Turtles!

Or, rather, Turtlehead a great fall perennial!

At last I am enjoying some Turtlehead blooms!  I've had a problem in the past with this plant not growing for me.  Maybe I found it's happy spot this time!  It is definitely part shade along the fence in back of the house!  It gets a bit of sun maybe early morning from the East and then again in  the afternoon  from the west. It snuggles up near a favorite climetis so maybe it likes its neighbor?  Whatever, I've really enjoyed the gentle pink blooms now for about 4 weeks in Sept. when most of my perennials have made their annual visit and said "goodbye until next year".  This one is just outside the bedroom window so I get to visit it twice a day when I am opening or closing the blinds!

I recall picking this one up at our annual garden club plant sale in the spring and it was only marked "pink turtlehead" so I do not know the variety.  I am hoping the same person donates a few more plants of it this coming spring so I can get a few more to sprinkle in along that fence.

For more information about Turtlehead CLICK HERE!

A Day of Gardening Enrichment!

Yep, one this fall even!  Our garden club arranged one and it was a lovely Saturday spent networking and learning some new gardening tricks and information!  Although I am not "into Herbs" the keynote speaker was inspiring and the most interesting speaker I've experienced on this topic!

Then three breakout sessions followed with lunch tucked in there and time to visit the vendors that were there!  One of the speakers shared some exciting tips on creating outdoor planters for the fall season which can extend to Thanksgiving!  So, that's 2 1/2 months to change up our tired summer displays out there!  I was scheduled to help Ginni do a "make and take" Kokedama breakout session, which we did two sessions of!  That was  fun adventure!  Ginni is such a talented artist so her creative arrangement and planters are so inspiring!  Oh, I also won a nice door prize, a full grown Purple Fountain Grass, perfect to pop into a planter that was holding some tired looking petunias!

Yep, I ended up getting reinspired to do Kokedama gardening so have several gift ones to put together now to share the fun with friends, etc!  I guess the 5 I made ahead to display ideas at the class will find homes in my indoor garden beds, etc. Some I designed to hang so they won't take up much space!   But, I couldn't resist buying myself a lovely new fern to "ball up"!  (more about that one later)

My winter garden bed for the West Window!

WOW!

It sure didn't take long for me to start filling in this garden bed!  The lowest shelf holds two succulent fairy gardens that should enjoy a longer life this year!  Usually I've just had to compost these in the fall, growing them as annuals, due to snowbirding south for three months!  So, they will make the transition to indoors quite well and I did a good job of killing any critters that had been visiting them outdoors.  I noticed last year that even without care while I was gone several cactus plants survived the winter, so... I am looking forward to keeping these growing and saving a bit more $ in the spring!   

I've discovered Home Depot and WalMart have been stocking up their house plant departments with tons of fresh and nicely priced plants!  When I can buy a nice size indoor plant for only $2.93 I just couldn't pass them up!  I only have one African Violet so far, because I had just found a bargain container for only $3 and the perfect color violet for it for only $3.98 at Home Depot!  I still have room to add a variety of African Violets yet!  I found two unusual ferns, variety is the spice of life!  Also I've selected a variety of plant shapes to keep it interesting. 

And I can have the fun of swapping out the different varieties throughout the house all winter!  I already shifted two indoor fairy gardens from the kitchen table into here and some new plants (one coffee plants in an adorable coffee cup) into the kitchen for a change!

Now I need to find some bargain containers also! Maybe I should pick out a variety of violet flowers colors and then look for the containers to compliment the plants?  Need to add some color!    I tried a few mini rose plants but they were not happy right away so ended up in the garbage can within 10 days!  Seems like that is a familiar experience from the past?   

One of my winter indoor garden beds!

This is the garden bed in the south window of "my dressing room"!

Well, it didn't take long to pull out 20 of the annual plants in my Fairy Gardens that I want to winter over indoors this winter!  This rack held some of my fairy gardens on my deck and fit just right by this south window!  I've had plants growing well in this spot in the past, so..... I will  see if I have to add a grow light or two as time goes on.  Meanwhile the indoor temp is about what the outdoor temp is right now and they were growing in a part shade environment so my theory is they would adjust quickly.  Time will tell!  They are all indoor plants normally or lower zone plants that won't survive the MN winter even in the garage.

Most of them are ferns, a few low growing ground cover type plants, a vine I usually use on a miniature garden size trellis, and a lower zone one that I manipulate into a flowering tree.  All of these were split into smaller plants, placed into fresh new potting soil and debugged with insecticide!  

I used some of these plants for the Kokedomas I made also.  This would sure save me some $ in the spring if this works as well and give me a fun project for winter!  Gee, I think I can even hang a few small Kokedamas on this!

Kokedama!

What's a Kokedama?    Fun is what it is!

Several years ago I attended a class on making a Kokedama, with 2 other gardening friends, using a mini orchid plant!  It was fun, mine didn't live long but the others did for quite awhile!   Kokedama is a interesting way to grow and display a plant using a Japanese method.  Kokedama is a method of growing a plant in a moss ball and can be hung or displayed on a platform/container. Very attractive and interesting!

Recently, Ginni, one of our trio, decided to do a "Make and Take Kokedama Event" for a workshop put on by our garden club!  Ginni has continued to make these and even has earned some ribbons at the MN State Fair!  So when Ginni asked me to assist her,  I agreed!  It is getting close to the time to do this so I decided I'd better brush up on how to make one!  While I was potting up some Fairy Garden plants to bring in for my winter garden project, it seemed a good opportunity to experiment and see what I remembered!  I stopped at a florist to get some Sheet Moss and looked up a recipe for the soil to use!  Denny has a handy supply of fishing line to use....and presto!

What fun I had!  In no time at all I had made three of them and became pretty excited about this upcoming workshop!  Here are two of my quick creations:

I decided to just do a display with these!

Now I can't wait to help out at the workshop!  These would make some awesome gifts!  Check this video out and consider having some fun!  It is quick to do and fairly inexpensive!  We figure the cost for this workshop will be less than $10 a Kokedoma!

Video on how to make a Kokedama CLICK HERE

What does a front door plant container tell about the home owner?

Interesting question?   

Well, this planter is at the front door of a very friendly gardener who is always willing to share excitement and information about the fun she has gardening!  She has an awesome fun sense of humor and enthusiasm for exploring and enjoying the wonderful world of growing plants and trees!

Lucky is the person who gets acquainted with her and experiences her gardening world!  I met Mary Ann many years ago while searching for some gardens for our Annual Garden Tour!  We visit frequently on Facebook sharing pictures, humor and friendship! We even visit each others gardens on occasion!

This visit included the gardening friend who introduced us, a truly wonderful visit!

Welcome to "Figgy", "Polly's" new companion!

"Figgy" came home with me today from Home Depot!

The boys gave him a welcome sniff and strolled away calmly accepting him to our family!  Polly actually cuddle up nicely and together they are making a nifty looking team! 

I was shopping for some insecticide when I noticed this huge display of new large plants and just had to stop to explore them!  As I was considering if a Fiddle-leaf Fig would be happy in my living room window next to Polly, a nice younger woman was also giving them some examinations.  So, as usual for me, I asked her if she was familiar with them and she responded she has 5 and is being tempted by these to add another one to her home!  So, as we continued our conversation she agreed to help me pick out a good specimen while she was doing the same thing!  Needless to say, I left with lots of confidence with "Figgy" in my cart!  Nice big plant for only $19!  (Well, I also picked up a beautiful african violet, but more about that in another post!)  And, my new friend left with my personal business card with the garden club website listed on it because our conversation drifted to that subject also!  ahem.....

  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FIDDLE-LEAF FIG PLANTS