I'M GRATEFUL for the plants which are willing to bloom with summer exuberance in winter windows. Take, for instance, the 'Fiesta Pink Ruffle' pictured above. I bought this Impatiens wallerana last spring, nurtured it in a pot all summer, and then brought it to the window in my upstairs bath in autumn. Although the plant receives only weak morning sun there, its fully-double, rosebud-like blossoms have formed in constant profusion. The only pampering the plant requires is daily water with a little high-phosphorous food mixed in. And here's more eye-candy for the winter-weary: Read more » Eye-Candy for the Winter Weary
December 27, 2011
I'M GRATEFUL for the plants which are willing to bloom with summer exuberance in winter windows. Take, for instance, the 'Fiesta Pink Ruffle' pictured above. I bought this Impatiens wallerana last spring, nurtured it in a pot all summer, and then brought it to the window in my upstairs bath in autumn. Although the plant receives only weak morning sun there, its fully-double, rosebud-like blossoms have formed in constant profusion. The only pampering the plant requires is daily water with a little high-phosphorous food mixed in. And here's more eye-candy for the winter-weary: Read more » No Violet Left Behind?
April 18, 2011
IS THERE A 12-STEP PROGRAM FOR AFRICAN VIOLET ADDICTS? I only ask because yesterday, after struggling to find new quarters for the violets that lived on the fluorescent-lit shelves in my study (I needed the shelves for my big tomato sowing venture), I then drove to Albany, attended the Capital District African Violet Society’s annual… Read more »
The Window Garden in Autumn
September 25, 2010
THIS WEEK I had great fun producing an “autumn scene” for the window in my upstairs bath. I even photographed the garden (above; click to enlarge), and shared it on Facebook. There, some readers felt the window looked cheerful “as is,” while others thought the middle shelf required two more plants. Would you like to… Read more »
Highlights from 2010 African Violet Show
March 29, 2010
WHAT FUN I HAD attending the Capital District African Violet Society’s annual show in Guilderland, New York, this weekend. One of the first plants to grab my attention there was ‘Ma’s Blue Spinner,’ pictured up top. This chimera, grown to perfection by Margaret Califano, has sumptuous, semi-double blue-purple blooms, and handsome, medium-green leaves edged in… Read more »
‘Tis the Season for Saintpaulia
December 14, 2009
We all know the beauty that African violets, or Saintpaulia ionantha, bring to a window garden, but have you considered their value for Christmas centerpieces and mantel displays? The picture above (click to enlarge) shows a “tower” of African violets that I crafted from various silver objects: a round tray, an inverted vase, a wine… Read more »
African Violets: Divide & De-Sucker for Better Flowering
November 6, 2009
My white-flowered, no-name African violet is going under the knife today. Why? Because it no longer looks attractive. It has produced — as all saintpaulias eventually do — multiple crowns and a series of little offshoots, or “suckers.” These two things wreck the parent plant’s symmetry. They also interfer with flowering. A little surgery, artfully… Read more »
African Violets: My Easy, Always-in-Bloom Program
October 20, 2009
Why is the African violet my favorite houseplant? First, because it blooms almost continuously, its short rest periods taking only a matter of days (perhaps weeks for some of the double-flowered varieties), but never months. It buds at any light window, and under artificial light is sensational. The colors are spectacular– delicate pastels, rich purples,… Read more »
