winter houseplant care - caring for houseplants

I don't know a lot about caring for houseplants. I could tell you a lot about outdoor landscaping plants but I couldn't tell you a thing about houseplant care. Well...except for my Ficus tree.

I have one plant in my entire home. A 7 foot Ficus tree. However, since it appears to be quite a happy little tree, I'd say I'm doing something right with it. Really, it just seems that taking care of houseplants is common sense.....for the most part.

Just like in landscaping, plants can add so much beauty and structure to the interior landscape. That sounds a little strange to me. Interior "landscape". Anyway, I've seen it done wonderfully but never really thought about it in my own house. My arguement has always been that it's just something more to take care of. And you're always having to get someone to take care of your plants when you go out of town.

However, being interior design challenged, this seems to be the simplest no-brainer way to add a little something to my home. I don't think I would go all out to the extent of landscaping the interior of my house but maybe you would. You may be interested to read Interior Landscaping and Indoor Plants for a more extreme approach to interiorscaping.

Indoor Gardens And Terrariums are more my speed as they seem to be easy to take care of. Especially terrariums. I've always liked the way they're more like a showpiece than a plant. And being self contained, means less mess.

Anyway, as I started looking into this, I came across a few good articles that I wanted to share with you. I didn't mean to ramble on and get sidetracked. Anyway, if houseplants is your thing, you might find some fresh ideas in these stories.

5 Ways To A Greener Indoors
Taking Care Of Indoor Plants In Winter
Proper Care Of Some Houseplants

Off the subject. I also published another article this week as a list of what little Free Landscape Design Software I could find available. There's not much to speak of but it might be useful if you're planning any landscaping, designing, or or drawing.

Winter Gardening - Springtime Planting Ideas

I guess I must be ready for Spring. I was geared up to write a bit on Springtime planting and spring gardening. However, as I skim the headlines I am reminded that it's still Winter in most parts of the Country.

Caring For Plants In The Cold

I never really gave it much thought. Around here, once things (including my yard and garden) are put up for the Winter, I don't give them much thought until I dig them out in the Spring. However, I stumbled on a nice piece of information that reminded me that there are some considerations to keep in mind for your plants in the dead cold of Winter.

I'll use the word "considerations" here just to keep us safe from actually having to get out and do any of this. So check out Caring For Plants In The Cold if you might like to "consider" some tasks you can do pre-spring to keep your garden and landscaping in order.

Fluctuating temperatures harm your landscaping

I thought this was an interesting piece of news. While this may be something I'm aware of as a professional, I bet most folks never give it much thought. While it's generally not a problem for established gardens and landscaping, newly planted landscapes can suffer due to extreme fluctuation of temperatures in early Spring and Late Winter.

Even if your landscape or garden is well established, it's a good read for a few tips on protecting your plants in Winter. See Fluctuating temperatures harm your landscaping

A winter checklist for your home and garden

Here we go. I like checklists. You usually get at least one good thing you never thought of even if it's completely obvious. As well as a few gardening tips for Early Spring, this article looks mostly at indoor home issues such as energy savings and weatherproofing.

Actually, this is something you probably would already have done at this point - before it was freezing cold outside. It's still good info you can use next year. Read A winter checklist for your home and garden.

Planning A Springtime Landscaping Project?

O.K., one more thing. This is a piece I just created on planning your own landscaping. And since it's almost Springtime and I know lots of folks are "planning" to do some landscaping as soon as it warms up, I figured it would be worth mentioning here. The article Landscaping Ideas - Creating Do It Yourself Landscaping Ideas is based on a method we use to help consultees and clients come up with their own design ideas. It's a good exercize that will give you a few things to think about if you're planning to do your own landscaping projects.

I hope you get some good stuff from this. We'll talk soon.

Video Landscaping Ideas

Garden and Landscape Design