creative jewish mom

Thunbergia Laurifolia Blooms In My Container Garden

To me one of the things I love about summer is flowers! And in the month of July, just before things get really hot, there are usually many blooms to enjoy. One of the things that I adore are flowering vines, which are much easier to grow in the ground, but can be grown in pots, with just a bit of luck and lower expectations. That said, I'm happy to report that I do have a flowering vine to enjoy on the little plant balcony outside my kitchen window, so yippee! I actually bought this plant by mistake, and it isn't necessarily hardy in our area, but I took it indoors when temps dropped, and out of two tiny plants, one survived, and started to re-grow in the spring. Introducing, drum roll please.......Thunbergia Laurifolia with lovely lavender/purple blooms, and certainly a vine to look into for your garden or container garden!

Oribe Gorge Succulent Blooms At Last In Northern Israel

Once upon a time a bought a great looking leafy rosette succulent at a local nursery, and when it bloomed glorious orange flowers it was such a treat. Those blooms enabled me to identify the succulent as Oribe Gorge, named for the area in South Africa where they are native. Like every succulent, this plant is simple to propogate, and needs a good trim as it does get leggy. In in our sub tropical climate with cold winters, I do take my two pots indoors if temps get close to freezing. That said, this plant has not bloomed in years, and I though it was because of the not so sunny location on a small plant balcony next to the kitchen sink, but then two weeks ago I spied blooms and vlola, a few lovely orange blooms! So of course I had to share this exciting news with you, as the joy of container gardening is really something I greatly recommend, and especially if you decide to collect a nice range of succulents, because most bloom and this is really so very wonderful!

Canna Blooms In My Northern Israel Container Garden!

One of the favorite plants that continues to thrive in my Northern Israel container garden, year after year, is Canna, a plant loved across the globe for its large leaves, dramatic height and stunning blooms, in red, orange or yellow. While our winters are somewhat hardy, and temps can get to freezing, this plant dies back though survives, in order to grow back once again in the spring! I do generally cut back the browing leaves when that time comes, but other than that the plant basically takes care of itself other than needing water! Canna also divides nicely (since it is a rhizome) so it is quite simple to make new pots of this plant by taking babies or sections of the rhizome, and planting them in a new pot. I currently have one pot of red canna and two pots of yellow canna, but maybe I should take my own advice and start another pot of red canna, because the display of blooms can't be beat! This pot of red canna also happens to be located in a spot with a view of Mount Meron, so the combination of view plus large red leaves and stunning blooms is well, breath taking! Okay, lets take a look at some more photos!

My Israeli Sub-Tropical Container Garden Blooms, In Late June!

My container garden in Northern Israel is now full of color and I just had to share a few photos with you! Looking back at the archives, I see that late June early July has been the time, every year, that the garden comes alive with color. The roses bloom in all their glory earlier but many of the others wait until mid-summer, namely now! And friends, all the blooms you'll see here are from perennials that require very little care, so if you live in a similar zone to mine, give some of these plants a try! Ready for a little tour? Lets go into the (container) garden.......

Stunning Variegated Bougainvillea Bushes Grow In The Galil, Israel

Wow, when I saw this bougainvillea bush with variegated leaves during our recent stay on Kibbutz Harduf, I just could not believe my eyes. I thought I new just about everything about bougainvillea, but apparently not! It is widely available online, but I have not yet been able to find any info about it, and we are now heading out for more adventures! I can say that just as soon as the shemittah year is over (at rosh HaShana) and I can once again garden this is a plant on my list to purchase as it is truly stunning! The leaves remind me of my bower vine and the blooms are classic bougainvillea, just lovely! Keep on reading for some more photos!

Canna Blooms In My Container Garden

In the middle of July, both red leafed and green leafed Canna blooms in my container garden in Northern Israel! Okay, not a dense collection of blooms, but rather just a few, but I'll take it! And I'm really loving the height of the red leafed Canna this year, fabulous! I have noticed that Canna is a favorite around the world as a container plant for planters within a city, because the leaves are so large it makes a great "thriller" meaning dramatic and tall element in a planter with other types of plants that are "fillers" and "spillers" and it is also easy to propogate meaning for all that bang, it is likely not so expensive and so cities can buy huge quantities to fill all kinds of planters and park beds. I always wonder whether the tubers are dug up and saved to make more plants, or just tossed? In my neck of the woods, the Canna does die back in the winter, but comes back each spring with beautiful new leaves and eventually flowers, either bright red, or yellow, as you can see here. So do consider adding some Canna to your life, after all who can't use some thrillers in the form of lovely plants?

A Peak Into My Northern Israel July Container Garden Blooms!

We are in the 7th year in Israel, a year called "shmittah" in which we let the land rest, and while this also applies to my container garden, it does not mean that I need to let the plants die, but rather tending to them in a more minimal way than usual. Of course my poor container garden often gets forgotten when I'm busy with my art, but yesterday I stepped outside to a variety of delightful blooms that I just had to share with you! Nothing densely flowering, but each little flower is lovely and appreciated! In the photo above, yes, my wonderful little daisy plants that re-seed and reflower year after year, are just so wonderful, especially since I have them at the base of larger plants, like a lemon tree and tall bougainvillea. Okay, shabbos is coming, so lets quickly take a look at a few other flowers now in bloom in my container garden in Northern Israel in July!

White Daisies That Fill Containers Year After Year!

I'll admit, my poor container garden, while quite large, does get neglected now and again, and I have mostly filled pots with large plants that perform well with low effort on my part! The lemon tree that I've had for a good ten years at least, generally looks good, though it looks even better when the bottom of the pot is filled with something in bloom. Hello daisies, look at them now! (Well actually in November.) While I don't know the name of these particular daisies, they are small and grow in rounded clusters, and in our climate, despite some near freezing temperatures, they reseed and come back every year! It does take quite a few months to get this full look, but who can complain? So friends, next time you decide you need some flowers in your life, say to fill the bottom of a pot holding a tall tree of some kind, give daisies a try! If you go for daisies that stay relatively small like these, you can always up root them, and overwinter them indoors or in a green house. There were years when my pot was filled with pink daisies, that reseeded themselves, but somehow the white ones took over, and of course I can't complain as long as there are flowers!

Here in Israel, we are not planting as it is the shemittah year, the year in which we let the fields rest (and so too our gardens) but right after Rosh HaShana, I'll be running to the nursery! Mostly to replace a lemon verbena bush the husband drowned a few months ago, sadly, and one that I left out when it was way too cold for it......and such is life! Keep on reading for another photo of my daisies!

How To Choose Pots For Succulents

Succulents make amazing pets, truly! They come is so many amazing varieties, have a great range of size, and require very little care. Plus you can talk to them and they won't talk back! Ah yes, and they are so very simple to propagate, so if you like you can make gifts for friends, or simply amass your own huge collection quite easily. And of course, if you are looking for some really great looking outdoor accents, assuming it doesn't freeze where you live (or you have a greenhouse and pots on casters) succulents (as well as plants in the cactus family including agave and yucca) may just be your answer! While it is true, the succulents given just enough water generally don't need much care, but they can get too big for their pots or most often, too leggy, meaning some pruning (which leads to more baby plants) is generally necessary. Of course, this article is about choosing pots for your succulents, so lets get back to that!

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......