What’s Growing On Inside…

Well Hello there! Today I am sharing from inside the greenhouse.

All the little seedlings that took their start inside are now thriving outside…and the greenhouse is still growing on.

In case some of you are new and not so familiar with me and my plant obsession, these are the facts:

I live within in the city of Red Deer …which is smack dab in the middle of Alberta Canada…I am a zone three gardener, and I garden year round. Our winters are bitterly cold and that means my greenhouse is the little oasis in the snow for most months of the year. I am fortunate to have a fairly large yard…that is filled with several flower beds.
The greenhouse is a 12x20 wood and plexi –glass structure that stands on wood decking, (which in the winter months is lined and insulated by industrial foam tile flooring…In the cold winter months I heat the greenhouse with a gas furnace and in the summer when it is warm, I cool with the vents and move the air with fans. I am by no means a professional gardener…but instead self taught and wingin’ it as I go…trial and error has taught me much! I absolutely adore my greenhouse and pretty much anything with leaves….(okay…not weeds…ha-ha)
I start all the annual flowers in my greenhouse, starting in January. From January until May the greenhouse is filled with the bedding plants that will fill my gardens for the summer months…Once the annuals are out of the greenhouse, I move several of my houseplants (tropicals) into it and that is where they live for the summer and most of the winter months! I garden year round from the safety of my very favorite place in the world….my greenhouse!
Now that we have the particulars out of the way, lets see what’s going in inside in the greenhouse at this time of year.

Lots of tropicals…some started from cuttings…some from seed…all are very much loved.
Yes…that is my kid’s swimming pool…it is so warm inside the greenhouse, that the cold water doesn’t seem to phase them when it is inside…it also stays a lot cleaner than having it outside…and I don’t lose any garden space with an ugly swimming pool!

I open the blinds and can sit and watch the kids swim…as well as enjoy the view of my gardens from my little wicker throne.
NOW….What’s Growing in the greenhouse right this minute???
I have lots of plants that are in there right now…I am also starting a bunch of new ones to give to friends who are plant deprived…lol

THIS…is the cacti that I started from seed about 5 years ago. They are growing like weeds all of a sudden. Last spring I broke a piece of the tall one off when I was trying to transplant them. I popped them into the soil of another pot…and now they too are growing like crazy. It seems, that I need to cut back that tall one…it doesn’t want to stand on its own anymore…and I am constantly getting prickles in places no prickles should ever go…hee hee…

I am not that versed in the language of the succulent…especially the prickly cactus variety..so I have no idea what they are all called…or why this one keeps drooping over on me.

This little batch started out as one little round…and has become quite a big member of the house! It will soon grace the tables of my hairdressers shop…as I am making more…and don’t need that many dangerous plants on my desk! *)

This is a Nicco Swedish Ivy. I took a cutting 7 years ago…and have been making more and more as need be. It was three times the size of the photo above about a month ago…

Today she is not so big. Out of the blue it collapsed and would not pick up. So…I got busy and decided to cut it back and see if it would come around…seems that worked…it will be big as ever in no time I’m sure.

I also have the silver version of the Swedish ivy. I started this from seed in the spring of this year. I haven’t tried to keep one of the silver ones year round before…so thought it was worth a try.

A Begonia from seed 3 years ago…blooming all nice and pretty.

My Bananas!!! There are two of them in the greenhouse…I refer to them as the divas …totally high maintenance…ugh. ha-ha-ha…but I do love them!
The Jade plant that I coaxed into bloom last summer is growing like a weed…I have started 6 new ones from it.

I do rescue for the plants that my chiropractor abuses…lol…the asparagus fern is almost ready to take back for round 3…lol
The greenhouse is like a last stop hospital for some of my houseplants…if they are not doing well…they rest up in here…if they can’t recover…they are replaced…or have cuttings taken from them to make more to give away.

Healthy and happy…most of the plants thrive in the greenhouse…

My Mandeville is doing well…even sporting a couple of bloom buds…

There are two Wandering Jews…a green one that is very healthy….and a purple one…witch is not so much…I am taking cuttings off of them to make more…

I Have a whole stock of cuttings and starters from the tropicals that I love…just waiting for some soil, pots and new homes…

It seems that the wisteria heard me say she was slated for the trash if no leaves appeared….lol….two weeks ago it was nothing more than a twig!

The Passion flower is loving the warm in the greenhouse…has bloomed several times this summer. I hope I can keep her alive for another winter…

The Hydrangea that I was certain would die, has decided to give me another chance…now…can we get some blooms???

I love anything with leaves…and am so glad to be able to grow year round in my little haven.
What does your greenhouse do in the summer months???
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to link in with some photos...with either current or past (during the dormant seasons) to Flaunt Your Flowers on Friday with me on Tootsie Time. Many absolutely gorgeous gardens participate in this party, and yours would be a welcome visit for them all to make!
Hugs and smiles, wishes for a grand week and thank you to those who have stopped by for a visit! Leave a comment and share some of your gardening advice!
Until next time…Happy Gardening!
_{*)*)*) to my special three…Thought for the day: The one you allow to anger you, conquers you! Keep smilin!!!}
(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

Forced To Face My Fear

Yes, you read that right. This past weekend, I was forced to face a fear. This is a story with a happy ending…at least so far! ha-ha

We all have something in this world that intimidates us. Go on…admit it. I have. In fact I have openly admitted to you all several times this particular fear. It is an irrational fear…not based on anything except pure uneducated assumptions.

What am I afraid of?

Let me ask you how much you remember about me….

What is the ONLY plant in the whole list of tropicals that I have mentioned again and again that I find intimidating? I have said I think they are gorgeous…but very intimidating.

Yes…that’s right…ORCHIDS!

Stop laughing….right now! Here’s the story about the kick in the bum, that good old me got last weekend.

I was having kind of “one of those days” where nothing was going smoothly for me. If I wanted to pick it up…it dropped…if I wanted to clean it, I’d dirty it. I had been having one blonde moment after another…and was just so discouraged. I was simply not having a good day. I was about to give up and just go watch some t.v. when it happened.

The Doorbell rang.

Who the heck is coming to my door? I plunked my way across the floor to the front door and opened it carefully. I had seen the Fed Ex truck out front a few moments earlier, and remembered thinking that the people next door sure do get a lot of deliveries…BUT this time…the Fed Ex delivery was for me!

Upon opening the door…the woman dressed in a Fed Ex uniform looked at me and said “I am just making sure you are home…I have a HUGE box for you” and she walked away.

Now who on earth would send me something in a HUGE box? I had no idea what was happening…or how much I was going to grin when I saw it.

The box…it turns out… to my absolute delight was from ….none other than….COSTA FARMS! woooooo hooooo!

I signed for that big old box and slammed that door shut…grabbed the box and ran for the kitchen. I ripped open that puppy like a chocoholic rips into….. well you get the idea….

I see leaves!!!! Oh My! LEAVES!!! They sent me PLANTS!!!! Yippie…Yippie!!!! (happy dancing!!!!)

That is when I realized WHAT type of leaves I was looking at!

EEK!!!! They sent me 4 of the most beautiful Orchids I have ever seen! OYI! Now What! I am sure to kill them just by looking! Oh my! What am I going to do?

I’ll tell you what!…Tootsie is going to face her fear of the delicate Orchid and grow these babies like a pro!

I whipped out my gardening books…ignored all tweets and face book comments…didn’t move a muscle until I learned a few things about Orchids.

Turns out…they are not that hard! (or so they say) Costa Farms says they are EASY! They are not that delicate (ya right) AND they require very little attention! (I sure hope all of this is true!!!! lol)

The Orchid, it turns out, is a very diverse plant. To learn all that I have learned about these plants, visit the Costa Farms Orchids are Easy page and learn everything you will need to know!

Just click the Orchid logo below to go straight to that page!

I put my Orchid babies in the bathroom where they will stay until I find the exact perfect spot for them in my house. The light in there is bright but not harsh and there is plenty of humidity in there.

So….here I am …facing my fears…and loving these Orchids! Costa Farms sent me these wonderful plants, and I could not be happier! I wonder if they knew they were giving me a kick in the comfort zone and forcing me to branch out in my growing ambitions?

I am so thrilled that the wonderful people at Costa Farms not only have featured me this month over on their website as gardener of the month…

but that they were so thoughtful as to send me some plants! I never in a million years dreamed that anything like this would happen to me! THANK YOU COSTA FARMS!!!!

Not only did you make my day, but you forced me to learn something new about these wonderful plants, and moved me from intimidation…into determination!

Do you have a plant that intimidates you?

What Orchid Tips can you offer to this gardener?

Are you ready for this week’s Fertilizer Friday yet?

To learn more about Orchids from Melissa of Costa Farms, please join us in the Garden Chat Monday evening! To get all the details about this event, please refer to my sidebar and click the garden chat logo to go to the official page. I look forward to seeing you there!

Until next time…hugs and smiles, and happy gardening!

*)*)*)

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

Lets Make More!!!

Today I am participating in Thrifty Thursday. Click the photo above to visit Tales From Bloggeritaville and see what else our friends are sharing.
NOW....

Lets take a moment to discuss how we can increase the number of plants we have in our homes and in our gardens! Have you ever had a plant that is not looking so "showy" anymore? Maybe it is a hanging plant that is more legs than body, or a tall plant that has lost some of it's luster? OR...do you simply love that particular plant, and want some more of it around your home or garden....and don't want to have to put out a bunch of money to do so?

I will show you how I increase the number of plants, and in many cases the quality of the plants that I have in my greenhouse and home. And do it for FREE!

This is the vine that I have growing on the front of my house. It is called a Virginia Creeper.
These are the shoots that we will cut and force roots onto....
This is a purple Wandering Jew. It is a house plant. (I hate that name)
Another version of the Wandering Jew.
Swedish Ivy (nicco)
Silver Swedish IvyPothos
Now...from the newest growth, go ahead and cut yourself a few sections of each plant. I like to put more than one "branch" into each pot to make the plant a fuller looking specimen.
Now that you have your plant parts, grab some plastic cups, or other water holding container that you don't care about too much. (water will leave marks on many of the containers) You do not have to use a clear container...roots do not need light to grow. In fact, they do not need any light at all...they just need to be warm, ( warmth will speed up the process) AND the branch should not be too long....the smaller the better as the plant will not focus on producing roots...instead it will try to sustain the leaves...so keep them short!
This is what your cuttings should look like at this point.
Now...remove the lower leaves...two or more to allow a clean branch to be in the water...the leaves will only rot and slow the process.
leaves removed....
another look at the removed leaves...see the little "lines or bumps" that is where the leaves used to be. That is also where the roots will begin to form.
again...
Perfect!
Put them into the water..I use miracle gro in mine...
lots in water...and let them sit!
Now a Spider Plant is a different story all together....they let off plantlets...
Lots of plantlets. All you do is cut the little plantlets off...and stick them into some water...
wait a week or more....
You will see a lot of little roots appear!
The spider plant will root very quickly in comparisson to many other plants. Being patient, keeping a watch to make sure the water is always clean...and that it does not dry out...is a very important thing to keep in mind.
The virginia creeper will take a long time to produce roots...mine took about 2-3 weeks...The others will depend on the plant.
Have fun making more!!! What will you do with them? I like to share them with friends...and add to my collection! To see this collection of houseplants...see this post.
I will post an update as the snips take on some roots for us!
Is there a plant you would like me to help you multiply-and I didn't touch on it's "type"? Let me know...I will do my bestest!
See you all tomorrow for Fertilizer Friday!