Finally...

...I can keep plants outside. Today is my third day in my new apartment. Remember how I had half a salad's worth of Swiss chard before I left home? I have at least twice that today. One of my professors told our class that plants don't grow because of us--they grow in spite of us. The fact that the chard stayed alive for three months indoors and is now growing prolifically testifies to the truth in that statement.

So, here are the pictures of my plants' new homes. Maybe at the end of the summer I can do a before-and-after post. I'm sure there would be lots of improvement.

These are the three wandering jews that I've decided not to keep. I'm still looking for good homes for these little guys. They're really easy to care for. Thankfully they're recent cuttings, so they haven't developed much of a root system, so they can stay in this four pack for a while without becoming rootbound.

My spider plant and bromeliad aren't really near a window, but light from three windows reaches them, so they might be okay there.

My lucky bamboo also isn't in a window, but from what I understand, these plants actually benefit from staying out of direct sunlight. It works out very well.

This table contains the two succulents I brought, my wandering jew, and my purple shamrock. They've got some of the best seats in the house.

My jade plant (unfortunately not pictured) is near a window in the bedroom. The rest of my plants are outside. My tomato is looking happier by the day. The parsley pot (behind the tomato) was flooded by rain a couple of times, but I poured out the excess. We'll see how that does.

There's a noticeable difference between the Swiss chard in this shot and what it looks like now, a day later. I have high hopes for this crop.

My basil's still a bit raggedy, but I'm working on it. The peppermint, however, doesn't need any help.

I'm already excited to see my desert rose bloom, though the plant already looks very dramatic against this brick wall.

Here are the rest of the herbs. My thyme looks small, still, but if I can keep it out of heavy rains, it should be fine. I'm going to be cooking pizzas with rosemary soon, and I think I'm going to harvest a few leaves from my rosemary for it. Think of it: my first true harvest (eating doomed plant matter doesn't count) of the year. Miraculous.

What miracles are transpiring in your garden or containers?

Next post: more from the dawn of summer.

The Plants I Miss Most of the Time

I am home for a week! It's great to have a minimal number of tasks to accomplish, free laundry, and home-cooked food. But, of course, I take special pleasure in seeing some of my plants that I can't keep at school. I'll be showing them off shortly.

First, though, all my plants made it home safely. Note how bright it is in this room!

This next plant is my desert rose. It's not in bloom, and it doesn't have a lot of leaves, but the leaves it has look healthy.

Next to my desert rose is a lily plant that's a family heirloom. It has great magenta-lavender blooms, just not at the moment.

This spindly guy is Basil, my basil plant. He's not branching out very much. Do you know any remedies for this odd growth pattern? Other than that, though, he seems to be doing great.

Next to Basil is this succulent, which is a Haworthia coarctata. I've had this plant (there are multiple plants now) for several years, but it needs to be in a shorter pot.

Perhaps a shallower pot and sandier soil will prevent this from happening.

Those are all the plants living here that are mine, though I might end up with one of my mother's vining/creeping houseplants. They're nice and very easy to care for, but they grow all over your stuff. Maybe I'll showcase these plants in another post. For now, though, you can expect...

Next post: Greenhouse Pictures: The Final Chapter.

Surprise! Magnolias, Future Spaces, and More

I lied. Yesterday I said I would post more greenhouse pictures, including Theobroma cacao. I say a lot of things.

I'm actually going to discuss an unusual campus landscaping choice, examine my future in claustrophobic gardening, and make good on a promise I made quite a while ago. I'll actually get back to the tropical greenhouse haven tomorrow--I mean it this time.

So let's get into today's first topic: magnolia trees. Trees in the Magnolia genus are common in the southern United States, making it somewhat of an odd choice for a midwestern university (and I mean we are in the middle of the midwest). This is the biggest one I've seen. I pass these on my way home from work.

Sugar magnolia, blossoms bloomin', head's all empty and I don't care...
Grateful Dead, anyone?

This one looks a bit greener.

I think magnolias are a questionable choice because they don't seem to fare too well in our cold, oddball winters. Love that glossy foliage, though.

Magnolias produce beautiful, sweet-smelling white flowers during the warmer seasons. I hope these will flower this year!

See why these aren't an obvious choice for temperate climates? They get to looking puny, like this.





These have daffodils coming up at their bases. That's nice and springy. Daffodils are some of my favorite spring flowers. If only this pair bloomed simultaneously.

 



Next order of business: I'm going to be moving into successively larger spaces this summer and fall. Not by much, but I'll take whatever space I can get for growing things. This picture gives you an idea of the kind of space I'm going to have for growing plants outdoors over the summer. There is a grassy strip between the sidewalk and the building, so that will be available, and then the grass between the building and the car will be available, though that's on the north side of the house.

My gardening this summer is going to be a work in progress, but it will get better in the fall. The best part about my fall apartment is that it has a deck. That means that even though I have no southern windows, my phytofriends will get southern exposure and fresh air!

On the other hand (as you can see), there's no front yard space at all. There may or may not be grass behind this building. If there is, I'll find a way to capitalize on it. If not, at least those windows are nice and big. They're much bigger than they look.

Finally, about a week ago I said I would find a picture of my desert rose in bloom. I now have that picture. First, though, here's a picture of a desert rose in winter for comparison:

Not exceptional.

And here's mine in full flower:

Exceptionally phenomenal. I only bought this plant for its interesting foliage and trunk shape. Boy was I surprised.

There you have it. Have you ever encountered strange landscaping decisions? Do you grow plants in or around tiny apartments? Have you ever been surprised by a plant?

And last but not least, I promise this time:

Next post: Greenhouse Pictures, Part VI: Tropical Oasis II: Theobroma Boogaloo.

University Greenhouse, Part I

There were so many beautiful plants to photograph at the greenhouse that it will take several days to cover them all, since no one wants a 60-photo post. So I'll be posting these for a while (or when there's nothing else to report). Not all of the plants had tags on them, but I did what I could, and for identified plants I tried to find information about their common names and other characteristics.

We started out in a room populated largely by succulents. The first to catch my eye was  this Haworthia reinwardtii xanthorrhoeaceae. These plants are native to Africa, and they're very attractive. Their dots provide a unique texture. And the Haworthia's neighbor there is the infallible woodsorrel.

This shot provides a closer look at the white bumps.

This is a desert rose. They're funny little trees that put out gorgeous, hot-pink blooms in the summer. I have one at home, though it's smaller than this one. I will post a picture of mine in bloom this weekend. I got the plant for its interesting trunk shape, but the flowers steal the show (or the season, rather).

This plant was not tagged, but it looks like a desert rose, only it means business.

The greenhouse had a nice collection of Coleus. I prefer the purple-leaved varieties (or the variegated ones with really dark purple sections), but these were blooming, and seeing flowers when there's snow on the ground is always refreshing.

I don't know what kind of cactus is, but it looks like it's having a good time hanging out with that desert rose.

Next is a gigantic cactus with...leaves at the top? You don't see that much. The picture of it is very blue. This was unintentional.

Here's a slightly better picture of the top of this plant.

This next plant is a member of the Euphorbia family, though it doesn't look like any spurge I know.

These flowers come to you courtesy of the school's Jatropha japonica specimen. This plant's fruits are sometimes called "physic nuts," but they are poisonous when consumed in large quantities. The flowers sent me away with a healthy dose of cheer, though.

Enjoying plants is appropriate all year round, but getting out to see the greenhouse this time of year is especially nice because of how warm greenhouses are. My friend Jing and I had to remove our coats immediately upon entering. So, have you been to any greenhouses or gardens lately? Do you recognize any of the unidentified plants in this post? If so, I'd love to hear from you.

Next post: the best kind of salvage there is.