Table of Contents
- Editor's Comments
- Gardening Indoors: Flowering House
Plants
- Humor for Today
- Winter in the Garden
- Painting Preparation
- Quotes for Today
- 100 Top Cooking Sites
- Protecting Spring Bulbs
- Subscribe/Unsubscribe
1) Editor's Comments:
With the oncoming winter season, we thought it a good
time to start some discussion about house plants. This week we take
our first look at flowering house plants. In the future we'll dive a
bit further into the topic.
In keeping with the "winter" theme, we also look at the winter
garden, and protecting spring bulbs, as well as other items of interest.
As always, if you do have questions, suggestions or ideas,
do not hesitate to drop us a note.
Rex Gregor
GreenThumb@rexseedco.com
Tom Krueger
gtt@goalsmint.com
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2) Gardening Indoors: Flowering House
Plants
(Our First Look at the Topic)
 Plants
are grown everywhere in pots -- from yards, window boxes, patios, hanging
baskets, to indoors on ledges, tables, bookshelves, TVs, plant stands,
etc., in almost every room of the house. Did you know that you can grow
nearly every type of plant for indoor gardening as long as it doesn't
need a rest period in the winter cold?
Certainly indoor plants need to adjust to lower light levels, lower
humidity, and confined root systems, but an advantage to their survival
indoors is they don't have to battle wind, driving rain, or great fluctuations
in temperature.
Let's take a look at flowering house plants. So what is a flowering
house plant? We can't simply say it is a plant that flowers in the house.
There are many plants that would flower in the house, but might crowd
you out. It also must be a plant that will tolerate low light levels,
or can tolerate artificial light. And, it should grow well enough without
having to totally baby it so you can enjoy its beauty.
There are some plants that will flower all the time, and when cared
for properly, will live for years. Some examples are African violets,
wax begonias, and Chinese hibiscus.
Another category is plants that will flower only part time in the house.
They will also likely have attractive foliage that you can enjoy when
not in bloom. An example is the Christmas cactus.
A third category is part-time bloomers that need careful storage during
their rest periods. An example is the gloxinia - a relative of the African
violet.
A final group is the short-term visitors to our homes. These are plants
generally grown in the greenhouse and purchased at their peak of beauty.
This might be something like tulips blooming in midwinter. You might
even be able to move some of this category outside in the spring, depending
on the variety.
When it comes time to decide what plants you want to grow, you'll want
to take a look at the conditions you'll be offering the new visitor.
Remember, that house plants come from all parts of the world and their
need for warmth and humidity will vary. However, plants can adapt, and
you may not realize it, but your house is also quite adaptable to various
plant needs.
A northern window will offer a colder environment than a southern facing
window. Also, the light level will be lower for the northern window.
If a plant requires more humidity, generally the kitchen and bathroom
are usually more humid.
 To
help determine the best spots for various plants, don't hesitate to
get yourself a minimum-maximum thermometer, as well as a hygrometer,
which measures humidity. Check out various locations around the house
-- these tools will help find the most suitable place for that new treasure.
With a little thought and investigation you may find yourself wanting
to grow more flowering house plants, and having better success at it.
In the future we'll take a closer look at lighting, temperature, humidity,
and even watering of house plants.
Click Here for some unique
house plants.
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Give the gift that will be treasured for generations.
Click
Here
3) Humor for Today:
A guy was known among his friends to be very brief and to the point
- he really never said too much.
One day, a saleswoman promoting Avon knocked on his door and asked
to see his wife, so the guy told her that she wasn't home.
"Well," the woman said, "could I please wait for her?"
The man directed her to the drawing room and left her there for more
than three hours. After feeling really worried, she called out for him
and asked, "May I ask where your wife is?"
"She went to the cemetery," he replied.
"And when is she coming back?"
"I don't really know," he said. "She's been there eleven
years now!"
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4) Winter in the Garden:
 Have
you taken a look at your garden or yard in the winter and found anything
of visual interest? Of course, the paths, walls, arbors, statuary or
any other non-plant item is much more visible during the winter season.
Also, this is a time when our deciduous trees and shrubs take on a whole
new view with interesting branching structure, colorful bark, or bright
berries.
Take a look this winter and see if there is something you can do next
season to make your garden more appealing in the winter. What about
a spot for an evergreen or tree with a "non-green" appearance?
What else can you do for other striking visual impacts?
Why not enjoy the view from the back window all year.
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5) Painting Preparation:
I (Tom) have some indoor painting jobs on my "honey-do" list.
Unfortunately, they've also been on the list for a while, but I won't
go there. <grin>
It got me to thinking about how such jobs should be prepared. Here
are some tips I've come up with and want to share.
The biggest thing to remember is that all surfaces need to be clean
and in good condition -- if not, the paint may not adhere and you'll
end up with a lousy looking job. Most folks recommend TSP which has
been around for quite some time. TSP won't suds, but it is a very powerful
cleaner, and it doesn't need rinsing, which is another advantage.
If you're painting a glossy surface, you'll want to rough up the surface
a bit to help the paint stick. You can do this by lightly sanding with
fine sandpaper or by using a liquid sandpaper product. Liquid sandpaper
basically softens the old paint, giving the new paint a better bond.
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Click Image for Our Autumn Gallery
38"x27" Fine Art Print: $13.99
Autumn Leaves
6) Quotes for Today:
"Most people are willing to pay more to be amused than to be educated."
-- Robert C. Savage
"A woman's appetite is twice that of a man's; her sexual desire,
four times; her intelligence, eight times."
-- Sanskrit proverb
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7) 100 Top Cooking Sites:
 Since
all our readers use the Internet, we always like to point out websites
you might find of interest. What better than a site offering the 100
top Internet cooking sites.
This is an A to Z list from All Recipes.com to Zagat.com. Truely a
great list for anyone who likes to cook or eat. You'll find links for
recipes, food gadgets, books for cooks, grocery coupons, and much more
including unusual sites like Death by Curry.
Check it out. Click
Here or visit http://www.100topcookingsites.com
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8) Protecting Spring Bulbs:
Last issue we talked about planting spring flowering bulbs. But there
is nothing more frustrating than having your efforts thwarted by squirrels
looking for an easy meal.
We've heard remedies such as treating bulbs with paprika, to letting
your dogs or cats patrol the area. The one trick we've heard that makes
the most sense and works best is to place a piece of metal chicken wire
on top of the bulbs.
You can place the wire above the bulbs before you cover them with dirt
and mulch as usual. Or, simply anchor the wire over the planting bed
and cover with mulch, camoflauging the wire.
The foliage will grow right throw the openings in the chicken wire
and the squirrels will not be able to get to the bulbs.
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9) Subscribe/Unsubscribe
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Rex Gregor, Editor
GreenThumb@rexseedco.com
Tom Krueger, Publisher
gtt@goalsmint.com
Please feel free to forward The
Green Thumb Times to a friend.
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