Moving In

Having waxed on repeatedly and ad nauseum about my dislike for houseplants, the time has come to change my tune, or really rather, to change what  plants I think of  as  houseplants.

In an exercise of self awareness I have been trying to figure out why a gal who lives and breathes all things horticultural for  8 months a year  shuts off that part of herself for the other 4.  I think I may have stumbled upon the answer….it was the plants.

I am not a huge fan of highly structural plants , especially pointy ones, which means houseplant offerings like agave, sansevaeria, aloe and many other succulent plants are out of the question. Also, not a fan a tropical looking plants , anything that looks like a palm , or plants with thick fuzzy leaves.  Crassula, african voilet,aspidistra,spider plant, dracaena, ferns, even prayer plant,and  wandering jew, all fit somewhere in these categories in my view. So , if you are following traditional houseplant selections,  I am down to very few choices.

After bringing in many plants to overwinter here ( because, Bill Monroe, I have no greenhouse) I have discovered that many plants I DO like  to grow in my garden, work just fine as houseplants.

Topping the list  are the scented geraniums. I do so enjoy walking by and rubbing a leave or two to inhale the wonderful scent of lemon fizz, citrus, apple, rose attar, or ‘old spice’. All of these live in my windows and as a bonus the rose  one blooms all winter long.

Then comes the lemon tree. Flowers constantly, scent to die for, AND lemons. Need I say more?

Then came the vines. I was reading about the Japanese tradition of growing morning glories ,or Asagao, and got to thinking about how that would translate to my window sill. I planted seeds in early August in a pot, placed it  in the picture window ,and lo and behold, the thing is blooming it’s head off, loving life, and making me smile every time I am sitting in the family room. I have to pinch back the vine almost daily so it won’t take over the room, but that is a small effort and in the winter when there will be no outside gardening to do, I will look forward to the chore.

I am also starting black eyed susan vine  thunbergia alata from seed, and brought inside  cuttings of the purple bell flower vine rhodochiton astrosanguineum that I had  growing outside  .

In a further effort to recreate “outside” inside, I potted up my firesticks cactus with a compatable aeonium in a large red pot . Outside when conatiner gardening I always combine plants and think about the pot, but inside have settled for whatever , until now!

I am also going to bring in a ptilotus called’ little joey’, my rosemary topiary,a clematis or 2,  some thyme and sage plants start some moon flower seeds ,and and and…..the potential list seems endless!

This houseplant thing isn’t so bad, my only worry now is where I can store all the furniture for the winter while I garden indoors!