Ginkgo Gardens House Plant

We bought a house plant from Ginkgo Gardens on Capitol Hill many years ago. And it lasted a very long time because of the loving care it received from my husband’s daily attention. It was put in a double layer pot that absorbed water. But since it was so small it needed to be filled all of the time. It went from being in the main living area in our Capitol Hill condo with a fair amount of light to the foyer of our northern Virginia condo that doesn’t get a whole lot of light. It was thriving over the last three years but it finally died a couple of months ago. So we thought we might try to find a replacement and drove in to DC yesterday for a morning walk but also to stop in at Gingko Gardens to see if they might have what we were looking for. As soon as we walked in the door it was sitting in the corner with all of the other house plants. Since it’s the gardening season the house plants take a back seat to the beautiful annuals that were outside.  Ginkgo’s always had a great selection and variety of plants and also other interesting pieces - a glass table, a metal bug, pots, a wall vase. It’s still one of our favorite places to visit. Let’s hope this little plant thrives. Otherwise I know someone who will be very disappointed. 

Searching for House Plants at Ginkgo Gardens

It must be the time of the year. We are on the look out for flowering houseplants. They simply don’t exist. Two of the plants we have have definitely seen better days. Since everything is green, we wanted to add some color to the mix. The grocery store always had small rose plants, but they didn’t. American plant had primarily orchids, but nothing else with flowers. So we drove in to DC to our favorite plant shop on Capitol Hill -  Ginkgo Gardens. Let’s say it was more of a garden tour than a shopping stop. We parked next to an open field where a lot of tiny kids were playing soccer next to the school. Then we walked up the street snd saw some interesting garden sculptures, then started in to the store with high expectations. But everything was green, more green, and similar to the rest of the plants that we already have. It was a bit disappointing. So we drove back home and tried another flower and plant shop in the neighborhood - no luck. And as a last resort we went to an outdoor garden place near the house - no luck there either. So it looks like the plants we have that are doing poorly have another reprieve. It looks like the grocery store is our best best. Maybe next time we will have better luck. 

Our Old Friends at Ginkgo Gardens

Our balcony coco lined metal “window boxes” needed a refresh. The petunias and marigolds were just about spent. We have three planters that are suspended with zip straps from the backs of the metal chair and two seater. Since we are not covering the patio furniture this year because of this flower arrangement, I thought it would be nice to create a fall/winter design where sticks and ferns could be added later on for the holidays. So I contacted Ginkgo gardens on Capitol Hill where we have shopped for both indoor and outdoor gardening needs since we moved to DC. A curbside pickup was requested via email on their web site, along with a description of what we wanted and the time frame. I received a response back that someone would be contacting us within the next day or two. Ben called to get an idea of what might work and we spent a bit of time back and forth texting photos of what he had in mind. We ended up with twelve yellow and maroon with yellow winter pansies for filler, three variegated English ivy baskets that I would cut in half for flow, and one large liriope that would be divided in to three for height. Someone from the shop then called to confirm and place the order. The next day - in the driving rain - we drove in to town and picked up curbside two boxes of lovely greenery and flowers. It’s always such a pleasure visiting Ginkgo Gardens. I really miss meandering through the shop and the outdoor garden space, but this is the next best thing. 

Ginkgo Gardens Balcony Baskets Made to Order

When we lived on Capitol Hill we always went to Ginkgo Gardens for not only flowers, but house decorative elements like wall vases and even a glass topped bedside table that started out as a plant stand. When we moved to northern Virginia last year, we continued to drive in to town for our gardening needs. The last time we visited was to stock up on house plants - since our tiny patio garden was now replaced by a console table for house plants in the dining room. At least would would still have some greenery to care for. But this year we wanted to have something more than a single pot with one flower on the balcony. I searched on line for window boxes appropriate for the space but couldn’t find anything I liked. Then I thought about Ginkgo Gardens. We didn’t want to go in to any store, but wondered if something could be requested on line. I went to the website to see what the options might be. There was a form to complete about any pick up request. So I filled in the fact that we were loyal customers and wanted three “window boxes” or something like that for the balcony filled with flowers that could stand the hot westerly sun. They responded by phone the next morning to ask about and get more details, and that we could pick the containers up that afternoon. Having done all the transactions on line and by phone, we drove in to town and pulled in to the back of the building, through the DC alley ways. Julie met us with mask and gloves and put two of the containers in the trunk and one in the back seat. We ended up with coco liner metal containers that are lined in plastic with moss covering the dirt. Although I am used to jamming the pot full of flowers, spikes and flowing greens, these were spaced out evenly and organized. I’ll be adding more items later and am looking for on line options. I did need to order some zip ties to hang the containers with because the brackets that come with the items were much too large. We were happy to get any sort of option that would bring a bit of whimsy to our balcony - and add a bit of color to a very sterile metal area. In just a week the flowers are doing well. Now I just need to keep the crows at bay. 

Jack’s Classic Orchid Plant food

When we moved to our new condo four months ago someone gave us a double stem orchid plant as a housewarming gift. It was placed on the console table in the dining room with all of our other houseplants. It was the only flowering plant among all the greens. It did really well until it inevitably started to lose the flowers. We’ve had orchids before and never had much luck with them. I think one time we actually had one come back to life. So we read all about the care of an orchid - again - and stopped at Ginkgo Gardens in Capitol Hill to get some orchid food and replanting soil. We needed advice on which food to get - keeping the plant healthy or boosting the blooms. We decided on keeping it healthy because there is a new leaf starting to grow, which gives us some hope. We were told to cut the spent stem all the way to the bottom, move the plant to another spot in the house and trick it into thinking it’s winter - water it less - and keep it there for three months. So today I cut down one of the stems and am waiting for the flowers to fall off on the other. Since we have been giving it five ice cubes every week we will need to cut back to twice a week, convert amount that to water and add the plant food. We still need to figure out the best time to replant it. Isuppose  you could say we are looking at this as an experiment and see if it comes back. All we can do is give it our best and hope it makes a difference.