Terrarium Love

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Make Me Happy Monday: Plants

I unfortunately didn't save the link to this great photo, and have held onto it for so long that I can't remember for the life of me where it came from...but....I just love their center pieces and I want to do something like this in my yard. Plants always maybe me happy, and even more so when they are redone in a creative way.

Have a happy Monday!

Thrift House: Rock Like Planter

 Cost: 75 cents

I love pots with attached drainage trays (I always seem to forget when they're not attached and either break something or make a mess) and when I saw this one I just thought it was the coolest thing. I was sort of in the need for an in between pot (not small but not large either) so this was perfect. And I love how it's sort of modern but still sort of retro too. It reminds me also of a rock.

Care for: Panda plant, 'Chocolate Soldier', Kalanchoe tomentosa (or whatever else you want to call it)

I got one of these  pretty panda plants the other day and I just love it. It's a nice change for all bright green succulents I have and I love the hair that grows on it! So neat! Here's a little care info for this very unique plant. It's super easy so if you're not a green thumb this is a plant for you!


Origin: Madagascar
Height: Up to 1 ft (30 cm) indoors

Light: Bright light to full sun.

Water: Water thoroughly, allowing the top 1 in (2.5 cm) to dry out between waterings.

Humidity: Average room humidity

Temperature: Average room temperatures 60-75°F, 16-24°C

Soil: Cactus potting mix.

Fertilizer: Feed monthly in spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer diluted by half.

Propagation: Take leaf cuttings in spring or early summer. Succulent cuttings root easily in moist sandy mix or perlite.

"Branching from the central stem, the plump, rounded leaves taper to a point. They're silvery green marked with reddish-brown edges. The "fur" is actually soft, fine hair that covers these succulent plants.

In its native habitat, Panda Plant produces fuzzy, bell-shaped flowers in spring and summer. However, it rarely flowers indoors.

Decorative year-round, it makes a beautiful addition to indoor succulent gardens. Like other succulent types, it stores water so it rarely needs watering.

And like other types of succulents, Panda Plant is tolerant of dry air. It makes a good house plant for heated homes. Just give it plenty of light and it'll thrive for many years."

Source

(There was this little shot growing off of the side of the plant when I got it so I gave it it's own home and I hope to see if get as large as the other plant)

Thrift House: Small Planter

Cost: 50 cents

I did the first thrifting with someone other then my mom and I found this pretty. It's perfect for small plants, or plants that I'm propagating.

Indoor House Plant Lighting Definitions

I find it hard at times to determine what is the right amount of lights for my plants. Tags say direct light, bright light but not direct etc. and I find it all, well a little nondescript so I thought I'd do a little research and this info is great. I find it really explains it well and gives you a great idea of how to really take care of your plants. 

What is a sunny (direct sun) location?
Within 2 feet of a south- or southwest-facing window.
Window sills flooded with sunlight.
A sun room (If you have one, lucky you!)

What is a bright (indirect sun) location?
Within 4-5 feet of an east- or west-facing window.
3-5 feet from a window that faces south or southwest.
Any place where the sun shines into a room for several hours.

What is a partially shaded (low light) location?
An east-facing window where the morning sun shines into the room for only a few hours. Morning sun is cooler than afternoon sun, so you don't have to worry about overheating your plant.
At least 3-5 feet away from a window that faces south or southwest.
Directly in front of a north-facing window gives a plant low-to-medium light intensity.

What is a shady location?
More than 6 feet away from a south- or southwest-facing window.
Hallways, staircases, and corners of rooms.
Near windows that are shaded by trees.

Source

Thrift House: Leaf Bird Bath

Cost: $4.50

I was looking for something that I could use for a bird bath. I like birds, bees, butterflies but I don't like all the big tall things you put out to try and attract them. I wanted something a little more natural and when I found this I just loved it and had to have it. I put it in the garden and I'll take a few photos and share them when the plants have grown in and make it look a little better.

DIY: Barrel Plannter

Isn't this a wonderful idea? Just get a large wooden barrel and follower these instructions! I hope I can find one so I can give this a go!!

String of Pearls (Senecio rowleyanus) Plant Care

I just got one of these wonderful plants and it's doing great! As you know I love succulents so when I saw this one I had to have it (and it was perfect because I had a little store credit I wanted to use up!)

It's easy to care for and a really unique look. I love the idea of hanging baskets but I hadn't been able to sell the idea on Marshall because he didn't like most of the plants and how they looked but I'm pretty sure he's sold on this one! Once it's a little bigger and it's reaching the ground I'll upgrading it to a hanging basket in the studio.

I hope this plant grows as fast as I'm told it should and propagates as well as it says it should because I'm looking forward to growing many a gift off this one plant (like I did with my Wondering Jew plant)


Origin: Southwest Africa

Height: Trails 2-3 ft (60-90 cm)

Light: Bright light with some direct sun

Water: Water thoroughly, then allow to dry out slightly between waterings. This plant will not tolerate soggy soil. Cut back on water in winter, watering just enough to prevent the soil from drying out.

Humidity: Average to dry room humidity.

Temperature: Warm spring through fall (70-80°F/21-27°C). In winter, cool (55-60°F/13-16°C).

Soil: Cactus potting mix. If you want to mix your own, use 3 parts good quality potting soil and 1 part sharp sand.

Fertilizer: Feed once a month spring through fall with a balanced liquid fertilizer diluted by half.

Propagation: Take 4 in (10 cm) stem tip cuttings in spring or summer and insert them in moist potting medium. Press them into the potting mix until the leaves are almost covered. Keep the medium lightly moist. They will root quickly from the axils where the leaves are attached to the stem.

Watering tips: Keep your String of Pearls plant lightly moist during the growing season (spring through fall). Beads that look flat are a sign that the plant is too dry. Give it a good drink, but take care not to over-water.

Make it bloom. Give your String of Pearls plant a cool (55-60°F/13-16°C) rest in winter. Cut back on watering during the winter months, but don't allow the potting mix to dry out completely.

Source

Growing Narcissus Flowers

I found a lot of different information on these flowers so I'm just going to share with you the bits and pieces that I found the most helpful.

USDA Hardiness Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Sun exposure: Full Sun, Part Sun


"Planting techniques vary and every gardener has his or her own preferences, but if you're planting small clusters of bulbs, whether in an existing garden bed or in the woods, lawn, or elsewhere, one of the easiest ways to do it is to dig a hole a foot or so in diameter and 6-8 in. deep. Then plant five or six bulbs together in the hole, spacing the individual bulbs at least a hand's width apart"

"Like most perennials, daffodils will do well with about 1 inch of water per week while they're actively growing and blooming---from March to May, or thereabouts. And, as is the case for other plants, mulch can be tremendously helpful in conserving what moisture you do receive (or provide). Unlike most perennials, daffodils actually prefer no supplemental water when they're dormant, during the summer months. In the fall, 1in. or less of water a week will be sufficient to help the bulbs generate new root growth. Come winter, nature generally takes care of things itself, both by providing either snow or rain, depending on where you live, and by freezing the ground solid throughout much of the country."    -Source

Old Corks=New Garden Labels

Source

Great idea right? Not too sure if I could do it, I'm pretty sure Ollie would eat the corks but I still really love it! I might give it a try anyways!

Angel Vine Plant Care

Light: Bright light is best

Water: Keep moist. Check for water daily, especially if in a warm environment or placed on a windowsill

Temperature: Normal room temperatures are fine

Hardiness: USDA Zone 6

Very fast grower. Trim the plant regularly to keep its shape. Stems become very wiry with age.

Angel vine or mattress vine (Muehlenbebeckia complexa) is a tough, high growing ground cover plant. Although this plant likes full sun, we have grown it under shade so it must be acclimated to full sun. Indoors, this plant will do best in a bright location, but will tolerate periods of less than desirable conditions as long as it periodically gets time to recuperate under ideal conditions .

Keep angel vine evenly moist at all times. This plant uses lots of water when warm. It will, however, recover from going completely dry and wilting, losing only the most dried out leaves. This plant is a fast grower, so limiting fertilizer will also help to limit its growth.

The only pest we have seen on angel vine is aphids. For a minor infestation, just wash them off or squeeze them. For a heavy infestation use any chemical labeled for aphid control.

Angel vine can be grown outdoors in USDA Zone 6 and above in the ground, or USDA Zone 9 in pots year round.

Mason Jar Idea

I love this idea! I wanted to do moss in jars for a while and I had seen one type but this way would work even better for me!!

Check out more ideas from Poppy Talk!

DIY: Succulent Plant Tower

Isn't this a wonderful idea? I saw it at Craftberry who was inspired but a West Elm planter and made her own! Isn't that great? I love doing stuff like that!

Garden Wish List

Allium

DIY Solar Mason Jar Lights

I saw these originally at Creative Cain Cabin and thought "Wonderful, I needed lights for my mason jars...why didn't I think of this?" I was going to put candles in there but I'd have to take them out when I wasn't using them because it gets to hot and they would melt so this is perfect!

DIY: Mini Terrariums

 I keep seeing these posts everywhere on how to do these little terrariums and I saw the idea 2 years ago at a craft sale and just took my time getting around to doing it. So here's my version, always simple!

Find the plants you want to use: I had a spider plant from my mom and I had some moss outside (you need to make sure you pick plants that can handle these conditions of course)

Put a little soil in the bottle, and then some rocks, then your moss, and put your spider plant (or whatever other plant you pick) off to a side, a little bit on it's own, making sure the roots are in the soil.

Put a little bit of water in and there you go! Pretty easy right?

The this one (above) is still waiting on it's spider plant but I needed it to grow roots first (below) so when that's ready it will go in there too.

Oriental Poppy Plant Care

This year we have our first full start to finish summer in our house and I didn't realize the poppies we had. We saw them just as they were finishing last year when we were moving in but this year we got to see bud to bloom and wow, it was breathe taking.

It's been a few weeks now and all the peddles are gone and we're left with the foliage and the long stakes that we the flowers. I noticed this morning when cutting the grass that some of the foliage is going yellow and drying up. I was worried that maybe they needed to be watered (which I have never done) so I decided to look up some care info.... 

Special Features
Easy care/low maintenance
Deer resistant

Planting Instructions
Plant in spring, spacing plants 2 to 3 feet apart, depending on the variety. Prepare the garden bed by using a garden fork or tiller to loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches, then mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost. Dig a hole twice the diameter of the pot the plant is in. Carefully remove the plant from its container and place it in the hole so the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface. Carefully fill in around the root ball and firm the soil gently. Water thoroughly.

Care
Apply a thin layer of compost each spring, followed by a 2-inch layer of mulch to retain moisture and control weeds. During the summer months, when plants are dormant, watering is needed only during periods of drought. In autumn, poppies will resume foliage growth until frost, and these green leaves will remain over winter. After soil has frozen, apply a 4- to 6-inch layer of protective mulch to prevent heaving during periods of temperature fluctuation. When the weather warms up in spring, gradually remove the winter mulch. Plants can be divided in early spring or summer. (source)

Although I didn't find the answer in all the organized information I read through a couple of forums and it says that they can:

- Take up to three years to show their first bloom
- Have one wonderful year and 1-2 raggedy years and then repeat that cycle
- And that when the plant is moving into the dormant stage (after blooming and/or fall when there's frost) the foliage may start to yellow and dry up in spots BUT once it's dormant (and I guess stable in that state?) for the rest of late summer and fall you should have nice green foliage.   

I was glad about all of this because I can tell these plants have been there for years and I would hate to have killed them because I forgot to water them or didn't know how to care for them. I think this is a fail proof plant; plant it in the sun, pretty simple right?
  

Tip: Oriental Poppy blossoms offer superb material for indoor arrangements. Cut in early morning when the buds are just unfolding, searing the stem's cut end with the flame of a match.

(I'm definitely going to try this next year!)