by Keri Byrum | Jan 25, 2015 | Plant Spotlight, Succulents |
Growing Succulents Indoors Succulents are hot right now. Look through any gardening website, decorating magazine or go crazy on Pinterest to see the designs and uses for this group of plants. From containers to wreaths to temporary installations, succulents have compelling shapes and colors that make them ideal for a wide range of displays. This article will provide concepts for basic care and design uses that can easily be incorporated into your home and will flourish in low light levels. Care Not surprisingly, succulents will require less frequent watering than most interior plants. Plants that are continually overwatered will be prone to rot, disease and a general decrease in plant vigor. I like to maintain succulents by monitoring the turgidity, or the stiffness of the leaves. … Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Jan 19, 2015 | Plant Spotlight |
Hearing the name “oxalis” gives most gardeners chills, invoking images of garden and lawn weeds that are almost impossible to get rid of. Now clear those thoughts and open up to this beautiful Purple Shamrock, Oxalis regnellii ‘Triangularis’. Unlike its relatives, it does not spread or reseed and instead forms nice tight clumps of deep purple foliage. This plant is on the top of my list and I would recommend you consider it too! During a recent trip to Virginia I realized how close we were to Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. I’ve met Brent several times and was even lucky enough to have him come to Orlando to speak at the FNGLA’s Landscape Show a few years ago, and when I discovered we were only an hour from their shop it was a pretty quick decision! … Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Jan 14, 2015 | Backyard Chickens |
I have to be honest. I meant to get to this last week, but then I got so excited about getting our new chicks that I didn’t take the time to get this post written! Our new baby chickens have arrived and all are doing great. This piece will guide you on the steps that we took preparing for baby chicks and some of the tricks we’ve learned. Our goal was to create a brooder in our house for our young chicks. Brooder is the technical term for a device or structure for the rearing of young chickens or other birds. The most important factor is keeping the young chicks warm and safe. It is recommended that newly hatched chicks are kept at 95 degrees and then the temperature can be decreased by 5 degrees every week thereafter.… Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Jan 11, 2015 | DIY Garden Projects, Succulents |
One of the oldest forms of sculpture, the art of topiary historically involves meticulous pruning and shaping of plants over years to create three dimensional masterpieces. Today, creating your own topiaries at home may be easier than you think. Using succulents and some imagination, you too can create your own topiary, but in hours rather than years. DIY succulent topiary is easy to make by following these steps for preparation and planting. Succulents are a great starter plant for a project like this; they are easy to propagate, need very little care, and most have compact growth habits that work really well for keeping a tight form. The basic steps involved in this process are 1) preparing plants, 2) filling the frame with a growing media, 3) planting and finally, 4) maintenance and care.… Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Jan 6, 2015 | Around Our Yard, Garden Visits |
The holiday season has come and gone, and as we start to put away Christmas decorations from our house I begin to look to our outdoor containers next. This article will give you some easy tips for changing pots from Christmas to spring color with just a few simple considerations for plant selection. I will admit, when I was planting these I was mindful that the poinsettias would only be in for about eight weeks and then they would be replaced with something new. The other plants were chosen based on how well they would accompany poinsettias, that they would transition to looking good after the holidays, and also that they were cold-loving plants for a Florida winter. The Christmas containers looked great, especially toward the end of their display, and this means that the next life for these containers will start out that much better because the plants have already grown and filled in. … Read Full...
