Besides early blooming spring bulbs, Forsythia are one of the earliest indications that spring is approaching! With its golden, yellow flowers lining it's stems, you can't miss it! Sun Requirements: Forsythia do their best in full sun but will still tolerate partial sun. Water Requirement This plant likes average moisture but can be drought tolerance once established. It is best to water heavier and less frequently than less water and more often. For the first full season, you will need to keep up with watering. In the second and third year, you may need to provide supplemented water if there ..read more

When some people may hear "Kalanchoe" and think "beautiful blooming plant" but other may think of the extensive, colorful and varying textures of the herbaceous succulent! TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS what you think of first! Botanical Name: Kalanchoe Common Names: Kalanchoe, Chandelier Plant, Devils Backbone, Mother-In-Law-Plant, Mother of Millions, Mother of Thousands There are TONS of varieties and hybrids of Kalanchoe but here are some just to name a few: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana- this is the most commonly known for it's blooms Kalanchoe laetivirens- AKA Mother of Thousands Kalanchoe de ..read more

Propagation is always an exciting adventure for any houseplant parent. Who doesn't love to multiply their plants?! What does propagation mean? Oxford Languages defines it as "the breeding of specimens of a plant or animal by natural processes from the parent stock." What medium can you propagate in? There are some way that are better than others but it is personal preference and sometimes dependent on the plant. The key to successful propagation is higher moisture with any of these options below Your usual potting mix I use FoxFarm Potting Mix (Happy Frog or Ocean Forest) and add ..read more

There is nothing like seeing some green pop out of the green in February when Wisconsin is in it's 4th winter! In this blog in episode I am only diving into bulb types that are spring blooming that do best in COOL climates. I know there are other types out there but these are the most commonly found types. Bulb Types | Spring Blooming, Cooler Climates Crocus Hardiness zone around 3-8 (fall planting). Plant these in fall at around 2-3" deep and space each bulb by 3-4". Most Crocus are purple, blue, yellow, white or a mixture. Sizing is typically very short, no more that 6" tall. Bloom time is ..read more

Since it is my birthday, I thought it would be fun to talk about what's been going on with my own collection, what I am loving, what I am hating, and what I've suck with over the last couple years, etc! How's it going with my plants? It is survival of the fittest in my household right now. As many of you know, my personal like has been hectic and taken more of a priority lately (getting married, buying a house, my sister having her third baby, soaking in time with my husband, friends and family, etc) so I've lost lots of plants but I've also had some great success with many plants that only ne ..read more

Propagation is always an exciting adventure for any houseplant parent. Who doesn't love to multiply their plants?! What does propagation mean? Oxford Languages defines it as "the breeding of specimens of a plant or animal by natural processes from the parent stock." What medium can you propagate in? There are some way that are better than others but it is personal preference and sometimes dependent on the plant. The key to successful propagation is higher moisture with any of these options below Your usual potting mix I use FoxFarm Potting Mix (Happy Frog or Ocean Forest) and add Perlit ..read more

This plant is beautiful, fragrant lily that is forced to bloom for the Easter holiday and naturally blooms in the summertime. A white lily symbolizes purity and rebirth, which explains why they represent this particular holiday. Botanical Name: Lilium longiflorum History: Originally native to southern islands of Japan. The lily was introduced to England by a plant explorer Carl Peter Thunberg 1819 In the early 1800s the Easter Lily was brought to the United States by Louis Houghton Because of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese source of this bulb was cut off and they quickly became known as "White G ..read more

Medium or soil is a mixture (no pun intended) of your personal preference, environment, and what plant you are dealing with. There is not one true answer to any soil question and there are different ways to go about all of it. That being said, this post should explain what each medium is, what it is typically used for, and where you can find it. Let's dive in! What does "potting mix" or "potting soil" mean? There is only one big difference which is the presence of soil versus lack of soil. Most people will use these terms interchangeably and the same amendments like peat moss, vermiculite or b ..read more

I'm sure when some of you saw this title to the podcast/blog you thought, "wait...we need to prep for fall or winter?!" The answer to that really depends on the situation, but it would be beneficial in most environments. In order to best help, I am going to break this blog up into three parts: Bringing plants indoors after being outdoors all summer long. What to do with plants that are indoors (and will remain indoors). Things to think about when purchasing houseplants in fall/winter. Now, I understand many of you are in warm climates where this doesn't apply as much, but many of the same p ..read more

Trying to explain how much moisture each plant needs is one of the hardest things to articulate. I believe it is something that has to be learned by practice. Working at a garden center for many years, I learned pretty quickly. But those skills didn't necessarily translate directly to my own home! The one thing I try to remember is that it's better to water deeper (less often). This means soaking your plant once instead of watering a little bit for many days. What are the different types of moisture levels? Low Moisture: These plants' soil can be completely dried out in-between watering (or c ..read more