Bathing the Amaryllis.
One of my favorite fall projects is planting up a variety of Christmas and Spring blooming Amaryllis, but before I put them into pots, I soak their roots for a scant 20 minutes in Cow Manure Tea, from Authentic Haven Brand. After soaking the bulbs, I plant them up, and then water each pot with the Cow Manure Tea (that’s what’s brewing in the big red bucket). And that’s it! Now we wait for them to start popping out of their dormancy (with no additional water until after they begin growing, at which point I’ll continue to water with Cow Manure Tea as needed). So keep your eyes open. More to come….

Inside the conservatory: orchids, succulents and sedums, Oh my! There are plenty of house plants available from the nursery to create an indoor garden and adorn your home with a completely different palette of plant material than what you would find in an outdoor landscape. Put together a couple of terrariums in large glass vases, add an orchid or two from the floral shoppe, dress it all up with moss, stones, and cones ~ and the coffee table becomes a botanical treat. Just remember to group shade-loving plants together, and bright light plants together. Combine interesting foliage plants that complement one another. A terrarium also gives you something to tend, in case it’s too cold or too hot to go outside. 

Inside the conservatory: orchids, succulents and sedums, Oh my!

There are plenty of house plants available from the nursery to create an indoor garden and adorn your home with a completely different palette of plant material than what you would find in an outdoor landscape. Put together a couple of terrariums in large glass vases, add an orchid or two from the floral shoppe, dress it all up with moss, stones, and cones ~ and the coffee table becomes a botanical treat. Just remember to group shade-loving plants together, and bright light plants together. Combine interesting foliage plants that complement one another. A terrarium also gives you something to tend, in case it’s too cold or too hot to go outside. 

String Gardens from the Netherlands ~ hanging sculptures for the garden porch.
The bare roots of selected plants are wrapped in a sphagnum moss and soil mixture, then covered with green sheet moss and wrapped with twine. The root ball is about the size of a grapefruit. Care: submerge root ball in water until air bubbles disappear, allow to drip-dry and then re-hang. 

Burro’s Tail cactus (Sedum morganianum) in a hanging basket, is one of my favorite plants for just this reason. Low maintenance, no disease problems, and architecturally stunning. It will live in the same basket for years and years. (In Georgia, we must over-winter these plants, and bring them back outside after all danger of frost has passed.) 

Burro’s Tail cactus (Sedum morganianum) in a hanging basket, is one of my favorite plants for just this reason. Low maintenance, no disease problems, and architecturally stunning. It will live in the same basket for years and years. (In Georgia, we must over-winter these plants, and bring them back outside after all danger of frost has passed.) 

(via emilialua1)