardening Enrichment experience!

Advertising is released, our Keynote Speaker "The Healing Power of Gardening" with Dr. Robert Stroebel of Mayo Clinic, an active gardener himself!

And then there is a choice of three breakout sessions out of 12 possible!  All gardening related for all levels of gardeners!   Yep, a welcome refreshment break to enjoy, a lunch furnished at noon, door prizes and the fun of 14 vendors of gardening related goodies to buy!  And then top that with the opportunity to meet and network with gardeners from SE Minnesota!  What a fun day to get our "gardening" started for 2020!

 Registration is thru our local Rochester Community Education Program and is established by a team of gardeners from Rochester Garden and Flower Club, Shades of Green Hosta Society of SE MN, Olmsted County Master Gardeners and the RCTC Horticulture Department!

Spring Plant Shopping!

I often blog about my trip with friends to plant shop during May into northern Iowa among the Mennonite garden centers!  We made a day of it, two of us to a car/van so we have room to bring home our treasures.  Not only is it fun there is a huge savings on the latest annuals and perennial.  It is not unusual to spend $100 and bring home $200 of plants at our local prices here at home.  So, treating our selves to lunch out and the cost of gas it is well worth it!  Not to mention the fun of shopping with other gardeners who a great job of enabling and helping share ideas of using what we find!

Last year two friends used our Community Education Program to head up two bus tour groups to this area for plant shopping!  Both trips sold out early and they are repeating them for 2020!   Here is the information if you are interested!

Winter Pot idea!

The other day I walked up to the building of my eye doctor and the Winter Pots by the door caught my eye!    They were so crisp looking and simple!  Good for all winter, not just the holidays!  They really made a statement!

I quickly took my phone out to catch the idea!  The white branches were a mix of white ones and shiny silver ones, which added to the crisp look!   So, this summer or fall I aim to collect some branches and spray some white and spray some silver to use in my winter containers!   I am still looking for a white lantern that can be lit also!  Hmmm... silver would work great also!  I'll  have to bake my handyman his favorite apple pie when I bring the lantern home for him to wire for electricity, and maybe paint, to add to the container also!  

New Year's Day Cyclamen

Our age is showing.... we celebrated New Year's Eve with our two cats and the TV! We did make it to the magic time to welcome in  2020!  But we did celebrate 2020 with a "Happy Hour" on New Year's Day at the home of friends at 2 PM! It lasted four hours of Happy Snacking, etc.!  Yes, we may not be party night owls but we know how to party in the daylight!
                                       
To my delight I received a belated birthday gift of a new plant!  I love cyclamens, often buying several in AZ for the porch!  They seem to just keep on blooming and so many varieties and colors!  They love the shade and need moisture to keep the blooms popping up!  This year I have coveting some new varieties in the garden centers that have a beautiful variation in the leaves!  Yep, my friend Barb  noticed them also and decided I needed one!  

The tag on it says "Metis Victoria" variety!  

We took the Christmas decor down this week so now I have this on the end table by "my chair" so I can enjoy it up close!  

House plants bring winter gardening fun!

My little kitchen table garden bed has grown by leaps and bounds with gifts from some friends and plants I just couldn't pass up!  

It has been a real joy during the day to dine at the kitchen table and enjoying these lovely miniature plants!  Some of them will grow up and need larger planters for sure.  And watering them every 2-3 days is a bit more attention then I'd like to provide so I may also be moving some of them into a miniature garden setting in a larger container also.  Something to do in January when winter boredom sets in!

Also being Denny had such nice success with his $5 amarylis from Walmart, I sent him back to pick up 5 more with plans to plant them in one larger pot for a bigger display and easier to cope with moving them outdoors to rejuvinate the bulbs this summer for next winter enjoyment.  A gardening project for him during January while they are growing and getting ready to blossom!

Are you considering getting more involved with house plants this winter?
You might want to check out the below link to check on the five easy house plants to care for:

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON HOUSE PLANTS:  5-easy-houseplants