African Violets: A Color Feast in January

African Violet "Saint Paulia"

I started out gardening with houseplants.  After all, when you don't have any outdoor space, it only makes sense.  But philodendron, ivies, aloes and dieffenbachias just don't seem to satisfy everything in gardening...after all we garden not just for the love of gardening, but for "fruit."  This means either flowers, or something we can eat.  

Just looking at green is pretty nice, but to be honest, I need to anticipate something wonderful that comes with the plant...it's kind of like the change of seasons.  Even though it's difficult to switch from summer to fall to winter; there is something about the change that's gratifying. Moving from summer's greens to autumn's golds and reds and then to winter's white, blues and grays makes everything a little nicer...especially when winter is followed by the brilliant burst of the colors of spring.

 

So, growing these violets is a beautiful thing in the bleak days of winter.  I practically ignore them every other time of the year except to water and feed them.  But winter is when they become my focal point again.  As they bloom, I feel springtime is awakened!

This variegated purple version is my oldest.  A friend gave it to me as a thank-you gift in the year 2000.  Yes, I still have it and have almost killed it but thankfully it resisted my attempts. 

It's a great reminder of a friendship from long ago (my friend moved out-of-state) and I love the memories attached to it. 

So, just taking a little break from winter to enjoy these little blossoms of vibrant colors...hoping you enjoyed them just a little bit too...

What's your favorite indoor plant or flower?  Blessings!

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Garden Review and Vegetable Thanksgiving...

November means more to us than just pumpkin pie, it means it's time to get the garden ready for winter and let it rest,  We haven't mastered gardening year round quite yet but hope next year to put in a small raised bed and plant kale there to get us through to at least December. I finally realized that I'm really not a lettuce fan (gasp!) and that I like greens so much more.  I think it's because greens are more nutrient dense and if I am going to eat greens, then I'm going for the greenest of greens.  So, in the meantime, we mulch our garden heavily with chopped leaves/grass and bales of straw.  Actually I'll let the straw decompose a bit and use it to mulch the paths next year.  

As you can tell, I use lots of pots to supplement our small garden space.  I also use them to plant a nice sized display of flowers for our front patio space...you can see what they look like here.  I have used all of our flower beds for herbs and perennials, so pots are the perfect remedy for always blooming annuals...zinnias, geraniums, alyssum, vinca, marigolds and even a fun elephant ear.

I've also used the pots for herbs such as thyme, peppermints, spearmint, cilantro, rosemary, parsley, chives and calendula.  Peppers, including Mariachi's and Banana, also grow in these pots.  I've been growing tomatoes in them, but will keep them in the garden next year as they didn't produce very well.  The biggest drawback to pots are the fact that they need lots of watering if they are in full sun.  My herbs don't and I keep them in part shade and they are happy campers. A great reason to grow in pots is that you CAN move the pots around if the temps start to rise and the plants need a break.  I move smaller pots around quite a bit.

One great thing about blogging about my garden is that it forced me to keep a visual record of the garden for the growing season.  So it was fun putting together this collage of the seasons and to see it all at once.  To be a continuous gardener, you must be visionary and willing to make mistakes.  There's always next year to try out a new method or new vegetable.  The visionary part comes in when you get the soil ready like the soil in the spring photo and can already envision the fall photo in your mind.
 If this garden space looks small, that's because it really is.  But don't let small spaces fool you...with effective gardening, you can get lots of fresh vegetables to eat AND plenty to can, dry and freeze for winter use.



















Case in point...these are just a sampling of the produce we got from the garden.  I was able to can 60 jars of whole tomatoes...plus still lots more for fresh eating and fresh marinara sauce.  Our beans and summer/winter squash came from our community garden plot; another option for those with small spaces.  This is our fourth year there and we've finally figured out what vegetables grow well there...tomatoes not being one.  However, the squash did well and the beans, so we'll concentrate on those vegetables.  We're going to try sweet potatoes there next year too as the soil is great for root crops. To see my favorite picks for this year's vegetables, click here.

Well, that's it for the garden 2012...I'll be reading up on some other blogger's great ideas for gardening over the winter while our soil rests and we rest!  SO thankful for all the great food we've gotten from a little space...it's the gift that keeps on giving!

Do you garden or plan to soon?  

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