Houseplants That I've Managed to Keep Alive!

I am one of those gardeners who is very challenged when it comes to keeping a plant alive in the house.  If something comes into my house, you can assume it will die a pretty fast death.  The only thing I have any luck with are forced branches of forsythia or quince living in a vase of water in the dining room, and I believe that's because they are the first signs of spring, and I actually give them some attention.  I don't even want to think about how many orchids, begonias, ferns, and other poor things that I've killed.

I am quite proud of the fact that I have actual living things in the dining room now, though, and they've been there since before Christmas!.....and they're thriving!

I took this from Sean Conway's book, Cultivating Life,  and so far have had two different spike mosses and one fern doing quite well for several months.  This literally is three glass "terrariums" of a sort from Homegoods, with an inch of charcoal in the bottom, and then the plants stuck in.  It's important that they be in the shade (the first round got "steamed" from light coming in the dining room window).  Once they're planted, they get about a teaspoon of water each, about once a month.  Even I can manage that!

Some Updates from the Stepchild Garden

I seem to have gone from one extreme to another...no posts for a couple of weeks, and now multiples in one day!

In any case, here are some updates from the stepchild garden at home. I'm on a mission to get some of the structural things done soon, so I can plant some more things prior to the tour in May.

Here are the trellis/tuteurs that came from Sean Conway's book Cultivating Life. We've never really an "entrance" to the back garden, so these guys are now marking the implied gate. I planted them with Jasmine "Madison," which should put on a great show in May.

The next photo is the ajuga bed, that's been planted with "Dixie Chip" ajuga. Once it fills in, it should form a pretty solid blanket. My friend Carolyn is assembling a creeping fig-covered topiary form of a teddy bear, and I think I'll use an actual pillow on the bed.

The last photo is a closeup of Ilex meserva "Blue Princess," which is a favorite of mine, though it doesn't seem to be used that much here in the south. I love the super bright berries against the almost black foliage!