Plant Collection: Scott's House Part 1

This weekend I went to Scott's house for some R&R. His parents like having plants around, and they have quite a few (so many that they will consume two posts). They have a lot of windows, which helps. I photographed them to show them off. You'll even get to see an old friend!

The first plants to catch my eye were these aloes (seemingly Aloe vera). These plants are young, but they look great. Maybe you can see the window setup in some of the pictures--the kitchen has a 3-sided window, which makes this a very plant-friendly spot.

Next was one of the few flowering plants in the house, an African violet (genus Saintpaulia). We have these at the greenhouse. They're a pain to water, and they don't look very good (they're intensely fragile). This one seems to be thriving, though. Apparently the family has had this one for something like ten years, which is impressive. I would lose my patience with this plant, though it is pretty.

This plant caught my eye because it used to be mine! Sadly, the day this picture was taken was its last, as moving it inside managed to snap the stem. At least it spent its last few days outside, and at least I got to see it one last time. Also, note the flower buds forming. It did a lot better than I ever expected.

The biggest plant enjoying this kitchen window was a nice, big schefflera. I'm no schefflera identification expert, but if I had to guess, I'd say this is Schefflera arboricola because of its smallish, spread out leaflets. Personally, I like that form better than some of the larger-leaved species.

What houseplant collection would be complete without some devil's ivy (Epipremnum aureum)? This particular individual has striking variegation, which I like. I'm not normally into devil's ivy (also known as golden pothos, for some reason), but the whitish leaves are nice. I would be willing to care for a variegated specimen like this. As this is ivy, it will climb up the walls and vine around your belongings. I have mixed feelings about this, but if it became a problem, I could just cut it back.

Also on this (sizeable) countertop was a small ficus tree. These do fairly well at the greenhouse, but it's apparent that this one gets a little more love.

Moving on to another windowsill, here's a plant that I cannot even begin to identify. It is a spineless succulent, maybe a cactus. That's about all I have determined, so I haven't narrowed down much of anything. It's nice to look at, though.

Now here's something you don't see every day in the Midwest--columnar cacti. These little dudes look like they're faring very well. I would like some cacti of this general type someday (for more details, see my post on my dream succulents and cacti).

Next is another cactus: the Christmas cactus (I believe this one is Schlumbergera bridgesii). These are always nice plants to have around. We had one of these when I was small.

And here's another one, only in bloom! This cactus might be Epiphyllum x buckleyi. It seems odd, but Christmas cacti can belong to three different species in two genera. I've never seen such a peach-colored blossom on a Christmas cactus. It's a nice change of pace.

What are your thoughts on finnicky plants? Which of these kinds of plants would you take in, if given the chance?

Next post: the rest of the plants in and around Scott's house.

Reaping the Benefits

Since the university's flower shop's cool-season plant sale is over, the greenhouse doesn't need its cool crops anymore. So I got to take some home today! Most of these are eating-size and will be eaten very shortly, so they won't be long-term additions to my plant addiction, but they're really cool and healthy and inspiring and yummy looking.

First is the broccoli (Brassica oleracea) plant. Broccoli really needs to be outside since you eat its flowers, so I'm going to give this one either to Scott's parents, my mom, or anyone else who could take care of it. Its foliage is pretty on its own, though.

This next plant, Lactuca sativa, should be familiar--it's lettuce! This cultivar is called 'Simpson Elite.' It looks soft, and I'm going to have some on a Jimmy John's sandwich tonight, so I'll report back on how it tasted then. I probably could get more out of these four plants by cultivating them, but I don't think the light conditions can support them for long.

This plant also Brassica oleracea, but it is better known as cabbage. This particular cabbage is an ornamental variety, but since it was never treated with pesticides, it's technically edible, so I'm going to eat it. There were non-ornamental varieties too, but they had fewer leaves. I reckon I could make a few servings of cole slaw with this.

Brassica oleracea is one of my favorite species of plants. This one species is amazingly diverse. Case in point: kale. This variety is ornamental in the same manner as the above cabbage, and it is also edible in the same manner. Kale, in my mind, is dismissed as a yuppie vegetable by many, but it cooks up just like spinach or collards, and it has impressive nutrition facts. Not surprisingly, kale's nutrition facts and broccoli's are very similar. Both have a low glycemic index; low fat and cholesterol; high fiber; high protein; high vitamin A, C, and K contents; and high iron contents. The biggest difference when comparing the two is their anti-inflammatory values. Kale is extremely anti-inflammatory; broccoli is only slightly so.

With all these new additions, my windowsill now looks like this:

And while I'm on the topic of my windowsill, here's an update on all my other plants. My thyme seedlings are starting to poke out their first true leaves, which is exciting. For a while I had wondered if they ever would. Oh, and this is as in-focus as the thyme is going to get--my camera just cannot handle objects this small.

Next are my spinach seedlings. They've developed their second sets of true leaves, which is good.

This might not scream Popeye right now, but someday...

My spider plant is looking about the same, but it seems significantly bigger than it was before. I think it enjoyed its stay at my house over spring break. These plants seem to tolerate low light just fine, but they don't really thrive in it.

The jade plant is doing well also. This is just such a sleek plant.

Finally we've come to the Swiss chard. I moved it to my windowsill so it could get more light, which has seemed to help a couple of the seedlings. They're still droopy. On the positive side, most of them (despite the fact that I couldn't get a good picture of this) do have tiny dots that will become their first true leaves. Perhaps the increased surface area of these leaves will help the plants maximize what light they have?

A little bit of research suggests that Swiss chard does not like moving from where it was originally planted. That might contribute to these plants' middling performance. Next year I will be able to plant outside to begin with (in containers, but it's the light that matters), so that should help. In the meantime, I'll see if these go anywhere when I put them out for the summer.

In another bit of news, I might be able to get my plant-loving paws on a purple shamrock and a wandering jew, two of my coveted houseplants from yesterday's post. What's even better is that it looks like I'll be able to get one of those plants for free. More on that when more happens.

Next post: a brief spring favorite (for real this time).

Houseplants to Drool Over

If you haven't noticed by now, I like plants. Plants give us food, shelter, something nice to look at, and lots of other good stuff (oxygen, anyone?). So it's only natural that I would like to have plants living in my house, when I get a house. Thus, today I am posting about just a few of the indoor plants I would like.

Note: yes, I said I would post about forsythia. I'm a dirty liar. My excuse is that there was torrential rain all day here, and I didn't want to get my camera wet. If it's still blooming tomorrow, I will photograph it.

The first plant on this list is one I recently discovered: purple shamrock (Oxalis regnellii). I saw some of these at work, probably leftover from the campus florist's St. Patrick's Day stock. They're gorgeous plants--the leaves really do look like butterflies--so I had to look them up. As you can see from that picture, the flowers aren't too shabby either! A quick Google search for "purple houseplants" revealed that these were indeed shamrocks. What I'm wondering is if the individuals in the greenhouse could still be purchased...(If I was Twitter literate, I'd currently be saying #overrun by plants.)

Next are a couple of plants I am fortunate enough to have already: the jade plant (Crassula ovate) and the spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum). These are two quintessential houseplants, and mine are faring wonderfully. I will keep them with me as long as I can.

Another discovery I made at work was the wandering jew (Zebrina pendula). This common houseplant also has the color purple going for it, and its foliage seems to shimmer, so I'm a fan.

I grew up with ferns, so it's only natural that I want one. Plus, they do a marvelous job of filtering the air in one's house. But rather than get a finnicky Boston fern that I have to mist, I'd like a birds nest fern (Asplenium nidus). These ferns get nice and big and lush, and they're originally epiphytic, so you can grow them in very shallow containers. Also, upon doing a bit of research, I just learned that these plants are edible! You can cook the young leaves (also known as fiddleheads) like you would any other vegetable. This is apparently common in Taiwan.

The last houseplant on my list (for now) is lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana). Yes, this is corny and cliche, but I like how the things look, and they're easy to care for. So why not?

What are your favorite or most-wanted houseplants?

Next post: either forsythia or a container garden update.