Please Take Care of your Succulents

Most succulents need at least 6 hours of indirect sunlight every day. Put your wreath near a sunny window or in a sunroom. Want to move it outdoors? Keep it sheltered from hot, direct sun and bring it back in if the temperature drops to 55°F/13°C at night. These desert-dwellers don't like the cold. A lots information please hit here.

Choose your plants. You have a huge array of succulents to choose from: sedum, echeveria and aeonium offer 100s of species in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.

Take cuttings from your plants, leaving 2-inch (5 cm) long stems. Allow the cuttings to dry a day or two before you make your wreath, so that the cut ends will dry a bit and won't ooze sap.
　　
Soak the moss in water before you use it. Make sure its completely saturated, then wring out the extra water. Pack the sphagnum moss tight enough to hold the shape of the form. If you bought a pre-filled moss form, plunge the entire thing in water to saturate it.
　　
Plan your arrangement. Lay your moistened wreath on a table or countertop. Surround it with the succulent cuttings you took to get an idea of how they'll look on the wreath.
　　
Plant your plants by poking scissors, or another sharp, pointed tool, in the moss to make a hole for each cutting. Insert one stem into each hole. Don't be afraid to crowd the succulents a bit -- they're slow-growing. Plus, you'll get a fuller, more beautiful arrangement this way.
　　
Pin stems in place. Until your succulents are rooted, they'll need help staying in place. Hold each one with a U-shaped craft pin to keep it from falling out. Take care not to cut in to the stems.

The poppies in Turkey

                          
For years now, I've had a hankering to botanize in Turkey and see the ancestral home of tulips, crocus, iris and who knows how many other genera that evolved in that part of the world. Lo and behold, this looks like the year I'm going to get there.

It's all due to a woman named Holly Chase, an NPR listener who heard I was laid off and immediately deluged me with ideas for recreating myself.

And while I can't say I'm ready for a major overhaul, one of Holly's ideas is now a reality. Turns out she's been organizing tours to Turkey for several decades, and guess who'll be leading the next botanical one in April?

A lot of the people in my life had very unusual holidays. Certainly the economy had something to do with it, as did the weather, and a sad variety of different illnesses.

Mine have been a bit "off" as well, but nothing that a little botanizing won't cure. So I'm headed to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica to lose myself (one hopes not literally) in the wilds of Corcovado National Park. I've never been that far south in the country but I've now reserved a hammock with my name on it.

Do You Know When to Water?

House plants rely on us to meet all their watering needs. Without water, they'll die. Even a short time without it will cause stems and leaves to droop and leaf edges to turn brown.

Shorter days and cooler nights bring on an annual show of spectacular autumn colors in the landscape. But, you don't have to go outdoors to enjoy dramatic colorful foliage. The gold, orange, red and green of croton plant adds a rich palette to any room. However, overwatering is the top reason house plants die. Yellow leaves and limp stems are two signs of overwatered plants. Soggy soil can cause root rot, which can also kill plants.
 
Don't overlook prayer plant for striking patterned foliage. Best known for its folding leaves, this rainforest native-turned-house plant is simply beautiful.
 
Leaf for leaf, no other plant can match coleus plant's bold patterns and vibrant colors. This garden favorite makes an easy house plant. If you can still find one at the garden center, buy it. You'll love growing this colorful gem indoors, too.

How do you know when it's time to water? Sticking your finger in the soil is one way to tell, but the finger method won't allow you to feel the moisture deep in the pot, where the plant's roots are.
 
The most accurate way to gauge the amount of moisture deep in the container is to use a plant moisture meter. It's the best way to take the guesswork out of watering.

Japanese Anemones

 

Summer is nearly over here in New England, with cool nights and nippy mornings, most of the garden plants save for the late blooming Dahlia's, Tricyrtis species (the Toad Lilies) and Japanese Anemones,   are looking ratty. The garden tomatoes have all succumbed fully and completely to Phytophera infestans, otherwise known as Late Blight, and few annuals even exist anymore. But there is one exception, Jalapa mirabilis, or the common Four O'clock, an heirloom annual few people grow anymore. This is their season.

 Easily grown from seed, and great for children to plant in late may, Four O'clock's are rarely found at garden centers in the spring as young plants, for they prefer to be seeded where they are to grow, and divided later. If you're now thinking that this is one of those fussy annuals like Scabiosa or Bachelor Buttons, or even Bread Seed Poppies, where you are instructed by trusted plant experts to 'simply scratch the seed into prepared soil in the spring" and then wait for nothing but weeds, don't worry. This annual has large seeds, like black colored peas, and the seedlings are large and vigorous. Worth searching out if you want a border that looks like the one below in August and September.