Flowers Indoors

Growing flowers indoors is fun and easy if you have some sunshine and warmth to offer. I love growing geraniums indoors best, as they continue to bloom all year round.  Here's are some pictures of my indoor blooms...

These are my daisy chrysanthemums...

All you need is a little bit of blooming fertilizer to help promote lots of endless flowers in your home.  Petunias are another great choice for indoor blooming plants and they smell great too...

These ones however, do not smell great.  Stinky Stars...

Celosia is another good choice for indoor flowers and they're easy-to-care-for as well...

More geraniums and pansies...

"Thumbelina" dwarf Zinnia in aero-garden...

Pansies are a terrific indoor flower as well. I grow them in my bathroom window throughout spring and sometimes Fall...

Gerbera Daisy...

I like to grow my blooming plants in windows with good morning sunshine but shelter from hot afternoon heat.  Lots of water is needed to keep flowers healthy and blooming.  I recommend a good quality, well-draining medium. I find flowering plants that are slightly rootbound tend to bloom a little more.  It's also a good idea to remove all your spent blooms to encourage the plants to continue to produce new blooms.  Leaving dead flowers on the plant will send a message to the plant that it already has blooms and no need to make anymore, so deadheading is a good practice indeed.

More on indoor flower growing soon...

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Aero-Garden Veggies

Here's what I harvested today. 


Chocolate peppers...

Hahm's Gelbe yellow cherry tomatoes from Germany...

Just took these shots today right before I harvested the fruits.  Thought you guys might like to see what you can do with an Aero-Garden!!!

I also have swiss chard germinating in one of my systems as well.  The strawberries are thriving too!

More soon...

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More Peeks of my Aero-Garden Plants

"Little Blue" hot pepper...

Strawberry seedling...

"Thumbelina" dwarf Zinnia seedling...

Micro Tom seedling. Smallest tomato plant in the world...

More soon...

 : )

One Amazing Houseplant

"Jerusalem Cherry"  Solanum Pseudocapsicum

Although this plant belongs to the deadly nightshade family, unlike tomatoes and eggplant, it is poisonous and should be kept out of reach of small children and pets. 

If you don't have a lot of sun available, this is the plant for you, because it prefers bright, diffused light.  The seeds are inside the cherries and they germinate easily. This plant enjoys being pruned and shaped and it thrives in a pot.  It usually gets about a foot tall and tends to trail down the pot in an attractive sort of way.

The secret to it's success is misting...which this plant loves.  The plant produces little white tomato/pepper-like blossoms, followed by green fruits that ripen yellow through orange.

This plant used to be grown a lot in the 70's and if you watch old 'Three's Company' episodes, you'll see a lot of Jerusalem Cherry plants.  This plant is also sometimes referred to as "Christmas Cherry". It's one of my favorite houseplants because of it's charming appearance. It's easy-to-grow and please.  A plant that should be grown more than it is today.


Don't be put off because it's poisonous.  So are poinsettias and we bring them into our homes every year.  Just be cautious and it will make a wonderful addition to your houseplant collection.


: )

A Picture of The Hollyberry Lady

Thought you guys might like to see a shot of the person posting this blog and realize you're in capable hands...

It really is me...thought it would add a little humor to my blog.

: )

Aero-Garden Plants

This is my little "Jigsaw" pepper plant currently growing in my aero-garden...

Aero-Garden "Jigsaw" Hot Pepper Seedling


Growing plants in the aero-garden is very easy and you will have success. Things germinate quickly and easily just by placing the seeds on top of the little moist sponges that fit into your aero-garden system. It's like having a little mini hydroponic system in your home. Because Aero-Garden units are conpact, they can be placed just about anywhere in your home...like dark corners.


The following are pictures of my own aero-garden plants. You can grow anything from strawberries...

Aero-Garden Strawberry Plant


to tomato plants...

Hahm's Gelbe Cherry Tomatoes from Germany


You can also grow flowers in your Aero-Garden too, to bring some much needed color to those dark dreary winter days. 


All that is required to start your Aero-Garden when you buy a kit, is water. The seeds and everything else needed are included in your kit. Aero-Gardens are well worth the money and they will bring you years of enjoyment.


This shot shows one of my current Aero-Garden systems in use, with an Alpine strawberry plant to the left, a "Litte Blue" hot pepper in the middle, and an "Explosive Amber" plant on the far right...

Shot of whole Aero-Garden system with strawberry & hot pepper plants growing


Lately, I've been gobbling strawberries...

Aero-Garden strawberries

and tomatoes...

Hahm's Gelbe


An Aero-Garden can also be used to propagate plants and root all kinds of different cuttings.  You can grow herbs on your kitchen counter, flowers in your bathroom, or just about whatever you want. Aero-Gardens are worth the money and you'll have loads of fun.  I have four systems in total and have them all running right now with growing plants...

"Explosive Amber" hot pepper

Baby "Explosive Amber" fruits


As my plants grow and develop over time, I'll show more shots in this blog.  Hope you go buy an Aero-Garden after reading this post..and have LOADS of fun growing and harvesting your own fruits, veggies, and flowers!


Good Luck!


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GERMINATION TECHNIQUES

Germinating seeds is easy and fun and your plants will grow more vigorously than rootbound and often pest-infested nursery plants. The satisfaction you'll get out of starting your own plant from a young seedling,  is indescribable. Both children and adults love it and they can take pride in the results of their efforts.

You need to start with some good fresh viable seeds and a good quality light and well-draining medium, so your seeds can come up easily and hassle-free. Using a mist bottle is a great and gentle way to trick seeds into thinking it's spring time.  It's been proven that misted seeds come up quicker and more reliably. The spray of water is also gentle enough that it's not gonna move your seeds all over the place while you're trying to keep things moist.  

The anticipation of waiting for your seeds to sprout can make you feel like a kid at Christmas time waiting for Santa. It's sometimes good to keep your seeds in your pot covered until the little plants appear, so that things stay warm and moist, like a greenhouse. Be sure to keep your pots warm until your seeds germinate, although some seeds, like pansy and strawberry,   like things to be on the cooler side to germinate.

Do seeds need light to sprout? 

If the seeds are covered...no light is required for germination. If the seeds are sown on top of the soil, or barely covered, then they definitely do need some light for successful germination to take place.  

Wet your soil down before sowing your seeds so they don't get washed away. Use warm water and keep things moist but never soggy. Soggy soil will cause your seeds to rot. You also want to use sterile soil so that the seedings won't die from damping-off bacteria or pests. Keeping things sterile and clean are very important.

When your seedlings emerge, remove any covers and stop the misting for a week or so while still making sure the seedling has moisture. Here is my French Vanilla marigold seedling tonight...

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More Indoor Seed-Grown Hot Peppers

I enjoy growing hot peppers in my sunny windows all year round.  I also grow them in my aero-garden too.  Here's a terrific indoor variety called "Little Blue"...

Another terrific variety to grow inside in a sunny sill is "Masquerade"...

Can You Grow Tomatoes Indoors? ABSOLUTELY YOU CAN!!!

Here's the proof...

You just need some really good sunny windows, and some types will even set a crop in the winter!  "Patio" is one of them.  My shots show "Hahm's Gelbe" yellow tomatoes from Germany and "Table"...a small dwarf variety. Both types grow under a foot tall, so they're great for pots inside.

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Growing Veggies Indoors in Pots, is Easy!

If you have good windows with lots of light, you can grow edibles, like peppers.  As long as you have some good quality soil that drains well, you're in business...and you don't need a very big pot either.


Hot peppers grow great indoors and although they like to be fertilized, they require no pollination whatsoever.  Neither do strawberries.  Here are a few pics of some of my indoor hot peppers...