Historic Lyman Greenhouse in Waltham, Massachusetts in March

  • Post published:03/12/2018
  • Post comments:6 Comments

In March gardeners need flowers so members of the Greenfield Garden Club set off for the historic Lyman Greenhouse in Waltham, Massachusetts. It was so exciting to be able to walk under this tropical vine as we began our tour of the greenhouse. There are literally thousands of plants in the greenhouse of every variety. Most of them are houseplants, some familiar and some dramatic and strange. The greenhouse is filled with orchids, succulents and many other beautiful…

Houseplants in Print and in Pots

  • Post published:12/09/2017
  • Post comments:1 Comment

Houseplants: The Complete Guide to Choosing, Growing and Caring for Indoor Plants by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf (Cool Springs Press $30) has a cool green and white cover

A New Garden Room – Just in time

  • Post published:10/11/2016
  • Post comments:3 Comments

It was time to create a Garden Room. Yesterday I noticed that the Christmas cactus  out on the front porch had been slightly nipped by cold night time temperatures. It was time to clean out the side porch which spent the summer filled with construction materials and debris and turn it into a Garden Room. We closed the windows, and even though the temperatures never quite hit 70 degrees and substantial breezes kept our two river birches dancing,…

O is for Orchid on the A to Z Challenge

  • Post published:04/18/2016
  • Post comments:4 Comments

O is for Orchid. I have never kept an orchid alive long enough to bloom again, but giving it another try is on my To Do List. I know it can be done because my daughter Betsy  does it all the time. When  her work mates get gift orchids they always give them to Betsy after they finish blooming. She keeps them and brings them back into bloom again and again. Last year I went to the Orchid…

Bloom Day – November 15, 2015

  • Post published:11/15/2015
  • Post comments:4 Comments

On this Garden Blogger's Bloom Day in Greenfield, Mass, still boasting only a Zone 5 rating, my very late blooming pink chrysanthemums are still blooming. We have had frost, and some rain and wind, but these dependable beauties are still going. They are the only thing blooming outside.We are still not having freezing night temperatures as a regular thing, though it does get down below 40 degrees. This prostrate rosemary was taken out of a pot and put…

Amherst Orchid Society – Spring Orchid Show

  • Post published:02/24/2015
  • Post comments:2 Comments

On Sunday I drove down to Northampton and the  annual Orchid Show put on by the Amherst Orchid Society. I do not grow orchids because I always think they require a greenhouse. However, anyone who has ever received a phaleanopsis orchid as a gift knows that it will live happily on a bright, but not sunny, windowsill.  I walked through the orchid show with Bill Benner, a member of the Amherst Orchid Society, who has about 100 orchid…

Death on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

For me, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is a bust this month. This poinsettia has been living happily on our dining table, in front of a big southern window since Christmas.  At night we close the lined curtains, to slightly moderate heat loss. I've kept it watered, but yesterday I came downstairs and when I opened the curtains I saw that it was withered and drooping. I don't think it was below 32 degrees in our living space, but…

Spring is Coming – Time to Repot – Scented Geranium

  • Post published:02/02/2014
  • Post comments:1 Comment

Spring is coming!  I was inspired to repot this lemon scented geranium, which I have only done once before in nearly ten years. You can see I did cut it back some in the fall. I was inconsistent in my watering all winter, but as the days began to grow longer new shoots came up. I cut out all the dead wood and could see nice healthy growth more clearly. I took the geranium out of its pot,…

Houseplants for Christmas

  • Post published:12/14/2013
  • Post comments:1 Comment

  Plants, one way or another, play a big part in our Christmas festivities and gift giving. I can’t think of any other holiday when plants are so important. We decorate our houses with evergreen wreaths, and deck our halls with holly. Or at least with laurel ropes, evergreen boughs and swags, and forced bulbs on the festive table. We also give plants as gifts, and may also receive a potted plant. The question is how can we…

November Bloom Day Comes With A Promise

  • Post published:11/17/2013
  • Post comments:3 Comments

On this November Garden Bloggers Bloom Day I only have a promise. I just brought my little Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) in from the unheated Great Room. Now that it is in the warm I think it may actually bloom on the appointed day. Early in my blogging career (almost 6 years ago) I was assured that 'buds count.'  Lucky for me. I visited a neighbor recently and her beautiful pale pink Thanksgiving cactus was in full glorious bloom. The…