Clearing the Air with Indoor Plants
Indoor plants can decorate your home, add a signature touch and purify the air as well!
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Autumn Colors in the Landscape
Many plants continue to put on a show during the cooler days of fall
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Back to the Greenhouse

It is back to school for me as well, this time I am nearing the finish. Classes for this semester include Nursery Production and Interiorscapes. Lots of propagation and a wealth of information about houseplants.

My work study position involves the care of the department’s interior plants, so many of them will be featured here. The first section of Interiorscapes covered the Dracaena family and those of Sansevieria. Snake plants and Lucky Bamboo are easy care interior plants, once a few rules are learned and followed.

Those of the Draceana family are often sent to other parts of the country after being started in Florida nurseries. They tolerate neither direct sun not fluoride in their water. Actually, established Draceana prefer limited water during the winter, but will reward you by surviving in conditions one might not expect.

Cordyline terminalis, a member of the Draceana family, is a tropical and exotic specimen! If you are considering a new houseplant this year, take a look at this one!

Next week we are studying the Ficus, I never knew there are so many kinds. If anyone has comments or questions, please share them here!

Upcoming Changes to this Blog
I am thinking of adding a forum here and am also looking into a giveaway to feature on this blog! Please share with your friends and stay tuned!

Photos are current blooms in my garden, the four o’clocks are still putting on a show!

Brugmansia Blooms

Our Angel’s Trumpets are finally blooming, noticed first blooms a couple days ago. They are blooming later than normal, possibly because of the unusually cold winter past.

The woolly worms have invaded and are having a nice meal off the toxic leaves; we spent much of yesterday removing damaged leaves and picking off the wooly little pests, which range in color from orange to black.

Have to do more research to see what appropriate action is next. If anyone has knowledge of or can identify this little fuzzy in the photo, please let me know, it will speed things up for me!

Volunteer in the Flowerbed

The volunteer that I talked about in an earlier post turns out to be a cantaloupe; we have four growing melons on the vine now, as it continues to expand in my flowerbed. Guess it will be a tasty treat, but the dahlia does not like being used as a support.

Anyone else having a good experience with a volunteer in the garden?

Plant a Colorful and Vibrant Autumn Flower Garden
As summer blossoms fall by the wayside, create a beautiful fall garden that will last until frost arrives!
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This Blog Nominated for Blogger Award, Thanks!

I was surprised yesterday to find my blog nominated for The Versatile Blogger award. I was nominated by fellow garden writer Glory Lennon, whose fascinating blog, Glory’s Garden, is a daily must-read for me.

To participate I am told to post seven things about me that may not be commonly known and to provide a list of my favorite blogs for nomination. Awesome!

Seven things about me:
1. I am a student in Horticulture
2. I returned to school to learn and more accurately write about this subject
3. I am a Certified NC Pesticide Applicator, who believes there is usually an organic option
4. I am a dog-lover, particularly of my beagles
5. I am a proud and doting Grandmother
6. I sometimes feel technology has passed me by
7. My faith in God gets me through each day


Blogs I follow that are most helpful, inspiring and noteworthy include:

In the Garden with Sow-n-Sow
Work From Home
Self Reliance Exchange
Writing Tips Blog
Poverty and Homelessness Issues and Resources

Back to the Garden

Finally, a few days under 90 degrees, so of course, most of that time has been spent outside. Hopefully the heat wave is broken here, at least for awhile.

Weeding and planning the design for the fall garden, which is always a ">work in progress. Marigolds are going a long way in that design, as they are easy, fragrant and will probably last until frost.

I have a Creamy Vanilla marigold that we started from seed last spring at school that is still going strong. It was my first experience with this variety, but I would recommend it after seeing this years’ growth. Great fragrance from that one also.

I have been pleased with the Alterthanera we propagated from cuttings and will include that in future designs that need prostrate growth and purple hues.

Further research on the Crinums I planted leads me to not expect blooms this year, but I may be happily surprised sometime in fall. We did have a bloom on one planted last year; (above) I think it may be called a March lily and one of the smaller varieties.

They are growing well and sending up babies, so I am pleased with their progress.

Brugmansia has not bloomed yet, but it is growing profusely and we look for the trumpet-like blooms in a few weeks.

School is less than a month away and I look forward to getting back into the routine. I take the last class for my Greenhouse Certification this fall. And I will be working in the greenhouse on campus through work-study, so I will be happily occupied and have more greenhouse stories to post here. Look for those posts on Saturday mornings.

What’s blooming in your garden this week?