Hibiscus for the Living Room

Think you need a boost of color for your living room? Throw pillows not cutting it? How about a hibiscus? The colors of the blossoms are so lively and intense, and when they’re not there the dark green foliage is perfect. I just got this beauty from Swanson’s Nursery and love how it makes a formerly bland corner feel more decorative.

Remember, this is a tropical plant so it’ll need bright light (think southern or western-facing windows) and warmth. I doubt your house ever gets below about 55 degrees, but that’s about the lowest this plant can handle. Mist the foliage daily to prevent mites. Keep the soil moist, but provide good drainage. Best of all, with care this plant should last a long time – possibly getting up to 5 feet tall!

My First Food Sensitivity

So delicious.. Why doesn't my tummy like it?

I recently discovered that I have a food sensitivity. The problem is that I don’t know the exact ingredient or combination of ingredients that is causing the symptoms. The name of the tea that’s making me feel strange is “Goji Berry Green Tea”. Here are the ingredients:

Green Tea, Hibiscus, Organic Rooibos, Rosehips, Goji Flavour, Raspberry Leaf, Strawberry Flavour, Matcha, Licorice Powder And Citric Acid.

Sounds delicious right?

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An Orange Tree Grows in Seattle

Or it will, hopefully!

Citrus myrtifolia - Myrtle Leaf Orange

Over at Gardening in NYC, meemsnyc recently discovered Logee’s, a tropical plant purveyor based in Connecticut. She decided on a new fig plant. I posted recently about Logee’s new book, Growing Tasty Tropical Plants, but my impulse to buy a new edible container plant faded to the background due to all the new plans I’ve made with the new year.

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Growing Tasty Tropical Plants

Happy New Year!

Today I had some time to leaf through this stunning book, filled with tropical plants that can be grown in your home. I never thought about growing a tahitian orange tree, barbados cherry, or miracle berry in my kitchen. But because I have a great southern exposure along the longest side of my house, it looks like growing one of these delicious and beautiful plants is a definite possibility!

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Living Flower Technology

My parents are at the tail end of their visit to Seattle. A highly unusual snowstorm is gracing the trees with powdery fluff, and while the baby naps I can’t help but think about how my parents influenced me. Dad was “The Chemist”. Mom “The Gardener”. I can’t say I grew up to be one or the other, but their interests and talk of their preferred subjects affected my perceptions and general knowledge. Were you encouraged to memorize the periodic table of the elements, or the latin names of common plants? Possibly not, but I’m sure there’s something you know that’s kind of neat and almost completely due to your parents.

I found an article this morning on How to Make Your Own Scent Map, and it was full of information about perceiving your surroundings with your nose. It seems to be a more subliminal art, subtle and not directly noticed unless you’re in a certain frame of mind. Unless, of course, if the smell is overpoweringly beautiful or wretched.

The image above is a patent drawing by Dr. Braja Mookherjee (IFF scientist) for a way to directly match the smell you get from a plant while it’s still alive. It makes sense that as soon as a flower is picked its chemistry changes, and won’t smell the same way it did along a path in the moonlight. So the best thing to do is analyze not only the flower, but the air surrounding the flower as well.