Houseplants that Clean The Air

Did you know that the air that we breathe in our homes is polluted with toxins? You would not think so but it is true because these toxins come from the cleaning solvents that we use, paint, varnishes, ammonia, paper, and ink products. Even tobacco; second-hand smoke is harmful. If you suffer from allergies, these toxins will cause side effects like watery eyes, runny nose, or asthma. Here are houseplants that will clean the air by naturally removing toxins.

Before you buy houseplants you will need to determine which plants are right for your home. Most people have low light plants in every room or their house because this is the best way to keep the air clean. Otherwise, you would accent your decor with houseplants in high traffic rooms like kitchen, den, and bedrooms. I recommend one large plant and two small plants, for your kitchen and den. Then hang a spider plant or Boston fern in your bedroom and these plants will clean the air. 

Even if the rooms do not have a lot of sunlight, know that these low-light plants need indirect light. If you set them close to a lamp or artificial to grow light then they will be fine. They will grow well under a floor lamp or table lamp.

Here is a list of air-purifying plants that will remove TOXIC pollutants from your home. I found live plants spider plants, peace lily, Boston fern, and English ivy and Areca palm online at Walmart.com  Find these plants at Amazon.com (Patio and Garden) 

Philodendron, Areca Palm, English Ivy, Spider Plant, Peace Lily, and Boston Fern. These plants will purify your home by removing the toxin formaldehyde which is found in paper products and cleaning products that have the formaldehyde ingredient.

Naturally, remove toxins from indoor air with  a Peace Lily

Hang English ivy in an area of your home where there is tobacco. This ivy will naturally purify the air by removing tobacco smoke, chemicals, and residue.


Breathe easier with the Areca Palm.  The palm is a tree and would look best in a large room tucked in a corner or in front of a window that offers indirect light. They will remove the chemical trichloroethylene the chemical found in ink, paint, lacquer, and varnishes. Palm prefers a warm location that does not have drafts.

Set the peace lily under a floor lamp or in a corner of a room. This plant is easy to grow and prefers indirect light. The peace lily plant has large leaves with an exotic-looking white flower. This plant will clean the air in your home by removing the chemical benzene.  This chemical is used in nail polish, paints, and adhesives.

When your home air is toxin-free you and your family will be healthier and happier. It takes 24 hours for the houseplants to filter the toxins from the air.

Remove toxins from indoor air with  a Spider Plant

Other houseplant benefits:

Know that the houseplants fill the air with negative ions. The negative ions make people feel happy. 

1. Houseplants increase the humidity levels in the air and thus your skin in winter will not feel dry.
   

Organizing Garden Tools in Shed

Early spring is a good time of the year to get your garden tools organized in your garage or shed.   Then when gardening or planting season arrives, every gardening tool that you need will be easy to find and ready to use.

The garden shed is my husband’s project and he is not very organized. Needless to say, 90% of the garden tools and products need to gather and put in a specific area. Meaning all garden boxes with overwintering elephant ears, and other bulbs that we lift in the fall need to be organized so we can plant specific colors and other groupings in the spring after hard frost has passed.

Presently all of my garden hand tools are in a storage container and the rake, shovel, and hand tiller are on the floor behind the door. I think it is best to get them off the floor and onto the wall. 

I found some useful organizational products for the garden sheds or garage, I like the wall-mounted garden tool storage that had five roller balls that gripped the tools and held them in place on the wall.  There were also 6 hooks that you could hang garden gloves or hand tools. I also like shelving in the shed and a potting station would be ideal.  

Where to Buy Garden Tool Shed Organization Products

I shopped for ceiling and wall mounts, pegboard, and shelving.  I found a wonderful garden tool organizer at amazon.com in best-selling ceiling wall mounts but also saw useful products for the garden shed at ebay.com  Then Walmart  has an entire section online for best-selling garage organization and storage. I checked for rollback special prices and did buy some shelving and containers.

 So if you get a break, and there is a warm day in the forecast, I would recommend that you get your garden shed organized, clean your tools and get them off the floor and onto the wall. 

   

Attracting Earthworms to Garden

Today I found that the steps I took in late fall increased earthworm activity in my garden soil and I am really happy about this because these worms will enable me to have a healthy crop this year.

Earthworms benefit your soil by making it nutrient-rich with organic matter. The earthworms also create space for air and water by losing up the dense soil. This makes it very easy for the plant roots to grow and take hold of the soil.


Know that at the end of the season last year I removed my annual crops, then weeded the garden bed. When the weeding was completed amended the soil with some compost, then watered it well. 


Next, I covered the garden bed with newspaper. followed by covering the newspaper with cardboard. Then in late fall when the leaves fell I left them on top of the cardboard. The paper products that covered the garden bed kept the soil moist and prevented it from drying out. By doing this I created an ideal worm habitat.


The last two weeks have been warm in my area, and many of my spring flowers have buds on them. I took this as a sign that winter was over so I removed the garden bed covering and found that the soil was fantastic.

The earthworms did their job and made my soil in perfect condition for planting. A healthy garden is one with soil that is rich with earthworms, keep your garden healthy by not using pesticides. There are many natural pest control products that you can use, that will know harm your earthworms.

Spring Gardening – Dividing Daylilies

For the last two weeks, the weather had been warm; highs in the low 70s and at night lows in the 50s. Wonderful warm weather has awoken all of my spring bulbs including my daylilies. Yes, my lily flowers have broken the soil surface and I have noticed that they appear to be overcrowded.

It does not look like I will need to transplant more than 8 or 9 large clumps. For now, I will keep watching the garden plants to see what other work needs to be done. After all, it is the end of February and we could get snow next month.

Know that if I pass up dividing the flowers this spring then there will be fewer flower blooms or they may die out due to not enough nutrients or hydration.

When it comes time to divide the overgrown lilies, I will transplant them into another garden bed or into containers. The garden bed will have ample sun and part sun in the heat of the day and the soil will be well drained

Tomorrow I will start getting a garden bed ready for the transplant daylilies.  Learn more about lilies by reading my article here

The photographs used in this blog post are of my gardens.

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Overcrowded lilies with fewer blooms

Grow Violas in Containers - Garden Tips

  Now that it is early spring and the crocus and daffodils are blooming I want to add more color to my container's gardens and will achieve this by planting cool-season violas. Viola flowers are in the violet family; some are perennial, others are annuals and a few grow wild in your yard.

I find that the viola flower looks best when grown in freestanding containers, this is a small flower that seems to get lost when grown in the garden. Viola comes in a variety of colors; red, purple, yellow, and white are my favorite colors as these colors are so cheerful.

Before I plant in my container I always like to remove the plastic liner and I never use preexisting dirt. I will remove the dirt and wash the plastic liner with antibacterial dawn dish soap, rinse well, and let the liner air dry. Then I will fill the container liner with potting soil that is amended with compost or manure.

 When planting I like to plant using a color story I love violet grown with yellow and also containers of the same color violas.  Once the violas are planted, add some mulch before setting the container where the flowers will get lots of sun. 

This year I bought a variety of viola flowers from Lowe's garden center, know that it is important to watch the violas for the first month to make sure that the soil does not dry out. Dry soil can cause the plant to feel stress and it may die. You want to keep the soil moist but not wet. Too wet of soil is not good for Violas.

I do recommend applying a layer of mulch to go around the viola plants but stay a good inches away from the plant stem. Violas are hardy to 20” F which makes them ideal for early spring container gardens. 

Growing Verbena in Containers and Rock Garden

If you have a sunny rock garden that needs a pop of color then plant some verbena. This flower looks so pretty cascading over the rocks and is wonderful when growing in a free-standing or hanging container.

I love verbena and think that it is eye appealing flower. It is relaxing to view the flowers that bloom nonstop from late spring to autumn. The flowers stop blooming when the weather changes, and gets cool/cold.

I also like that this flower because once it is established in the garden it really does well with little water. I feed with Miracle Grow bloom boost in the spring and then mix a little spray and grow in the water and feed weekly.

Oh my gosh, the plants are so healthy and the flowers are glorious. They attract butterflies and hummingbirds to my yard and all enjoy this beautiful flower.

The verbena flowers come in a variety of colors; white, pink, red coral, and violet. There are also some two-tone flowers that have a yellow center and they are really pretty. The flower is made up of flower clusters that remind me of phlox, (shape) the flower itself is smaller. It is a pretty flower but it has no fragrance.

Normally I start my annual verbena plants in the greenhouse by growing them from seed. However last year I bought lovely mature verbena plants at Lowes garden center and hung these plants in my garden. The plant's stem fell over the sides of the container and was lovely.

 So you can grow verbena from seed or you can buy this plant at Walmart  Lowes and online garden centers like Brecks, Springhill, or Michigan Bulb.  I also found 1000 seeds by Carolina Seeds and Exotics at Amazon.com The price was fair with free shipping. 

A Garden for Children - Design Ideas

Many people think that their children would not care for a garden. but I believe that a garden is a wonderful way to encourage children to be creative.  Know that I believe that children need to be outdoors, playing in the yard and getting fresh air and sunshine on a daily basis, so a garden that is designed for children is ideal as it will be their special place.

My neighbor's nine-year-old daughter helped me to plan a garden for your senses.  This garden featured a water fountain, wind chimes, a shade tree, an ornamental grass garden, pink hydrangea, and irises, and in the spring pink and lavender tulips would bloom.   There was a wooden garden bench under the shade tree which allowed the kids a place to sit and read, draw or play or make a variety of flower crowns and necklaces. 

When the children were not busy being creative they would look at the clouds or daydream.  Know that every summer the neighborhood children would come to spend time in the garden.  They would plant flower seeds in the spring, water the plants, and be so excited when the flowers would grow.

When it comes time to plan a garden it is important to involve your children.  Shop with them at garden centers or at Walmart.com  to find out what they like or dislike.  Pick out flowers and herbs that have fragrances or attract butterflies or hummingbirds.  Plan, plant and teach your children how to care for and maintain the garden. The more involved the children are,  the more interested they will in learning.

Here are three gardens that I created to inspire their parents. See the outdoor living sets below. In the first garden set, I added a photograph of my neighbor's yard as the background then created a seating area and an ornamental grass and flower garden.  A flower-designed throw pillow was added to the bench to make it look cozier. A garden for children is their place to go to play, dream, look at clouds, make mud pies, and read. 

Garden design ideas by SGolis

This large gourd is the perfect size for creating a fairy garden for children to enjoy.  Design the garden with your kids and you will make a happy memory.

Garden Design - Small Space Gardening

Today one of my friends contacted me and asked me if they could hire me to design a garden for their front entrance.  My friend has always loved spending time in her garden but due to illness, she had to sell her home and move into a townhouse which gave her limited space for gardening.

She went on to say that from her front window all she saw was a patch of grass, a stone walkway, and then a sidewalk followed by parked cars.  This landscape was not eyed appealing to her and she felt her home looked cold and unwelcoming.

When I asked what she preferred her response was colorful flowers that would attract butterflies, window boxes, perennials, Hosta plants a water fountain to attract the birds. Basically, she desired a sensory garden in her front yard.  I noted her requests and went to my digital design board.  Took the time to create a bird and butterfly garden that would appeal to her needs.

Sensory garden design for the front of a townhouse

Home Entrance with Garden by sgolis 

Add Color to Your Winter Garden with Pansies

My winter yard and gardens are looking rather blah. The snowdrops are blooming and the crocus is coming up. The only green in my yard, besides the bulbs, is the evergreen shrubs and the Baltic ivy growing up the side of my oak tree.

The winter weather has been mild as we are twenty degrees warmer than the norm. So I thought I would plant a container of pansies and get a head start on very early spring gardening. I like the idea of having a container garden of pretty yellow and purple pansies close to the entrance of my home. Or I may plant some purple tulips that I have in cold storage in the center of the terracotta container and then plant a border of purple pansies.

Pansy Arrangement

Grow pansies in a container garden

Add color to winter gardens with pansies

The late winter/very early spring pansy flower containers will look nice growing on my deck. I will set them in a sunny location.

Know that pansies are easy to grow. You will need the following garden supplies; a Container that has drainage holes on the bottom, and potting soil that is amended with compost. Liquid fertilizer (I like to use  spray and grow), mulch, and winter hardy pansies.

Pansies can tolerate light snow, but if it gets extremely cold I will cover them with frost protection or drag the containers into my mudroom.

Note: You can plant pansies in the fall also.  It is a good way to add color to your container gardens.

Pruning Your Trees

I like my mature trees as much as the next person but it is wise to know which trees need to be pruned. Many times trees that are not maintained will become uprooted during a wind or ice storm and this will cause the property owner great stress; damage to the home, gardens, and expense to have the tree cut down and removed.

So before your trees become uprooted or fall down on your house. Make a point to prune them annually. Remove dead branches whenever you see them otherwise you would prune the tree after the flower blooms in the spring or after the fruit is harvested in the fall.

Learn the three-cut method of pruning trees and shrubs by viewing this YouTube video.  Learn the right way and your trees will benefit from the pruning.

Learn more about pruning trees and shrubs here 

Flash Flood Waters Unearthed Spring Bulbs

Last week my area had heavy rain, in fact, we got 5.7 inches in an hour. Needless to say, there were dangerous flash flooding warnings and a fast stream of water running through my yard.  This body of water unearthed the spring bulbs that I had planted last month and caused other yard and garden damage.

After the rain had stopped and the water had subsided I went out to inspect the gardens for water damage. All of the mulch that I put down last month had washed into the lawn and many of my spring bulbs had been shifted, the topsoil washed away from the bulbs but the deep-rooted ones were still in the ground, however, many had become unearthed.



I found seven daffodils bulbs right away.  I had planted 260 spring daffodils and crocus bulbs last month so I asked my husband to come out and help me search for any other bulbs.  

My search for the spring bulbs was careful and I did go into the woods to look for them. When all was said and done we had found just under three dozen spring bulbs. 

If other bulbs were washed off due to the flood waters then they will bloom in the lower level of our garden next to the retaining wall and next spring I can transplant them after they bloom back into my yard.

Instead of planting these unearthed bulbs in the ground, I have decided to grow them in containers. I may force them to bloom and give them as gifts on Valentine's Day.    View this video to learn how to force bulbs to bloom indoors for winter color. 

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Recycling Christmas Tree

When it comes to buying our Christmas tree we always buy a real tree. We love the fresh balsam fragrance and the fact that we can give back to nature when Christmas has passed by recycling our Christmas tree.

After we have removed all of the decorations we will decide on the best method for recycling.  One way to recycle the tree is to take it to our city's recycling plant. There they will make mulch out of our tree and we are welcome to take a scoop full for our yard and gardens.  If we pass on taking the mulch it will be used in city parks.



In the past, we have recycled our Christmas tree by tying a cement brick to the tree and then tossing it into the center of our pond. The brick enabled the tree to sink to the bottom of the pond and this tree created a habitat for the fish, water turtles, and other pond creatures.



An easy way to give back to nature is to create a thicket in your yard. It is best to do this in the back section of your yard. We have a large yard so we started our Christmas tree thicket off to the side of our yard. 

My husband set the tree on its side at the base of our retaining wall. Then all of our tree trimmings and branches were set on this thicket.  When the trees broke down they became a safe and warm shelter for wildlife. 

Thicket made from recycled Christmas trees and Oak tree tree trimmings/branches

Small tree and branch thicket at base of the wall 

After several years the trees turned into a safe shelter for animals in the woods
Note:  Cat Adoption Guide is my other Blog

Another way to recycle your Christmas tree is to use it as a bird feeder. You will enjoy watching the songbirds that are perched on the tree branches for the next few weeks.

Consider setting up the tree close to a window and decorate the tree with birdseed ornaments. You and your family will enjoy watching the songbirds.

Buy birdseed ornaments at these fine online stores.  Here are a few that I recommend.

GardenersSupply Company birdseed ornament set of 3

MonticelloShop birdseed ornament assortment

TractorSupply Company (4) Peanut butter Suet balls

Snowdrop Flowers are Blooming in Garden

Today the weather had warmed to 38 degrees and I thought I would take a walk in the garden. I went into the garden to watch for nature and to check to see if any of the spring bulbs were blooming. To my surprise, I saw that the snowdrop flowers were blooming. A patch of 8 to 12 flowers was in full bloom.

This flower is a perennial in the Amaryllis family. There are 75 different species and varieties of snowdrops. All of the flowers are white in color. The species that grows in my garden and most gardens is the Galanthus Nivalis (snowdrop) Galanthus in Latin means milk-white-flowers.  These milk-white colored flowers have bloomed in my garden for the last 15 years and when I saw that they were in bloom a month early I was delighted but surprised.

People call this flower a snowdrop because it usually does not 
wait for the snow to melt. It usually is the first flower 
to bloom in a winter garden. 

This winter has been very warm, 20 degrees warmer than last year. Although we have had cool to cold weather this past week with snow flurries on Christmas day, prior to that the weather has been spring-like. Overall I think that the spring bulbs are confusing because they normally bloom the end of January - first week in February.

Planting tips:

1. Plant in fall six weeks prior to a hard frost and the snowdrops will bloom the following spring. Grow snowdrops in well-drained clay, or sandy soil in an area that has morning sun exposure with part to full shade in the afternoon. 
   
2. I think snowdrop flowers look nice when grown under evergreens or other trees and shrubs.  These flowers look especially nice when grown in a rock garden with other spring bulbs, such as crocus and daffodils.
   
3. Remember to space the bulbs when planting because they multiply quickly. Snowdrops are deer resistant
   

If you are interested in growing this long-lived spring-blooming flower in your garden then I would recommend that you shop for the bulbs at the following stores;

Brecks.com

Americanmeadows.com

lowes.com

ebay.com

netherlandbulb.com

Learn more about Netherland bulbs by reading my product review.

Getting Ready for Spring Gardening

Normally my spring garden would not be on my mind, but today the temperature was 70 degrees Fahrenheit and this spring-like day has got me thinking of my garden. Normally the weather is cold, with snow but this year the weather forecast is calling for warmer than usual.

Know that we do need a hard frost and bitterly cold temperatures to kill off the ticks and to enable the spring bulbs to sleep before awakening in late January – early February. But nature this year has a different idea because today when I removed a patch of leaves in the yard I saw the grassy foliage of my crocus had broken ground and the green stems were two inches above the soil.

The spring bulbs breaking ground has got me thinking about gardening and getting a head start on my preparations.   I went out to my greenhouse today and sterilized some pots for planting. Normally I start my annuals, herbs, and vegetables in mid to late January in the portable greenhouse that I bought at tractorsupply.com last year. But since we are having spring-like weather I thought I would get a head start with my gardening chores.

I am thinking that by the end of December, I will have my window boxes sterilized and painted also. This year I am thinking of planting the tulips and crocus that I have in cold storage,  I have had good results with forcing the spring bulbs to bloom and will probably force the bulbs to bloom indoors and give the containers away as gifts. 

Here is a video that will show you how to force spring bulbs to bloom in approximately five weeks indoors.

Getting ready for spring in December is an activity that I am not accustomed to but do like that I can get many tasks done now while the weather is warm.

Caring for Christmas Poinsettia

It's the season for the Christmas poinsettia plant for gift-giving and home decorating.  The poinsettia is a beautiful plant that comes in a variety of colors; crimson red, pink white, or bi-color leaves along with dark green leaves. It is one magnificent plant and is known as the plant of Christmas.

Know if you reside in a mild climate where the average temperate is 55 to 60 at night and the high is 70 degrees Fahrenheit then you can feature this plant outdoors on your porch or in your feature garden. However, if you reside in an area where the weather is cold then poinsettia must stay indoors.

Healthy red poinsettia gets plenty of light by the window

Red poinsettias are grown in an outdoor feature garden.

Shop for live poinsettias at Teleflora.com This quality plant is best for gift-giving. 

 Also, shop at Lowes.com or at their store. I saw gorgeous poinsettias there and they were reasonably priced. Target.com and Walmart.com also have poinsettias in their seasonal departments.

Buying Tips

When you go to buy a poinsettia I would recommend buying a healthy plant that does not have drooping leaves or brown spots as this would be an indication of not adequate water, which would cause the poinsettia to have stress.

Caring for Poinsettia 

Bring your poinsettia home in a covered bag so that it does not get too cold or suffer a cold draft. Remove your poinsettia from the foil holiday pot wrapper and set it on a plant-draining saucer. 

 The best location for your poinsettia is in a sunny room where the average temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  Your poinsettia needs an average of six hours of bright light so if you do not have a room that has a lot of sunlight then set in under a table light. (I do not recommend setting your poinsettia in direct sunlight) 

At night poinsettia prefers cooler temperatures so a room that is an average temperature of 60 to 70 degrees will keep your Christmas season poinsettia healthy.

Maintain your poinsettia plant by checking the soil daily. Know that poinsettias grow best in soil that is allowed to dry out some in-between watering. Test the soil daily to see if the soil is dry by inserting your index finger into the soil about one inch. If soil is dry then water the plant until it drains out the bottom. Let all the water drain from the plant container, but do not set the pot in the water in the saucer. Instead, dump the water out.  Poinsettias do not like wet soil.  

Other

Know that my friend resides in  Florida and she does grow her poinsettias outdoors. She told me she planted it in her yard after Christmas in an area where the soil was well-drained, plus the plant got six hours of sun daily with part sun in the heat of the day.   Her poinsettia grew into a shapely shrub in her  Florida outdoor garden.

Here is a video where you can learn how to make your plant rebloom again.

Gardening Season is Over

Last night the temperature dropped into the low 29s and it was very cold.  We had our first hard frost of the season and with that, the gardening season had ended.  

 

Today I went out to the garden and did cut back the remaining foliage to the soil line and then covered the gardens with mulch. The garden season is over and all that is left is my grass gardens. They will add interest to my yard for the next several weeks or until the spring flowers start to bloom.

  Photo of my end-of-season grass garden

I will miss my time in the garden as I am one who enjoys my garden very much. The only thing that is left is to plant some daffodils that my husband bought at Lowes today. He was able to get a bag of 40 bulbs for $6.98 

Know that as long as the ground is not completely frozen you can still plant the bulbs. I think I will cut back the chrysanthemum that is in the large containers and plant some daffodils. Then come spring these containers will look nice and add curb appeal to the front of the house.

Here are some articles on spring bulbs that you may like.

How to plant daffodils tulips and crocus