In Praise of the Philodendron

When it comes to houseplants, the philodendron is my favorite. As a kid, I remember my grandmother having these plants in her home, as well as on her front porch during the warmer months. Known for its heart-shaped leaves in varying shades of green, the philodendron is attractive, inexpensive, and easy to grow and take care of. Oftentimes, it is displayed in a hanging basket to allow the vines to cascade down, but you can also train the vines to grow up a totem or trellis. Additionally, some varieties of philodendrons grow upright.

 However, my favorite thing about the philodendron is that it is what I call self-generating. Because it is a vining plant, once it starts filling in and spreading out, you can clip the trailing vines, root them out in water, and create more plants for little to no cost. 

So, if you're new to gardening or just looking for a low maintenance and attractive plant for your home, pick up a philodendron, or two. This plant is a worthwhile investment, to be sure.

Journey Versus Destination

While encouraging a group of second graders to walk in a straight line down the hallway from point A to point B this week, I was reminded of how important the little things in life can be. As I watched them push each other to and fro in order to be closer to the line-leader or to stand by their friends, I could not understand why they were so concerned with where they were in line. After all, isn't the destination -  be it lunch, recess, or English class -  the important thing?

About midway through our excursion, we saw another class walking toward us. As the students passed each other, some waved frantically back and forth, some exchanged haphazard high-fives, and a handful simply stared blankly at the floor. A few seconds later, we passed a popular teacher, and several students stepped out of line to give her a hug. Next, the students noisily navigated the stairs that led to the classroom. Quickly, I unlocked the door and ushered them inside.

As they took their seats, I observed the students as a group. Their faces were animated as they whispered to each other about all they had experienced during our short excursion. It was then that I realized life isn't just about reaching a particular place or position, it's also about the journey, and what we encounter along the way.

Today, as I reflect on the connection between a journey and that journey's end, I can't help but share what I feel is an important lesson for those of us who garden. We start out with a vision of what we want our gardens to look like, and an idea of how we will get from point A to point B. Along the way, we make mistakes, celebrate successes, and have a few days where we just turn our unfocused gazes upon the horizon. And although we enjoy reaping the final product - a beautiful, bountiful garden, we become better gardeners as a result of the journey.


 

The Poinsettia

Poinsettias are traditionally used in holiday centerpieces and floral arrangements during the Christmas season.  They have big green leaves, and their bracts, sometimes referred to as the flower of the plant, can be red, pink, white, and yellow.

In Mexico, its native habitat, the poinsettia grows outside as a perennial shrub, while in colder areas, the plant is kept inside and typically blooms for four to six weeks, then dies back. With special care and attention, it is possible to get a poinsettia to re-bloom.

In my personal experience, the best way to keep the soil of a poinsettia plant evenly moist is to water it with ice cubes. Once a week, or as often as needed, I place three to four cubes around the base of the plant and let them melt.

Although reports differ as to whether poinsettias are poisonous to pets, most sources agree that animals who eat the plant may vomit, drool, itch, and /or develop an upset stomach. So, to keep your pets healthy and your floors and furniture puke-free, display your poinsettia in an out-of-reach place.

Reduce the Waste

In the "Helpful Hints" section of a cookbook I was recently given, cooks grating the peels of citrus fruits are encouraged to use a clean toothbrush to dislodge stuck fragments of the peel from the grater to avoid wasting it.

Although I rarely grate the skins of lemons, limes and the like, I can appreciate an idea that helps one recycle and reuse. So, I would like to contribute my own helpful hint and suggest that in a world where excess is often the norm, planting a garden is one of the best ways I've found to reduce waste. Moreover, gardens are good for the environment, good for the body, and good for the soul. Plant yours today!

What Now?

What's a gardener to do now that the days are getting shorter, and the weather is getting colder? Here are a few tips and suggestions that will keep you in touch with nature and your green thumb.

>Start planning your garden for next year, taking into account what worked this year, and what did not.

>Start shopping online for seeds. The pictures of seed packets and the plants they produce will keep you inspired.

>If you run or walk to keep in shape, take your workout outside, amid all things natural. Taking a hike on a trail at your local park, or running a few times around the track at the local high school will not only keep you physically fit, it will also help clear your head and improve your mood.

>Clean up any debris that has accumulated on your property. Rake and bag leaves, pick up broken tree limbs and branches, and bag any trash that has blown into your yard. If you want to burn refuse instead of bagging it, follow all fire prevention guidelines for your area.

>Look for end-of-the-season sales. Many department stores still have Summer items, such as flower pots, gardening tools, wind chimes, plant shelves, yard ornaments, and outdoor furniture that they are trying to get rid of.

>Wash and store your seedling pots and trays, your flower pots, and your gardening tools.

>Invest in a few new houseplants. Repot and shape-up your existing plants.

>Use your gardening photos and nature pictures (we all have them!) to make a photo book. Order several copies - one for you, and a few extras to give out as Christmas presents. Who knows? You might just inspire a friend or family member to start gardening!

There you have it. A small list of things to do while you're waiting for Spring. Be sure to respond with your own tips and suggestions. And as always - remember to sow, reap, repeat.

Tuned In

When we were kids, my sister and I loved listening to music. One year, my Dad bought each of us a little AM transistor radio with a corresponding ear plug. To keep us from mixing the radios up, my Mom took two pieces of masking tape, wrote my name on one, my sister's name on the other, and stuck the pieces to the back of our radios. For days, we walked around, vinyl ear plugs stuffed inside of our ears, grooving to our favorite songs.

Eventually, my Dad realized we were both listening to the same radio station. When he suggested we use one radio and play our music out loud, we looked at him like he was an alien from another planet. Even though we were separated by only three years, sharing was not something that came natural to us. We had our own bikes, our own dolls, our own toys, and our own records. And although we shared a bedroom, we did so reluctantly. It never occurred to us that by listening to one radio, we’d hear the same music and extend the juice in our batteries. It also never occurred to us to change the station. So,we just kept walking around, bopping our heads back and forth to the same beat on different radios.

Procuring gardening advice is oftentimes like listening to the radio in that we look for those who share interests similar to our own. We want to connect with and hear from someone who has successfully planted what we want to plant, grown what we want to grow, and harvested what we want to harvest. In order to learn something new, however, it's a good idea to switch to a different station every now and again. Maybe read a book on how to grow a cactus. Or, ask the neighbor down the street about their sunflower garden. By expanding our network, we'll increase our knowledge. So let's take out our earplugs and tune in! 

My transistor radio, front and back.

             

Trailer Park Snooze

When I was a baby, we lived in a trailer park. My dad was working at General Motors and my mom was a housewife, which was a pretty typical setup for the time period. I don’t remember much about the trailer park, but I do remember an elderly couple who lived there who took a liking to me. The wife had lost one of her legs to gangrene and was in a wheelchair. I don’t know anything about them other than that, but I like to think they were a good influence on my parents, who were young and just starting out. 

During this time, my parents started taking me on car rides in the afternoon to put me to sleep. This resulted in me not learning how to put myself to sleep. I’m not sure how long this lasted, but on the night my mother decided to put a stop to it, I rebelled. Well, I’m not sure if I was old enough to know that I was rebelling, but in any event, I caused a fuss. I mean a real fuss. So loud in fact that the neighbors in the surrounding trailers began knocking on my parents' door, asking if I was okay. Some wanted to know if I was teething. Others, I’m sure, thought something dreadful must be going on inside our home.

Despite all of the neighborly concern, however, no one called Child Protective Services and after a few nights of constant crying, I learned to put myself to sleep. Still, to this day, a good car ride still makes me nod off. 

 

The E.K. Rogers Family

Image taken from the Heritage and History Calendar, 2013, which is sponsored by the Veteran's Museum, Hinton, WV.

All That Glitters

The ad tagline that popped up in my email read "Make sure your yard SHINES!" Caught somewhere between "it's the end-of-summer and I miss my garden" pangs and the "I can't wait for spring" blues, I took the bait, hovered, and clicked the button on my mouse.

Instantly, my computer screen came alive with colorful pictures of Christmas inflatables and glittery yard ornaments, all set against a backdrop of fluffy snow. Well, not real snow but the fake stuff, all white and clean, not dirty, dense, and clumpy like we get around here.

Realizing this wasn't an advertisement for anything gardening related, I sighed and exited the screen. Then, somewhat reluctantly, I resigned myself to the idea that in order for my yard to be shiny this winter, I may have to plant a few reindeer, and possibly a gingerbread man or two. Oh well, at least I won't have to water and weed!  

Me standing in front of a shiny Christmas tree.

Intentions

When you are young, you search for things to do with all of your free time. However, as you get older, you search for time to do all of the things you want to do with the life you have left. Thus is born the aptly titled "fully intend to do list."

My fully intend to do list, like most, is comprised of things I want to do before I depart this life. But, based on the day of the week, the weather, my health, my finances, excuses, and variable circumstances beyond my control, some items appear to be within reach and others, not so much. Nonetheless, all things written on said list are achievable, once I make up my mind to do them. For at the end of the day, it's what I actually do, not what I intend to do, that makes the difference.

A Poke of Tomatoes

I ventured out to the grocery store the other day to pick up a few items. As I pushed the wobbly shopping cart through the produce section, my eyes landed on a display of tomatoes, ripe and ready for purchase. For a second, I hesitated as I thought about placing a couple of them in a plastic grocery bag to buy. Then I remembered how great it felt this summer to walk out to my garden, and load up a paper poke* with tomatoes. No traffic, no fighting for a parking space, no long lines, and no exaggerated prices. Just fresh tomatoes at a moments notice.

Thus, with a small smile and a defiant stride, I swung the buggy around and headed over to the bread isle, determined to plant more tomatoes next year, and to start saving paper pokes.

*Where I'm from, a poke is a sack or a bag.

The Academic Gardener

When I was in graduate school, one of the books I was required to read was Gregory Colòn Semenza's Graduate Study for the 21st Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities.

In this text, Semenza provides a thorough discussion of time management as it relates to graduate study. In order to maximize time and produce successful results, Semenza encourages students to prioritize their academic activities, such as research, writing, and teaching.  He also suggests that time be set aside for personal interests, such as spending time with family, exercising, and pursuing hobbies.

According to Semenza, hobbies such as gardening or listening to music should not be viewed as pointless, but rather necessary to those seeking a well-balanced academic experience. The takeaway? Gardening and other hobbies provide relaxation and stability, even in the most hectic lives!

Works Cited


Semenza, Gregory Colòn. Graduate Study for the 21st Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities. Palgrave MacMillan, 2005. Second edition, 2010.

Tree Gazing

For as long as I can remember, I've been enamored with trees. When I was a kid, I stared at the big trees in our yard, climbed the medium-sized ones, and cut butt-whacking switches from the saplings when instructed by my Dad to do so.

As an adult, I still gaze at trees. Oftentimes, I marvel at their stateliness and dignity. Regardless of the season or meteorological conditions, whether standing upright or lying in a prone position, trees make their presence known. And although my climbing days are over, and I haven't cut a switch in years, I will always be fascinated by trees.
 

  

What's in a Color?

If you subscribe to the notion that certain colors can impact your mood, you're probably more in-tune with your inner self than I am (my father-in-law, for example, refuses to sleep on red sheets because he believes they will elevate his blood pressure). That being said, my favorite color is blue, and while I don't put much stock in colorology, I do feel a certain sense of calmness when looking up at an azure sky or gazing intently at a blueberry muffin.

Nevertheless, this Summer, I started to notice the color green and all its varying shades. In fact, I spent many an afternoon atop my riding mower (which is yellow, and named after Bumblebee from the Transformers movies), studying my lawn and trees from different angles, marveling at how their unique hues emphasized my colorful gardens and flowerbeds.

Now that Autumn is here and my trees, shrubs, and grass are turning caramel in color, I'll pull on my blue jeans and matching sweater, and attempt to appreciate all things orange, brown, and gold. Perhaps I'll find inspiration while eating a pecan pie, or strolling through a pumpkin patch. Who knows? Something might hit me, out of the blue.

Added Value

Many years ago, my Dad helped build a bedroom onto my grandmother's house. She used the extra space to house visitors, to work on sewing and quilting projects, and for storage. Thus, the room added value to her home and improved the quality of her day-to-day life.

I think the same is true of the gardens she planted and maintained. Although they weren't used to house guests or store belongings, they provided her with a joy that only those who garden can understand.

Me and my sister hanging out in my grandmother's spare bedroom.

Coffee and Bacon Grease

Have you ever had an olfactory experience crimp your day? You're going along, minding your own business, when suddenly, a certain smell transports you back to a particular time and place.

It happened to me one day at a Whataburger drive-thru while waiting on an order of sausage and pancakes. As I handed the cashier my money, the strong, savory scent of bacon grease mixed with coffee wafted from the open drive-thru window into my car and piqued my nostrils. For a moment I was a little girl again, sitting in my grandmother's kitchen in a cotton nightgown, watching her move back and forth from the sink to the stove as she made my breakfast.

An eerie silence slowly ushered me back to reality, and I blinked away the memory.With my order in hand and a smile on my face, I headed for home, beholden to Whataburger for brewing coffee, cooking bacon, and evoking a memory.

The White Wooden Duck

From March to September, he sits on the front porch, his long, white neck extended gracefully as he looks at the trees in the front yard and the flowers in bloom. Butterflies flit, bees buzz, and birds dart to and fro. Cars drive by, some slowing down ever so slightly. "Are you looking at me?" A rhetorical question? Maybe, maybe not. After all, white wooden ducks are nothing new.

Before long, he will be removed from his concrete stoop and placed in a dark, slightly damp storage closet with the rest of the Spring and Summer decorations, but do not fear! He will return again when the weather is warm, the flowers commence to blossom, and the cars drive lazily down the street.

Expectations

While working outside over the past few months, I've noticed a multiplicity of butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and dragonflies lingering in my garden, flowerbeds, and surrounding areas.

At the risk of sounding boastful, I'd like to think all of my planting has prompted their temporary visitations. And as summer draws to a close, I anticipate an even bigger turnout next year.

Sour Beans

My father-in-law canned green beans last Friday. The next morning, we noticed standing water on the counter-top and after a short investigation, traced the puddle back to a jar of beans that had not sealed properly. When turned on its side, air bubbles drifted to the top of the jar, and after opening the lid, one quick sniff confirmed the beans had soured. Fortunately, the remainder of what he canned was fine.

Now, my father-in-law has been gardening and canning for years. Even the most experienced gardener, however, loses a jar of beans now and then. The trick is to keep it all in perspective. In other words, don't let a few sour beans ruin your day!

On The Other Hand

Saturday, August 13th, was National Left Handers Day, and although I did not garner any Hallmark cards or expensive gifts in honor of my dominant hand, I did receive an inspiring text message from one of my best friends encouraging me to enjoy my day.

I've been left-handed all of my life, with the exception of my first few days of kindergarten when, in an effort to start me out on the "right foot" (pun intended), the teacher thought it would be a good idea to restrain my left hand and make me use the right one for all in-class activities. Long story short, I'm still writing upside down, and oftentimes with a slight slant. 

The August - September Flower Project

Over the next month and a half, I'll be pulling weeds, prepping soil, and planting seeds and bulbs that will bloom next year. Then, in the spring, after the last frost, I'll sow more flower seeds and bulbs in the same locations. My target spaces? Areas around the back porch, outbuildings, and property boundaries. My goal? Vigorous flower growth that will start earlier in the year. Thus begins my August - September flower project!

Contagious Gardening

Recently, a local city gardener was featured on a PBS show I like to watch. As she chatted with the interviewer regarding the variety of flowers and plants she cultivates in different areas of town, she identified several businesses that have made positive changes to their landscapes over the past couple of years. She also stated some residential areas have begun to spruce up their outside spaces. 

The takeaway for me? Gardening promotes a trickle-down effect. One person works to improve the scenery, change the aesthetic in their neck of the woods, and before long, people start to take notice and follow suit. Thus, gardening creates a sense of community that is contagious!