About the only houseplant that I can maintain in any degree of health is Christmas Cactus.

Linnea -- that violet is beautiful!

Linnea, I have a couple violets from my late grandmother. Not the original but from leaf cuttings. She passed away in 91. She had a awesome collection that cover the dining room table! I don't do houseplants well

I tried for years to grow African Violets, and failed miserably. I then moved to growing Orchids,
and my specialty was Slipper Orchids (Paphiopedilums). I had a large collection of them up
North. Since moving down to the Shore, I have finally resurfaced my passion for Irises

I do not do well with violets either. I don't have the the right lighting that they need to flourish. These just limp along.

bluegrassmom said:I do not do well with violets either. I don't have the the right lighting that they need to flourish. These just limp along.

LOL I guess I'm not meant to grow flowering houseplants. I just need to grow outdoor flowers
which I seem to be very adept at

I can grow violets. Just can't keep an orchid alive to save my life! Tried 8 I think. I'm done. No more!

LOL. There are a lot of Orchids that are supposed to do well indoors, but I had very few that ever bloomed. They thrive outdoors. So, since I couldn't move to Florida, I gave up the hobby and decided to focus on Iris !

I think my flowering houseplants do what they do in spite of me. I can get Cyclamen to grow and grow at work. Spends most of the year in bloom which is a nice bright spot of color. But am I doing anything special to make it do well? No. If I was it probably would have been dead by now!

Some AVs seem easier and tougher than others. In 1993 I had three almost dead violets from a Rich's department store. A kitten named Shadow knocked them all over. Jet Trail is the only one that survived. Perhaps I should get more Lyndon Lyon violets.

If I had a full year growing season, I might not have inside plants either.

HaHaHa. The only houseplants that I have are 'Snake plants' which are indestructible, and a large Draceana marginata (which I have to keep replacing from LOWE'S). I'm real good at
creating nice looking silk arrangements for the house though

silk flowers?

Yeah, I got a few arrangements

My Swedish grandmother had a whole closet full of plastic flowers for Sundays when no one donated an arrangement for church. She would poke plastic violets in her AV when it wasn't blooming. I have put fake flowers outside. No one can tell the difference from the street.

I have fake flowers in my massage practice room. The water in real arrangements can get mighty stinky.

Speaking of "Fake" plants, once many years ago, I was tending my tomato plants....pouring on my "special" fertilizer "tea"( cow manure steeped in river water !) when my Dad happened to drive by. He stopped, got out, made a big show of "sniffing the air", and said ," The way that stuff stinks, it ought to work real good !". He laughed, and drove away. This was about the second week of June, and, a few days later, I bought some bright red balloons , blew them up to about 4" in diameter, and tied them to the tomato plants. The next day, when he drove by......you could hear the tires screeching , as he slid to a stop, got out and , open mouthed, stood in the street and stared ! After that, all I had to do was mention "tomatoes", and he'd start laughing, and shaking his finger at me!! I sure do miss that !!

I have orchids too, they are in a east window, I don't fertilize them very often. They may get fertilized once or maybe twice a year and I only water them once a week (if they are lucky). Some flower every year, some flower ever other year, and some haven't rebloomed in years. I can't get anymore because my east window sills are full.

Then you need more windows

Arlyn

Great story Arlyn!

Love the story Arlyn. The balloons are priceless as an idea!

Over the years I did buy to many and I had to move the table that goes behind the couch to in front of the window sill. It's full too as well as my bathroom window sills.