Orchid Help

I love orchids; I think they are one of the most beautiful flowers, and I really want to be able to keep one as a houseplant. I have owned two of them before; both eventually died. I kept them in bright indirect light indoors, and frequently misted them with water. I bought orchid potting mix to put them in as well, thinking that I would have no problems keeping them alive. Obviously I was wrong! The strongest one survived about…

Plant Babies!

I am in a great mood today; the weather has been awesome (it was over 70 degrees yesterday) and my plant babies are coming up fast! Here’s a picture of my Four O’Clocks- they are the biggest by far. My Impatiens, Violas and Pansies are sprouting too- but are much less exciting to look at. I was feeling so good that I dug right in and planted some more. I got my Pink Sunshine Petunias, Snapdragons, and Royal Carpet Alyssum…

It’s Officially Spring!

Springtime is here, and it’s about time! It was drizzling for the majority of the day today, which was good. That and it’s finally starting to warm up; it was over 40 degrees all day! Our snow is melting slowly but surely, so I won’t be living in a frozen tundra for much longer! Even my patio is completely cleared off! I think that living in what feels like 9 months of frozen hell really makes me appreciate Spring and…

Mealybug Mayhem!

I am really peeved right now, because I keep finding mealybugs on my jade plants! Just a little background, my roomie and I got a bunch of plant clippings from our university greenhouse last summer. This included several clippings from Coleus plants (which mealybugs apparently LOVE). And of course, these Coleus plants were carrying them! We eventually just ended up having to throw the Coleus plants away, because the mealybugs just would not go away. Seriously, we did everything except…

Summer Plans?

I have been patiently waiting for some of my planted seeds to start sprouting, and they just can’t grow fast enough for me. Until then I figured it would be a good idea to go over gardening preparation, since that is the stage that most of us are at right now. The best thing to do when you start thinking about your summer garden is to make or draw out a plan. Do you only want flowers, or would you…