The Great Plant Census of 2010 and GTS

The Great Houseplant Census of 2010

Click on the title above to view her post and those of others participating.

MMD - Mr. McGregor's Daughter - has issued an invitation to "fess up! How many plants are now residing in your home?" Officially, the idea became a survey that You can also join.

She had me curious... so I scouted the house with my camera - and this is what I found: 52 plants. (I'd missed a couple that I'd reported to her earlier!)



I recently caught a gardener on t.v. who mentioned that one should have 10 - 15 plants for every 1500 square feet of home - for the provision of fresh air - and to contract the gases that are released from the various furnishings and wall coverings, etc. in the home. Something to think about!

Kitchen (3)

My three amaryllis bulbs

Living Room (13)

Two Christmas Cactus, three rooting Hoya leaves (counted as one plant), two healthy African violets, one new baby African violet and three separate rooting leaves (counted as three plants), and one nearly deceased (very old) African violet that I didn't photograph!












One variegated philodendron and one pothos













and my new sansevieria.

Dining Room (14)
(the walls of which are more nearly the color shown nest to the first photo below - at left)

one upright Jade plant (8 years old or so), pot of narcissus, dying back (one plant), one Louisiana Palm Tree dug up two summers ago, two "cascading" jade plants, two orchids, one sedum, one variegated ivy, one bromeliad ('Cortez Red' from my mom two years ago)













one more sedum, one more orchid, one kalanchoe, and one begonia (I'm glad my dining room isn't this bright orange... what a funny trick the light played!)

A Guest Bedroom (2)

Two non-hardy hibiscus plants

Downstairs (20)

Next to my computer - three cacti and two succulents





Next to the sliding patio doors - one gigantic Aloe Vera (many plants in one pot... years old), two geraniums, two annual plants (can't remember the name), one humongous Spider plant (I'm NOT going to count the babies!)














and nine green, live but unresponsive amaryllis bulbs that will find their way to the compost pile this Spring if they don't do something soon! (And That's the Truthththth!)

MMD, Would you mind if I also billed this as a Green Thumb Sunday post?
Click on the above link and then head over to

As the Garden Grows
to see who else is participating today!

Hope you're enjoying a great weekend! :-)

Wednesday Was a Day of All Days!

First of all, the hyacinth bulbs.
(I sure hope they bloom, after all this publicity!)

Secondly, a young friend of mine and I went shopping.

He purchased a double shepherd's hook, a thistle seed birdfeeder,
thistle seed, a suet holder and suet cakes.

Enter "Shady" with a drill and drill bit!
"What?" you ask?
Don't forget folks! It's still Winter here in Iowa...
The ground is frozen solid! In order to put anything into the ground,
one must be resourceful... hence, the drill. :-)

That's the best I could do for now. My drill bit wasn't long enough...
but it's standing, and it's holding the bird food!
(albeit crookedly!) ha.

Yes, there's more! Please know that I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself! :-)

Lastly, I picked up a friend and we drove about an hour's drive north to a small town where I'd seen 55 gallon plastic (formerly holders-of-food) barrels for sale. We loaded 6 of them into Mr. Shady's pickup truck, and headed back home. My friend took one, and I gave another to a friend who'd requested one. The other four are in my screened in porch - just waiting for Spring, and the operation Mr. Shady will perform, to turn them into bona fide water collection barrels!

Yes, my friends!

We are one step closer to my long-time desire of owning and operating water-collection barrels. They will collect the water from the downspouts on either side of the back of the house. They will also have an overflow that will take momentary excess back into the current "r-outing" system. I hope to have two of the barrels connected to each other before the overflow operates. No matter what happens... it will be Good!

I pasted Jan's (Thanks for 2Day) theme logo here, because she's hosting a "Mother Earth Give-away." I posted a couple of days ago. My future rainbarrels were a part of that post.

Why don't you give her a visit? Click on her name, above, for all the details!

A Spring Rainbow!

C - Stands for Color!
I'm going to combine Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC meme today with that of

Rebecca author of In the Garden

who issued an invitation to participate in a Colorful Meme entitled "A Rainbow Invitation!" I wanted to share some of the color I enjoyed this past year in my gardens. :-)) I have to laugh! I got "stuck" in the photos taken one day... last May 4, 2009!

Here's my Spring Rainbow!

That was fun! Thanks, Rebecca! :-)

If you'd like to participate (or see who's participating) in the ABC meme and/or the Rainbow meme... click on either of the links at the top of this post.

"We do not merely want to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words—to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it." --- C. S. Lewis

Can There Be Life Without Gardening? GBMD-February 2010

Have you visited Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago?
Garden Blogger's Muse Day is her brainchild. And what a wonderful one it is, at that! You may elect to participate on the first day of each month. If not, head over to see who is... and go visiting those bloggers that are participating. :-) (Click on the logo below)

In this moment of time when we're looking towards Spring... I've taken (a couple or three hours) to look back at photos from last Summer and Fall... a reflection upon just why it is Essential to my well-being to be outdoors gardening.

Welcome to a little tour of my yard. Enjoy the poetical reflection as well.

Gardening Is Life

There's an easy eagerness
In many things I do.
Whether it's photography
or writing notes for you.



I cannot quite imagine
My life without a garden...
Rising blossoms electrify
my senses without pardon.



The colors and the textures
of the foliage and the flower,
Cause me to lose track of time
as I 'while away' the hour.



(notice an unfinished project below)

While away... did I say that?
Does that describe my weeding?
Does that describe my mulching
Does that describe the feeding?


I quite admire the varience
of the flora and the fauna.
To achieve the goals I've made for Spring
I'll work til dark from dawn. Ahhhh.




One last thing is certain -
while in my gardening stance -
I'm grateful for the beauty
around me that I glance.



May I never take for granted
the feelings that we share
While in our gardens, labor
and most delicately care.

Best Wishes for You as you approach your most active gardening season,
And may we all experience the joy and satisfaction that comes with working outdoors and helping to make the world around us more beautiful and enjoyable... not only for ourselves but for our guests.