I wanted to get a start on my composting before we had our house by having something inside. I looked into it, talked to people, read articles, and it seems sort of expensive and hard. Then I talked to my friend Kyle and he said "Get a bin, drill some holes in it, and I'll give you some worms". Of course me being the person that wants more details I asked him all sorts of questions. Sure enough, it's really not that hard, and really not all that expensive. Thankfully I had Kyle to get the worms from, other wise I would have been spending at least $30 on the minimum amount of warms I could find and that would have been way too many for an under the sink sort of set up!
2) Drill some holes in the top and sides of the bin (on the sides make sure the holes aren't low down, it could get too full with compost or you could make it more tempting for your worms to crawl out!)
4) Buy some worms or get some from a friend (complete with a little compost to make it not so hard for them to get used to their new home)
...I would totally do this! I love these buildings! I don't think we have anything around here (Winnipeg is cool, but I think our winters wouldn't really allow this sort of awesome art) but if we had more heat through out the year I would totally do something sort of vertical garden like this!
Around Mother’s day I bought myself some tulips (I know, I’m not a mom, but they were on sale, and I wanted some!). They were great for a while, full of flowers but a month later they were done. I realized it was another flower and plant I didn’t know that much about.
So now that we have a house I’m all over doing things in the yard. I’ve written about all sorts of other garden things but now I am trying to decide on bird houses! So here I am with my top picks for a bird house. What do you think? I really like the all wood ones (I’m a sucker for beautiful hard woods...weird fetish, I know) but then a modern one might be nice too...Decisions, decisions.
I think these ones are super cool. What a need idea.
And of course, why didn't we think of this sooner? It's for a bird...a bird cut out...duh!
I really like this one, it's sort of tropical right?
I really like these! A little rustic right? Sort of country.
I'm not sure why but these remind me of candy...Maybe M&M's? Yummy!
And of course a classic.
I love Aloe Vera plants. My mom always had one in the house ever since I can remember. I love them for their health and medicinal benefits but I also love them for how cool they look.
So when I did my last plant post I told you all that I would do an update as my herbs grew...so here you go! 
Here is what I think are my Chinese Lanterns (when I got the seeds in the mail there were two packets; I guess I got a bonus pack and after I planted them I mixed them up before I got to labelling)
Do you remember the big fish bowl I had? Well the plants loved it so much in there I had to take a bunch out and fill a whole new potter. I think these looks great in this silver "dish".
This one was the last to pop up...It just needed a little extra time I guess.
I got some new racks too! On the Winnipeg Free day! Pretty nice hey?
Another overgrown plant from the fish bowl. I ran out of potters so I figured a jar would do. I think it looks pretty cool right?
Hope you enjoyed my plants! What do you have growing that you are just in love with?
At my wedding I wanted to have live Chinese Lanterns for my centre pieces. I got married on September 1st and Chinese Lanterns don’t come in season until late September or early October and I wasn’t about to wait any longer to get married (3 years was long enough thank you very much!) so I opted for fake ones.
I found a really great placed called Urban Flora to supply them for me (In case you need to get some yourself!) and the centre pieces turned out really well.
The wedding went off great, all is well and I’m living happily ever after, but that’s not "The End", I still want to have some live Chinese Lanterns. I searched high and low here in Winnipeg but I couldn’t find a place that sold seeds. I ended up ordering some off ebay and they’re growing right along. Still very small, as you can see from the picture (below), but growing none the less.
When I’m in my house I’m going to put them where they want to be (outside) but I thought in the mean time I’d post to you about these wonderful lanterns and how to care for them.
Step 1
Sow Chinese lantern seeds indoors in well-drained soil, four to six weeks before the last frost. Cover seeds with 1/4 inch of soil. Keep the sowing container in full sun. Germination should take two to four weeks.
Step 2
Transplant seedlings outdoors in full sun to partial shade. Soil should be on the sandy side and well-drained. If you have clay-like soil, add garden soil or composted manure and tiny stones to improve drainage. Plant seedlings 18 to 24 inches apart.
Step 3
Regularly water Chinese lanterns in the early morning, about every other day. Watering Chinese lanterns when the sun is too high and strong can cause the plant to burn. Chinese lanterns should grow to a height between two and three feet.
Step 4
Fertilize Chinese lantern plants monthly, if necessary.
Step 5
Cut stems back to ground level in late fall.
So I ransacked a local park a while ago and stock some of their blue bells. I figured they wouldn’t miss them seeing as the park grass was being over taken with them anyways.
Do you know about Air plants? I had never heard of them or even see them until I went with my mom to Shelmerdine’s here in Winnipeg on Monday. My friend Sara always tells me about all the great things she gets there so I had to finally go. It was garden heaven!
What are Air Plants?
Tillandsia are part of the Bromeliad family, the Genus name is Tillandsia which is also the common name, these are further broken down into species name, most people just call them Air plants. There are over 550 species of Tillandsia (plus many hybrids), that grow in the Mexico, South and Central Americas and there are only 16 species that are native of Florida.
Tillandsias take all their water and nutrients through the leaf system, none or very minimal amounts are absorbed by the root system. This root system is used as wire like anchors to hold onto trees, rocks etc. Since the root system is not important to the plant this can be removed without harm, to make your plant easier to mount. The roots may or may not grow back, either way is doesn't matter to the welfare of your plant.
Growth Cycle
Bromeliad Tillandsia have a life cycle of one plant growing to maturity and blooming. Before, during or after blooming (depending on the species) your plant will start producing young (PUPS), most plants will produce between 2 - 8 pups which in turn will mature, generally within a year and in turn bloom and produce pups. So this year you have one plant, next year maybe 6, the next year 36 and so on. Your plant will actually look better next year than this year as it starts to clump and produce more blooms. The bad news is that each plant will only flower once in its lifetime, but you should have blooms each year as the pups mature, and in turn flower. Flowers can last from several days to many months, depending on the species, most Tillandsia bloom naturally in late winter through mid-summer.
General Info
Tillandsias DO have to be watered, they live 'in' air, not 'on' air.
Tillandsias are NOT toxic to animals, although this does not mean your pet won't eat them, but they will survive the experience, your plant might not.
Tillandsias are NOT parasitic, they do not harm the host tree.
Trim away brown, bent or damaged leaves, this will not hurt the plant.
Main reasons Tillandsias die
They were not initially cared for properly (their owner was told they need little or no water).
They did not get enough light (they were more than 10 feet from a bright window or skylight).
They were placed in DIRECT SUN. Garden windows are generally too warm unless they are shaded or facing north.
They were not watered thoroughly and frequently. (Bulby and fleshy Tillandsias can rot! Drain them thoroughly and water less frequently.)
Tillandsias growing outdoors need more watering than indoor Tillandsias, as the sun and wind dry them out more quickly.Pretty informative right? If you’re like me and really want to invest in these plants go to the source of this info and check out the watering instructions.
What’s your favorate or dream exotic plant?
Watering
Note: I have found that the information below didn't work the best for my air plants. I few of them died and I was told (by the green house staff where I got them) that I over watered them. They suggested just misting them 3 times a week. When I say misty I am meaning similar to what they say below by getting a good amount of water on the plant. You can spray the top and bottom (roots) of the plant and let the water run into the plant along the "leaves" that way it is getting into the plant and can do it's work from there.
Watering is one of the most important aspects of succeeding with Tillandsias, and one of the most misunderstood. Tillandsias NEED water, although they can survive for long periods of drought, they are NOT GROWING and certainly not thriving in these conditions, they are going dormant and just trying to survive.
Your plant will also rot and die if left wet for too long. This means your plant wants water, but needs to dry out completely before being watered again. Plants should be given enough light and air circulation to dry in no longer than 4 hours after watering. It's best to water your plants in the morning so they dry by nightfall.
Humidity is NOT a source of water for your plant. Tillandsias can only obtain their water if it is sat on their leaves, in nature through dew, fog and rain. Humidity only delays the drying process. Tillandsias are covered in suction scales (trichomes) which capture moisture, these scales automatically close when your plant has enough moisture. Get to know your plant, handle the leaves, after watering the leaves will feel stiff and full of water, when in need of water they will be softer to the touch and the plant will be lighter in color. Dehydration can be noticed by flaccid, wrinkled or rolled leaves.
Water Quality
Generally speaking water quality is not important to Tillandsias, they do not tend to show water spots and are basically only susceptible to pH8 or higher, or too much salt. Artificially softened water has too much sodium (salt) for Tillandsias and should not be used as it will slowly cause die back. Distilled water is too pure and will actually pull nutrients out of the plant tissue causing death, NEVER use distilled water. Tillandsia like moving air not closed stuffy conditions.
Watering Schedule
Your plant needs to be watered regularly, at least 2 to 3 times per week. Misting is generally not sufficient even if done daily, they need to be watered (underneath as well as on top) to the point of runoff as though they've just gone through a rain storm, AT LEAST twice a week. The easiest way to achieve this is to actually immerse the whole plant in the sink or a bucket if possible, if not, use a hose or the kitchen faucet to totally wet your plant. Your plant will also appreciate a good soaking for several hours every one to two weeks (although never submerge the blooming flower for more than a few seconds, or the petals will dissolve, of course if you're going away for several weeks it is more important to give your plant sufficient water, than to the preserving of the bloom). Shake off any excess water from fleshy plants. Give thin leaf varieties an extra spray on their tips as they dry out faster.
Tip
If totally confused about whether or not to water, pull at an outside leaf, if it comes off easily it doesn't need water, if its tough to pull off it needs watering. ( NOTE :- Please don't do this too often or you won’t have much of a plant left. )
For even more information check out these links!
Lighting
Temperature
Fertilizing
No, this post isn't about Marshall but one of my other loves- my plants! We have these great ledges in our apartment and because it's spring we can use them now! (We had plastic on the windows in winter :(.JPG)
So this spring I decided I was going to try out planning from seeds! First I started with Mint and they're doing pretty good so far! (above).JPG)
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I also did this!! I saw it (above) in a magazine and thought it was the coolest thing. Unfortunately my fish died but it was good for my plant project so I used the his (Marko, my fish) fish bowl, the rocks and soil I already had and got a couple plants and made this great plant bowl. I love it! Cool hey?.JPG)
And then my 8 different spices! I'm really excited about these! I didn't want to buy all sorts of planters (they're often so expensive) so I thought "Why not tea cups and mugs?" and I had some really cute ones so that's what I did. I glued the saucer down to the tea cups and went to town planting and labelling. No live on the soil surface yet but I'll post a couple more pictures as they grow! I can't have a dog yet (apartment rules) so my plants are my babies until then.
Cala Lilies
