creative jewish mom

Hello Prague: Geraniums Add Whimsy To Historic Architecture

No matter where our travels take us, as a container gardening enthusiast I am always on the lookout for lovely window boxes and container gardens, commercial or not, and I often share these finding with you here. Our visit to Prague last October was no exception, and while the city does not seem to invest in numerous public installations of flowers on a large scale, there were sweet displays of colorful flowers, mostly in the form of window boxes, and overwhelmingly geraniums, here and there, prompting me to pull out my camera. So, as I continue sharing my photos from our trip a full year ago, lets pause for a moment and enjoy the charm that geraniums bring! I'll admit, once upon a time I looked down on geraniums as too commonplace, but now as an experienced container gardener I highly recommend them for their long blooming period, ease of propogation and variety of color and type. There are pillar geraniums which grow on tall stalks, and there are also trailing geraniums and then there are all the others that are neither trailing or upright, but something in between. If you have freezing winters in your neck of the world, cuttings from geraniums are taken before the first snowfall, and new plants are grown indoors or if you are lucky, in a greenhouse, until spring, when you can replant them outdoors. Okay, lets get inspired to include some geraniums in our lives, as who doesn't love non-stop blooms and bright flowers?

DIY Rope Or Twine Wrapped Plant Pot

Since I've been talking about gardening this week I thought I'd share a super simple way to turn a basic plant pot, even a plastic one straight from the nursery, into a show stopper! If you are like me and you love houseplants, keeping them all in nice pots can be costly not to mention downright inconvenient, especially when you start getting interested in propogating, which results in even more plants! So regardless of your budget, this simple DIY twine wrapped pot is a great little trick to pull out of your sleeve when you want to make rustic centerpieces, give a plant gift, (to someone who may plant it outdoors) or spread the joy with all the baby plants you've created from cuttings! There are so many ways to go when it comes to making your plant collection look great, and sometimes that means adding a pot or two that are quite different from the rest. So, lets learn how to transform a simple pot into an ethnic/rustic/boho inspired one!

Oleander In Bloom In Israel

Right about now I should be working on Succah decorations (truthfully I have enough in boxes in the attic for a few succahs, as you can imagine....) but instead I've been painting in my art journal and looking at some of my own photos for inspiration. Up the hill from my house and within our cobblestone paved "old city" sits this gated entrance, complete with a lovely oleander bush and a palm, that is so very picturesque and begging to be painted! Since I shared with you my oleander sketch earlier this week, I thought I would share photos of this special little spot, either as inspiration to plant some oleander, or to put paint brush or pen to paper, you decide!

Red Canna In Bloom

If you get excited when something blooms in your container garden, as we do, then make sure to always have plants in your life, as they bring you joy! The plant nursery is always like a "candy store" for me, and sometimes there are plants that I just can't resist. Of course if I happen to be with my husband on any trip to the nursery I have to keep things under control, but I have a girl's only trip planned with a friend within the next few weeks, and I may just have to treat myself a bit......and I'd say it is certainly better than buying shoes or an expensive purse, as so many others get to enjoy my plants as well, especially if they are in my container garden, which is mostly on a public access path.

Speaking of my container garden, I just love Canna, whether it be yellow canna or red canna or a combination of the two, and I currently have two large pots of yellow canna and one tiny pot of red canna. The canna is a tropical perrennial that dies back almost completely in the winter, (in my area) but comes back in the spring. The canna plant's roots are runners, which means when not in a container it can take over your garden, so do be aware of that. As far as growing them in containers it means that the plant will fill a large container in one season possibly and keep on pleasing for years to come. In areas with extreme winters, like in Canada, canna is enjoyed in summer containers everywhere, in fact I wanted to call the country Canna-da on account of the huge quantities of canna I saw there three years ago! Canna is amazing because of its very large and attractive leaves and its flowers, and the fact that it serves as a great vertical element in a container that is a mix of plants, though it also works well in beds.

Now In Bloom In My July Container Garden!

Container gardening is the next best thing to gardening in actual soil, and for busy folks it may just be the best of both worlds. I'll admit my containers could use a bit more love, but I'll wait until the weather cools down a bit. July in Northern Israel can be quite dry and hot, which means that not all the plants in my container garden are at their happiest, while some are quite happy, like this plant, above, which I just discovered is Salvia, which is  draught resistant and therefore loves the summer weather, though of course I am watering it. I have grown this same plant, in another location and it became a huge bush, until one butcher of a gardener decided to over trim it and it never grew back, sigh. So now, I'm growing two newish plants in a large container, and just love it.....can't wait to see how it fills out. Okay, lets take a look at some of the other plants that are currently flowering, in my sub-tropical container garden!

Morning Glory Vine In Bloom In My Container Garden!

I just love morning glory and of course the more flowers in one's container garden, the better! A year and a half ago I was in the Ukraine and picked up a bunch of seeds for as I recall something like 7 cents a package, and just before Passover this year I quickly planted a bunch of seeds in containers that had empty space at their bases. (Next time I'll soak the seeds and then start them indoors earlier.) Surprise, the only seeds that produced plants were the morning glory seeds, and it is a good thing as my built in planter now holding just two rose bushes was looking very very empty. As you may have seen I built some rustic trellises from sticks for the morning glory to climb on, and now yippee I have tons of blooms to enjoy every morning! Yes it did take 3 months to get to this point, but at least we'll be able to enjoy them for at least another 3 to 4 months. I am not sure whether the morning glory vine will succumb to the winter weather, or not, and next year I'll get an earlier start. It took a good seven weeks to get tiny plants from my seeds, so need to start in February! Gardenng, whether in containers, or in soil is such a joy so give it a try!

Garden Crafts: DIY Rustic Tomato Cage From Sticks

While I have never grown cherry tomatoes, I do know that tomato plants of all kinds generally need support as the tomatoes can get quite heavy, causing the plant to fall over or even break otherwise. So, while the organic tomato seedlings I bought from a local homesteader a month or so ago have yet to actually grow to their expected 1 meter height or provide us with cherry tomatoes just yet, I figured I'd get started on a DIY cherry tomato cage made from sticks, as then hopefully the plant will have more confidence to keep on growing! And even if I wanted to run to the garden supply store and simply buy one of those commercially made wire tomato cages that are everywhere in the USA, well no such luck (fortunately). Instead I get the pleasure of whipping up my own MUCH lovelier version, and I am very happy with the results. I collected a huge bunch of sticks and my husband nearly threw them all out, as it took me over a week to actually get to the this project, but in the end together with the rustic stick garden trellis, I actually used up everything and need to collect some more to make a second tomato cage!  Ah yes, and of course this structure, which isn't exactly a tomato cage, but more like a garden obelisk, can be used for any plant that needs support or something to climb on. This is such a simple project, and will add a nice touch to your container garden or actual garden, so collect those sticks and make a bunch, you'll be very happy that you took my advice, promise!

Cyclamen In Bloom For Over Five Months, Wow!

Cyclamen are native to Israel, and a seasonal favorite that is so easy to care for and gives so much more in return! I purchased two cyclamen plants from nursery in Maalot at the end of October, and now five MONTHS later they are still in full bloom with many buds still to open! That is truly amazing, and I wish I had purchased four plants......maybe next year? This year it doesn't look like we'll be doing much summer traveling, if at all, so once the plants stop blooming I will put them in a larger pot and continue to water them and hope to see them re-bloom next year. I'll keep you posted!

A few weeks ago I shared with you photos of all the cyclamen plants in bloom around town, but i didn't get around to sharing the two cyclamen gracing the table next to my front door! Most of those that I shared with you receive sun, so I'm assuming those will not last as long as mine which are in total shade. I do have a few more tips, so keep on reading!

Mother In Law's Tongue About To Bloom!

I grew up with a huge pot on mother in law's tongue, Sanseveria, in our home, and I had no idea that this plant blooms and quite ilkely does so every year in its native environment in West Africa. i have read about folk burying an apple in their pot of Sansevieria to get it to bloom with the help of the ethanol released by the apple, but other than that my knowledge of its blooms was quite limited. Two years ago after arriving home from a 6 week summer trip I saw stalks of dried blooms on the plant, to my great surprise, and last year the same thing happened. This year, because it is leap year and we have added a month to the calendar, our vacation is taking place a bit later on the gregorian calendar, and I am home to witness my mother in law's tongue produces stalks of little white blooms! So very exciting and while the flowers have yet to open I thought I'd share this with you!

Just by the way, mother in law's tongue is one of the those plants that is very difficult to kill (though I've seen plenty of them at wit's end because people think it doesn't need any water apparently) and my huge pot can literally go for several months with no water, especially in the winter. Also good to know that the plant multiplies itself nicely spreading via underground runners, and you'll end up with a pot packed with the plant, which looks great. If a frond breaks off, you can put any piece of it in water or in moist soil, and it will grow a rhizome (its root formation) from the frond, really special! Those are just two amaing aspects of this plant, keep on reading to learn another!

Four Easy Care Flowering Plants For Your Sub-Tropical or Zone 5/6/7 Container Garden!

After a long winter in Northern Israel, and a bit of a slow start in the Spring due to more rainfall than usual, my somewhat neglected (or shall we say low-maintenance?) container garden is now coming alive with gorgeous blooms! Somewhat of a miracle though likely thanks to husband's recent interest in watering our botanical friends, thankfully. Here are four tried and true plants that bloom year after year here in my sub-tropical/zone 6 climate of Northern Israel, which includes frost and some freezes now and again. Container gardening is such a pleasure and a lovely way to
bring greenery into your life even if, like me, you don't have any earth. Trees can be grown in large containers, and while many plants don't thrive in containers, many do and with some patience you can turn any patio or outdoor space into a lovely garden. So, lets take a look at four plants how in bloom in my garden, and maybe you'll consider some of them for your own space.