creative jewish mom

DIY Macrame Plant Hanger Inspiration

While I do like macrame, macrame plant hangers never really inspired me until I saw this photo showing a grouping of macrame hangers hung from a large branch, and wow, I just LOVE it! And friends, macrame plant hangers are really quite simple and you can easily find a nice selection of DIY plant hanger instructions online, just make sure to have the right string/rope on hand! Macrame plant hangers would also be a great project to do with a group of kids or adults, and the simplest of patterns can be done in just an hour or even less. So give it some thought, and take a look at a few of the other photos I've gathered to inspire you, and myself as well!

Getting Lucky With A Blooming Sanseveria!

Yes indeed, my Sanseveria (snake plant or mother in law's tongue) is blooming yet again, and it is so very wonderful as the fragrance is truly unique and lovely, experienced mostly at night when the plant breathes. This year I've had more blooms than ever, with the total right now I think at 5 flower stalks, though when I took these photos I spotted another tiny stalk on the way! Funny enough, I grew up with a large and tall pot of Sanseveria and it never, ever bloomed, such that I didn't even know that the plant could bloom! Imagine my surprise one summer after coming home from a month's vacation to see a bare stalk and tiny shriveled flowers on the floor. This happened a few years in a row, but this year the plant started blooming in the late spring, and has continued until now, so wonderful!

I looked up some tips for how to get Sanseveria to bloom, and most of them do not apply to my plant interestingly enough. I once read the one can bury an apple in the pot and the ethanol from the rotting fruit helps spur blooming, gotta try that! Keep on reading to see how my plant compares with the recommendations.

A New Orchid On The Block: Mini Yellow Phalaenopsis

There's a new orchid on the block, or rather at the moment on top of our piano, thanks to my husband's friend the gardener who often brings me rejected orchids that I have in many cases been able to bring back to life and enjoy for years. This is the first time that the orchids he put aside for me were actually filled with flowers, and yellow ones at that! From what I can tell, these are mini yellow phalaenopsis, and while similar to the white phalaenopsis plants that have been bloomming every year, the leaves are pointed and the blooms are much smaller and more numerous.

Honestly, I would not have chosen yellow orchids for myself (nor would I purchase any in Israel, they are very expensive) but I actually love the touch of color. So with more orchid babies now in my collection maybe it is actually time to use that orchid fertilizer I bought once and learn a bit more about how to care for them! That said, since they do rebloom a few times a year whatever I'm doing is working, but I do wish the leaves would look a little bit crisper and greener!

How To Get Your Orchid To Rebloom

Isn't this white orchid lovely? I have had this plant for four or so year, and it reblooms roughly twice a year, which is always a treat. Orchids are truly special, with so many colors to choose from, and make a wonderful gift as they can bloom for up to 3 months! Many folks don't have patience to take care of the plant after the blooms have faded, and don't know what to do to get their plant to rebloom, which is truly a shame! Of course if one is not accustomed to taking care of living breathing houseplant, I can understand that maybe taking care of an orchid might seem like a task, but truly orchids require so little care, with such great reward, that the one minute investment once a week is surely worth it? What is that one minute you might ask? Basically going the freezer, pulling out four ice cubes and placing them at the base of the plant, that is it! If this sounds like something you would like to do, keep on reading for more tips!

How To Get Your Cyclamen To Re-Bloom Year After Year

Isn't this cyclamen in bloom just lovely? I have to say I can't remember the bloom of this pot ever having such upright stems, growing in a cluster, stunning! I have had this cyclamen plant/tuber for a food four plus years or so, and while it has re-bloomed in previous years, never quite like this! I wish I could say that I'd done something differently, but no, just the same procedure of keeping it as a plant until the leaves die and fall off, then watering much less, and then once the rainy season comes, possibly putting it in the rain, some of the time, but basically just leaving it alone, until new leaves start to grow. I should add that this plant has been outdoors under an overhang for most of its life with me......I may have enjoyed it inside when it was initially given to me, but after that, strictly outdoors.

People usually discard their cyclamen plants when they are done flowering, because they don't realize that the same tuber/plant can bloom year after year! The cyclamen does require a rest period and certain temperature conditions, but it really isn't difficult at all. Okay, lets learn how to get your cyclamen to re-bloom!

Simple DIY Succulent Centerpiece For Any Occasion

Need a lovely centerpiece for your fall table, or a special occasion? Something that will last for months and more and can be incorporated into your garden or container garden in the future? Something that is breathing and alive? Something that is low and won't get in the way? How about a simple DIY succulent centerpiece? There are so many kinds of succulents that one can indeed create something either rustic or delicate or even modern and sleek. The centerpiece shown here is delicate and pretty, something I had not previously thought possible with succulents, but here it is!  This succulent centerpiece is so very simple and even the most inexperienced gardener can have great success, as succulents are very very forgiving! Okay, lets do this!

The Cyclamen That Didn't Stop Blooming!

This is the best cyclamen plant I've ever owned as it just will not stop blooming! Okay, honestly it took a tiny break during the early summer, having bloomed non-stop from December to May or so, and then after that short rest, it started blooming once again, and now 5 months later it is just starting to look like it may need a rest. No complaints, I received this as a Chanukah gift in 2020 and it has been such a wonderful addition to our entry courtyard! I even left it on that table as a succah decoration! Yes, I have a sidetable next to my front door, because it is under an overhang, and just happens to be perfect for holding a plants. The side table was actually found on the street years and years ago, and back then I was actively doing mosaics with broken tile, so the top got a mosaic treatment that is still going strong 20 plus years  later! Keep on reading to see more......

Houseplants 101: The Money Tree, Pachira Aquatica

Isn't this Pachira Aquatica Money Tree houseplant great looking? I can't take the credit for choosing it, as it was on the kitchen counter in our airbnb in San Francisco. Of course I can take the credit for realizing that I ought to share it with you! And I have to admit, while I have not been a fan of terra cotta pots lately, this looks fantastic, and is such a great compliment to the exposed red brick wall. So, I'm rethinking the terra cotta pot friends. I don't think it will fit into my Moroccan style black white gold and aqua theme, but who knows! And regarding this plant's name, i just did a bit or research and discovered that while money trees, are considered to be a symbol of luck and prosperity, but they haven't been for all that long. This doesn't date back centuries, like we might expect, but rather, to the 1980s! The braided money tree as we know it was actually first cultivated then by a truck driver in Taiwan, and quickly became popular in Japan and East Asia, also becoming associated with the Chinese practice of Feng Shui. Okay, maybe we need to come up with our own money plant, right?

Okay, lets learn a little bit about how to care for a money plant, should you be blessed with one anytime soon. Here in Israel we generally aren't buying new plants this year, as we are in the Shemittah year, the year in which according to Jewish law we need to let the fields rest, and this extends to our personal gardens at the very least in that we aren't busy with it! So, while I'd love a plant like this, I don't recall seeing any in my area, and it will have to wait a year in any case. Okay, get out those green thumbs......

Houseplants 101: Pilea Chinese Money Plant

Isn't this Pilea plant just the sweetest? I'll admit at first I thought it was peperomia, as it is similar, but no my friends, this is Pilea, also known as the Chines money plant, as the leaves look like coins, and the plant originate in China! Truth be told, the botanical name is Pilea Peperomioides so it is related to the peperomia, cousins or something!

I love learning about the origins of all my houseplants, and since the overwhelming majority come from the rain forrest, it is refreshing to find one that does not. This sweet window sill garden in terra cotta planters looks amazing in an all white minimal interior, and while terra cotta planters don't really work in my house they look amazing all of a sudden, rustic and clean and well, the color.....perfect with golds and pinks! These little Pilea plants were quite forgiving of not being watered and with dried out soil when I arrived at our vacation rental in SF, so i'd highly recommend giving this species a try! Not to mention that propogation is via, "pups" so you can share with friends! Not to worry, no animals involved. Now, wondering if I can find some myself. Okay lets learn how to take care of this plant, shall we?

Goodbye Pink Cyclamen, Thanks For Months Of Non-Stop Blooms!

I am a huge fan of cyclamen in bloom, especially since they are natives to Israel, blooming in the late winter. The blooming cyclamen is also a part of Israeli culture, which is why they fill the shops come December, and are irresistible, basically! And truthfully, given the return on your investment, next year be sure to treat yourself to a few! This particular plant, which my husband gave me during Chanukah, is just now at the end of its blooming cycle, meaning we enjoyed blooms like this for FIVE months, got that, FIVE months! The only thing that has yet to happen is a painting of them, look at those petals, wow! Not is the photo is the white cyclamen that was actually a plant from the year before, and rebloomed because it was a bulb......take note, there are bulb cyclamens and something that is not yet a bulb. Nuturing the non-bulb variety over the summer is not something I've succeeded at yet, but will try again with this plant. The bulb however, piece of cake! Okay, lets take a closer look at this blooming cyclamen, shall we?