American Plant House Plant

We haven’t been there since we bought the six annuals for our tiny balcony garden. And they continue to do quite well in spite of the excessive heat and humidity. But, after two years, a couple of our house plants have seen better days. So after our morning walk we drove over to American Plant to check out their plant selection. We want a flowering houseplant of some kind since everything else is already so green. Even if the plant only lasts a month or two it’s still cheaper than buying cut flowers. The wall vases have been filled with bamboo and cut greens from the house plants. We passed by the water plants on the way in - we used to buy them for our beta fish and he loved them! We saw a lot of succulents, cactus, and green plants - not any flowering at all except for the orchids - which I’ve never had a lot of luck with. So we ended up not getting anything and will either find something at the grocery store or perhaps we might take a drive in to DC to Gingko gardens. Having a flowering plant is so cheerful. Let’s hope our next trip is more successful. 

Bromeliad Haircut

Houseplants are nice to have around. They require a bit of attention and bring any space to life. Since we no longer have our tiny Capitol Hill patio garden, we have a console table in the dining room filled with several plants. One of the plants - a bromeliad - was given to us by our dear friends when my mom passed away in February. It’s quite large and has done well. The main stalk, however, started to turn brown. That was expected. What was nice to see were two little sprouts growing from the base of the plant. When they reached a few inches I decided it was time for a haircut. So I read about the do’s and dont’s and got out my scissors. The plant was cut as far down as was possible. Then I trimmed off all the remaining leaves. It was quite the pruning session. I generally don’t have a problem trimming back garden plants and this was no exception. I am disappointed in the money tree that isn’t cooperating. The bromeliad was placed on the lower shelf of the console table where it gets the afternoon light and warmth of the returning western sun. I hope it does well for many reasons. Every time I look at it I think about our friends who thought about my mom. 

Lucky Bamboo

We had a big change of scenery yesterday. Since we haven’t been outdoors since March 13, items we need the most - particularly groceries - have been delivered to the lobby of our building. We get a call to pick them up. We put on masks and take every precaution when we leave our unit. It’s also the time we pick up mail - otherwise we go at midnight to avoid contact. Whenever possible I try to schedule deliveries in late afternoon or evening to minimize running in to anyone. Otherwise, any non perishable package is left by the door after seven pm. Most of those have been necessities - like toilet paper. It’s an art to snag this item as of late. We used to buy cut flowers every other week or so to put in our wall vase and on the plant console in the dining room. For quite some time, the vases have been empty. My husband was commenting the other day about bamboo plants for the vases. We have a small one in the bathroom that has lasted forever - without a window, but indirect light. Of course, everyone is looking to keep busy indoors - and caring for houseplants has become a big deal. So I found a place in California that ships bamboo plants. They arrived yesterday. The box was sprayed with alcohol, and after being “quarantined” for 24 hours, we opened the box today and unpacked the plants. I still need to figure out exactly where they should go - perhaps a few in the bedroom? Until then, a few stalks were placed in the vase on the plant console, and a few in the wall vase. We may add some small river rocks or maybe we won’t. Such decisions! There’s something sweet about having and taking care of plants. It’s a great diversion that helps us both. 

Jack’s Houseplant Special Food from Gingko’s

When we moved to our new home in northern Virginia, we no longer had a patio garden. So we created an indoor garden in the dining room by adding a white distressed wood two level console table, several pots, and a variety of house plants. It also provided a place to put a couple of other decorative items we already had from our Capitol Hill condo - a watering can, a few wooden birds, and a metal spider. When we got an orchid as a housewarming gift, it added a flowering element to the mix. As with anything else, plants require care and attention. So we got some water globes to help with watering if and when we are away a few days. Then we thought the plants should have nourishment, and any orchid always requires special care. So we took a ride to Gingko’s to see what we should do. We decided to get Jack’s classic houseplant special food. Unfortunately we probably won’t need such a large amount because we rarely need a gallon of water to manage our plants. At least they were able to break down the big bag of orchid potting mix so we could get the amount we needed. And of course, the orchid needed it’s own plant food. I suppose you could say it might be easier to “just get another one” if the plant doesn’t do well. But we prefer to care for the plants we have so they flourish and thrive, and it takes more than just water.