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Grassy Centerpieces

Bring Spring Indoors

I love growing things on my spring table. Nothing brightens up brunch or dinner more than bringing spring indoors to act as a centerpiece. Each year I try something new. I'll admit, I've grown tired of the standard spring flower arrangements. Craving something green and living, I decided to make grass the focal point this season.

Mundane grass isn't mundane when it's growing inside. I have a lovely ceramic dish meant to hold 12 deviled eggs, with a large flat portion in the middle for veggie sticks. I carefully cracked six eggs lengthwise into 12 halves. I then died each half in pretty pastels. I filled each half with soil and set it in the deviled egg slots.

For the center, I found a pretty spring colored bowl that fit just right and complemented the colors on the eggshells. I also filled this with potting soil.

In the bowl I planted five paperwhite narcissus bulbs. I then covered the soil completely with rye grass seeds. I also covered the soil in the egg halves with the grass seed. I kept the soil moist and set my centerpiece where it could receive bright but indirect light. Paperwhites flower quickly, but likely won't be ready if you start this arrangement now. You can instead plant some a bedding plant or two into the basket then sow the grass the seed. Since the plants are already flowering, you just need to wait a week or two for the grass to poke up before the centerpiece is ready to use.

The paperwhites will be blooming soon and I have already trimmed the grass once with a pair of scissors. On Easter, my table will have a living arrangement of spring grass and delicate paperwhites.

Simple Cyclamens

Enjoy winter and spring blooms.

Do you have some lovely cyclamens from the holidays gracing a pot in your home? All too often these winter flowers end up in the trash or compost bin once they start to wither as the weather warms and the days lengthen. Don't give yours this sad fate! Cyclamens are a perennial tuberous plant, and you can enjoy them for many winters with only a minimum of care.

Cyclamens produce their vibrant flowers on stalks that sit together in a bunch over a tight nest of heart shaped leaves. The foliage is just as pretty, often featuring variegation in shades of green, cream and white. When they flower depends on the exact time. Some bloom as early as late fall, while others bloom in spring. The vast majority put on their main show in winter.

Stop watering the plant when the leaves yellow and die back on their own. Go ahead and let the soil dry out and the foliage dry. You can set them outside in shady spot where the soil won't get wet, but I usually just stick them on a shelf in the hall closet. Just don't forget they are there!

Come fall new stems will begin poking up. Tug the rest of the old leaves off gently and resume watering. Move the pot to a an area with indirect but bright light and before you know it you will have foliage and eventually blooms again. If no stems poke up by October, go ahead and water it and move it to light. The tuber should promptly begin to wake up.

Goats: Nature's Brush Cutters

I was talking with some folks on a homesteading group the other day, and one of them suggested buying a brush clearing machine for clearing large amounts of brush on raw land. My response was, “Why not use goats instead?” For the price of one of those clearing machines, you can buy several goats, and they can clear your brush while providing you with milk, meat and babies to sell.

Sure, goats aren’t for everyone. They aren’t even for a majority of the population, but for those who are willing to try, goats are great pets and brush cutters. Turn them loose on even the thickest of brush, and they will make short work of it. It’s what they were born to do.

Like deer, goats thrive on browse, eating bark, brush and other various plants and grasses. In controlled areas, they will eat every edible thing, clearing away all of the undergrowth and making it easy for humans to come behind and clean up what’s left.

Goat milk is delicious, and so is goat meat. Some breeds command a high price for offspring, so you can sell babies for a couple hundred each, all the while enjoying their personalities and ability to clear your place. You can even make fancy cheese and goat milk soap. Goats really are versatile and practical.

So if you want a natural way to clear your land, consider buying or renting (yes, commercial brush clearing goat operations exist) a herd of goats to clear it and fertilize too.

Integrate Berry Plants into Your Landscaping

Many of the plants we get food from can also be pretty additions to any sort of landscaping. Consider berry plants, for example. The tall, stately raspberry cane can add depth and texture as a backdrop against a privacy fence, and the dainty little white flowers of a strawberry plant look beautiful as they provide ground cover in the front of a bed.

Plants like raspberries can also be grown in containers, so you are not committed to keeping them in one spot, which can also help stop them from spreading if you don’t want them to. Otherwise, raspberries can fill in gaps throughout your flower bed, and provide you with delicious fruits at the same time.

Toward the front of your flower bed, add vigorous strawberry plants and they will quickly take care of unsightly bare spots. Strawberries propagate through roots and also through runners on top of the soil, so you have to keep a close eye on them to keep them where they belong.

As grocery prices continue to increase, especially for fresh, organic fruits, growing your own berries makes sense not only from a visual aspect but also financial. You can buy one or two raspberry canes that will continue to provide fruit for many years, for about the same cost as a pint of picked fruit.

Many berry plants are perennials, too, meaning they will keep coming back year after year to give you fruit that tastes better than anything you buy at the store, and for next to nothing – just the cost of water and occasional fertilizer.

Pretty Purslane

Not just a weed, anymore.

Succulents are a favorite plant for many gardeners, because they grow well in dry beds and require little care to thrive. Unfortunately, these little hardy plants are overlooked by flower lovers because we tend to think of them as foliage plants. But many succulents also put our gorgeous blooms, especially those in the purslane group.

Common purslane is a noxious weed and deserves no part in your flower garden. This variety sends out thick underground roots that enables it to spread in a thick mat that is nearly impossible to eradicate. No, the purslane I am talking about is the cultivated variety that makes a stunning addition to potted gardens.

Cultivated purslane has thick succulent stems and leaves but is dotted with colorful flowers. Blooms come in nearly every color imaginable, often on the same plant. Purslane can quickly fill a container or pot with lush foliage, trailing stems and bright blossoms. The cultivated types don't usually become invasive, but I prefer to grow them in pots just to stay on the safe side.

Like most succulents, purslane stores water in its stems and leaves. Plant in a well drained medium and keep it slightly moist. You don't want the soil wet, but you also don't want to let it dry out completely. The plants benefit from a soluble bloom-boosting fertilizer once a month.

You can keep the pots outdoors from spring through fall. The plants may die back during winter freezes, although in mild climates you may have year-round blooms. You can also bring the pots indoors in the fall to protect the plants from the cold.

Flower Garden Recycling

Preparing to Plant

For many gardeners the planting season is upon us. Even if it's a bit too cool outside, we are getting our favorite flower seedlings potted up and ready to go. Seedling pots, outdoor flower pots and planters, and potting soil can put a major dent in the gardening budget. Many newer and some experienced gardeners are completely unaware that they don't have to purchase these items new each year.

Pots and planters are easily reusable. You do want to sterilize them, otherwise pests and diseases from the previous year may survive on the pot surfaces. This is especially important when growing seedlings in the containers. A simple solution consisting of one part bleach and nine parts water gets them disinfected and clean. You only need to soak the pots in the solution for a few minutes for it to work.

Clay pots require a bit more care since they are absorbent. Soak these in the solution for two hours then soak them in clear water for an additional hour.

Potting soil is also recyclable. Simply put your used soil in a disposable aluminum pan. Cover it with foil and bake it in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 40 minutes. Be aware that the soil does stink when you bake it, but the heat kills any pathogens, pests or weed seeds inside. You can give homemade compost the same treatment to sterilize it.

Mix in some vermiculite or perlite with reused soil. You may want to add some fresh compost, too. These improve the soil quality. Finally, add a slow-release fertilizer or commit to using soluble fertilizer regularly through the garden season.

Poisonous Houseplants

If you have animals that live in the house with you, or small children, you need to take care to keep all poisonous plants out of their reach. Better still, eliminate them completely from your house to avoid any accidental ingestion. While most houseplants are considered safe, there are a few that should be avoided if you want to prevent accidents. According to the University of Connecticut, these plants are poisonous and should not be in a home with small children or pets:

Amaryllis
Anthurium
Apricot kernels
Azaleas
Caladium
Calla Lily
Chinese Evergreen
Colchicum
Daffodil
Dumb Cane
Elephant’s Ear
English Ivy
Fishtail Palm
Holly Berries
Hyacinth
Jerusalem Cherry
Lantana
Mistletoe
Mountain laurel
Oleander
Philodendron
Ranunculus
Rosary Pea
Schefflera
Spathiphyllum
Yew

This list, while lengthy, does not contain many of the most popular houseplants, so there are still dozens of options of plants you can safely keep around anyone who might accidentally ingest them. Common plants, such as the African Daisy, Coleus, Geraniums, Orchids, Palms and Spider plants are all among the list of those plants you can safely keep.

If you do have plants that are considered poisonous but you do not wish to get rid of them completely, see if a friend or relative will care for them until your children get older, or until you are in a position to keep them safely away from pets. If that is not an option, hang them high up out of reach, or find a creative way to display them, such as locked away in a bird cage where they are inaccessible but still on display.

Keeping poisonous houseplants when you have pets or small children can be done, but the effort involved in keeping your loved ones safe may not be worth the hassle, and getting plants out of the house completely is the best way to be sure they stay safe.

Awesome Orchids

Not as difficult as you think!

Beautiful, delicate orchids scare away many indoor flower lovers. Myths abound about how difficult they are to grow and care for. The orchid family is large and includes many varieties. While some are quite finicky and difficult to grow in the average home, one group, the Phalaenopsis, is simple enough that many novice orchid enthusiasts can grow them successfully.

Phalaenopsis orchids flower in late spring and early summer. Like most orchids, they do not require soil but use their roots to absorb oxygen, moisture and nutrients from the air. Potting them in an orchid mix works well, or you an make your own from peat and shredded bark. These highly aerated mixtures ensure the orchid roots have room to breath.

Light is vital for flowering. Orchids require all-day light from a south- or east-facing window. During the winter you can supplement with a fluorescent light placed 1 foot below the fixture. Poor lighting results in deep green foliage and no flowers, while the correct amount of lighting produces lighter foliage and ample blossoms.

Temperature is also important. Orchids grow best in average home temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees. They require periodic watering so the potting media is moist but not soggy. If the mix sticks to your finger when you insert it into the pot, it's too wet and can cause orchid root rot. Fertilize your orchids every two weeks with a 1:1:1 ratio soluble fertilizer in the spring and summer. They don't typically require fertilization during the winter resting period.

Elegant Globe Thistle

Longer ago than I can remember, my mother planted a row of globe thistles in the yard. Each year, they spring forth with new life and create a beautiful contrast to the hedge row they border. I look forward to seeing their elegant purple blooms, and love how completely maintenance free they are. Now that I live in this house, I get the benefit of my mother’s landscaping skill, and I appreciate those globe thistles even more for the fact that she loved them.

Globe thistles are incredibly hardy, and require almost no care. That makes sense, especially if you have ever combated a noxious thistle population in your yard. Our globe thistles are at the far edge of the lawn, and it doesn’t get watered very regularly. The thistles don’t mind, and continue to produce beautiful, large globes of purple flowers.

They grow thick enough that no weeding is required, and the only maintenance I ever do is cutting back the dead stalks at the end of the season. This past year, I didn’t even do that, but the dogs ran through them and most are knocked down. That won’t deter the globe thistle, however, and I am certain to see those soft green shoots in the next few weeks.

Globe thistles grow about three feet tall, and because they grow so thickly together, they make a decent hedge row, if only for the summer.

Because they survive so easily and look so pretty, you can’t beat having globe thistles if you want low maintenance, natural beauty in your landscaping.

Lighting Your Plants

Grow lights for indoor plants.

Vegetable gardeners have long depended on grow lights to start vegetable seedlings indoors and get a jumpstart on the gardening seasoning, but they are an often overlooked tool for both houseplant flower lovers and those who grow ornamentals outdoors. Yet when poor interior lighting, short winter days or a long stretch of cloudy weather results in poor blooming, grow lights can rescue your plants.

If you are starting flower seedlings under the lights, read the seed packet carefully. Most seeds don't require light until after they germinate, although a few plants need steady light to even sprout. Keep the lights set so the tops of the seedlings are 4 to 6 inches beneath the bulbs. Mature plants can usually survive if the lights sit a bit higher, but no more than 8 inches above the topmost leaves.

Lights don't provide the same intensity as the sun. If a seedling or houseplant requires eight hours of sunlight, they'll need 14 to 16 hours under the lights. Using a timer to turn the lights off and on automatically makes their use a snap since you don't have to worry about remembering them. Most plants can survive if they are provided with a bit too much or too little light, but flowering can be adversely affected.

You don't need to buy those expensive grow light fluorescents for your plants. A standard dual tube fluorescent fixture works well. Use a cool white and a warm white tube to provide the correct spectrum of light. Don't use halogen or incandescent bulbs. These don't provide the right light spectrum and they heat up, which can scorch plant leaves or cause seedlings to wilt.

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