Like gardens, garden blogs all reflect the gardeners that tend to them. In our garden blogs we record the highs and lows we experience gardening; the plants that arrive, the seeds we sow, and everything you'd expect to find in a garden journal. Sometimes you come across a garden blog entry that goes beyond the standard "garden journal" entry and the gardener shares something personal that gives you insight into the heart and mind of the gardener.
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20.12.07
String Of Hearts Vine Propagation
String of Hearts Vine, along with Rosary Vine, is a common name for Ceropegia woodii. Ceropegia woodii is a popular hanging houseplant because it is easy to care for, beautiful and being a succulent it is very forgiving to being under-watered. When being grown indoors as a houseplant it is recommended to grow it in a very bright area where it receives direct sun. I grow my plant in a west facing window and don't supplement the low light levels with grow lights and it does pretty good for me. If you're interested I've written a previous post titled Ceropegia woodii: String of Hearts where you can see a photo of the flower. While better known for the foliage and tubers this plant does produce a small flower that is as interesting, if not more, than the tubers and leaves.


18.12.07
Don't Quit Your Day Blogs
Growing up in an urban area you quickly learn who your friends are by noticing "who has your back." Having someone's back can range from being there for moral support to putting yourself in harms way to protect your friends. One of the instances where I have trouble having someone's back is when a friend is obviously in the wrong or I don't support their position. And right now I don't like the OpenID comment feature on Blogger but I can't help defend it against other garden bloggers who don't seem to have a firm grasp on technology in general.
17.12.07
A Call For Garden Blog Entries
I've recently come across an entry on a blog that I found to be particularly touching and I'd like to link to it (and others) in a post here. Have you read an entry on a garden blog where the gardener shared something personal and touching? Maybe they talked about who the first person was to nurture the gardener inside him/her, wrote about a plant they are growing that once belonged to someone special in their life, anything you found interesting or that touched you.
Propagating Adenium Obesum By Cuttings
In a previous entry I wrote about how the warm temperatures indoors this winter were causing my Adenium obesum to break dormancy. Since my Adeniums don't want to stay dormant and prefer to grow during this time I figured I'd take advantage of the situation and propagate a branch or two from my plant. Normally propagation of plants is done during the spring and summer when plants are actively growing but I think I can have some success with a little extra care. Here I used a specialized bonsai tool called a 'concave cutter' but a sharp pair of scissors or shears should be adequate. The reason I used a concave cutter is because unlike garden pruners you're familiar with a concave cutter doesn't make a flat cut but a concave one. The reason a concave cut is desired is because this help a tree heal faster and when the wound closes it isn't as noticeable. To see larger pictures in this entry click the images to enlarge them.
16.12.07
Houseplant Photography Tip
I received an email from a visitor to this garden blog asking me how I achieve the black background in my houseplant photos. To be 100% honest I do own a high-end photo editing program that I could use to make my backgrounds darker or lighter and sometimes I do use it for that purpose. But most of the time I get my background as close to black as possible using only a piece of black cardboard and sunlight coming in through a window. Then, if I'm not satisfied enough with the results I'll darken the background in the photo editing program.
14.12.07
Donald Trump Loves Ficuses
The City Council of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif has ordered Donald Trump to remove a ficus hedge he installed at the Trump National Golf Club without getting permission. The 10-foot-high hedge is now blocking the ocean view of some of the neighboring homes.
Echeveria 'Black Prince' Propagation

Back in August I blogged about restarting an Echeveria where I bemoaned having to take cuttings from this succulent that had become leggy. One of the problems I encounter as an indoor gardener is that I love plants that need very bright sunlight to keep their compact shape. Often times indoors I can provide it and the plants start to stretch or even worse start to deteriorate.
12.12.07
Dot Com Your Garden Blog
Due to the overwhelming demand (OK, one person) I'll briefly touch on turning your garden blog into a custom domain and the benefits. Recently, when I wanted to set up a blog to be exclusively about my Amaryllids I decided to take advantage of blogging with a custom domain. While a great feature on the surface there is one annoying "glitch" that Blogger needs to fix for it to be the great tool that they thought they were going to provide us with.
Rotting Leaves On Aloe Plant
In the post about Aloe Vera Houseplant Care a visitor by the name of Bridget posed the following question:
"I have been having trouble with my aloe lately, usually it loves me, it even bloomed for me over the summer and gave me about 15 little ones I've been having to give to people because I don't know where I can put them. Unfortunately I accidentally let it freeze, it summers outside, and a sudden freeze came up before I could move it inside. When I did get it inside, it was frozen, and after it thawed it became very wilted, and now it is giving off a smell of rotting, and oozing a dark brown liquid from the tips of it's leaves. There are still viable leaves in the very middle of the plant, but I'm concerned with trimming off the bad leaves and shocking it too much. Should I just give it up and let it go? I would like to try to get it healthy because I've had this one aloe for over 7 years."
Dealing With Content Theft
I said I'd make one last post on this subject and this one should do it for now. When I've found that my text or images have been published in whole on another site (usually without credit) the first thing I've done is contact the webmaster. You can usually find a "contact" page somewhere on the website. I've made sure to keep my tone respectful and maybe even friendly. Recently, I found my posts being republished on a site after I'd been asked and said I wasn't interested. That time my tone wasn't very friendly or respectful especially after I noticed that the website was offering to pay gardeners to create original content while taking mine even after I'd said no.
10.12.07
Christmas Cactus Losing Branches
In the comments section of the entry for How To Make Your Christmas Cactus bloom are visitor asked this question that I thought was pretty interesting.
Sue, since you don't make any mention of disease or pests and say that your plant loses healthy limbs this may be an instance where "it just happens" or we may have to do some plant detective work.
The fleshy stems of Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) hold water and it may be that you're watering too much. But overwatering would usually be accompanied by root rot or some visible signs in the leaf segments of this cactus or flower bud loss.
Also, you don't mention where the stem loss is occurring on your plant. Are the stems that are falling off on the outside of the plant or is it losing stems from within the center of the plant? If it is the outside of the plant have you considered the possibility of people or pets brushing up against it and breaking off a piece? You mentioned in the comment that you live in an area where you can now grow these outside; besides people and pets maybe it is being visited by squirrels, birds or some kind of "garden pest." If the stem loss is occurring within the center of the plant it may be because of low light. When sufficient light fails to reach the center of a bushy plant it will drop leavs from the center and branches die back.
Think about where these plants are native to and how they grow there. They can be found growing overhead in the tropical rainforest. Another clue could be the design of the plant itself. Why did the plant evolve to grow leaf segments that break and root easily instead of a long vine like an ivy? We know that the plant grows high up in tree branches so maybe the stems breaking and falling off is a necessity. If a Schlumbergera is growing high up in a tree and a branch breaks- it falls and perhaps gets stuck on a tree branch below. Withing a few weeks the piece that broke off is rooted, growing and a whole new plant is created. You can use this to your advantage by rooting the branches that break off and planting them back into your potted plant. See my entry on Rooting Christmas Cactus Cuttings by following that link.
Underwatering: The branches wouldn't look "healthy"- they'd shrivel or turn brown and crisp.
Cold temps: If your plant was exposed to cold temperatures it would also show signs in the branches and leaf segments. The color would darken to a black or brown and become mushy.
Hot temp: Again the branches would turn brown and crisp from drying out.
Hope this helps and thanks for stopping by and asking a question that gave my brain a workout.
...Periodically, they insist on dropping branches. They seem fine and then just drop large healthy looking limbs. My plant is slowly getting sparcer instead of larger. Any ideas?-Sue
Sue, since you don't make any mention of disease or pests and say that your plant loses healthy limbs this may be an instance where "it just happens" or we may have to do some plant detective work.
The fleshy stems of Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) hold water and it may be that you're watering too much. But overwatering would usually be accompanied by root rot or some visible signs in the leaf segments of this cactus or flower bud loss.
Also, you don't mention where the stem loss is occurring on your plant. Are the stems that are falling off on the outside of the plant or is it losing stems from within the center of the plant? If it is the outside of the plant have you considered the possibility of people or pets brushing up against it and breaking off a piece? You mentioned in the comment that you live in an area where you can now grow these outside; besides people and pets maybe it is being visited by squirrels, birds or some kind of "garden pest." If the stem loss is occurring within the center of the plant it may be because of low light. When sufficient light fails to reach the center of a bushy plant it will drop leavs from the center and branches die back.
Why I think it may "just happen."
Think about where these plants are native to and how they grow there. They can be found growing overhead in the tropical rainforest. Another clue could be the design of the plant itself. Why did the plant evolve to grow leaf segments that break and root easily instead of a long vine like an ivy? We know that the plant grows high up in tree branches so maybe the stems breaking and falling off is a necessity. If a Schlumbergera is growing high up in a tree and a branch breaks- it falls and perhaps gets stuck on a tree branch below. Withing a few weeks the piece that broke off is rooted, growing and a whole new plant is created. You can use this to your advantage by rooting the branches that break off and planting them back into your potted plant. See my entry on Rooting Christmas Cactus Cuttings by following that link.
Some things I think you can safely eliminate as the cause of your branch loss.
Underwatering: The branches wouldn't look "healthy"- they'd shrivel or turn brown and crisp.
Cold temps: If your plant was exposed to cold temperatures it would also show signs in the branches and leaf segments. The color would darken to a black or brown and become mushy.
Hot temp: Again the branches would turn brown and crisp from drying out.
Hope this helps and thanks for stopping by and asking a question that gave my brain a workout.
9.12.07
How To Shorten Your Feed
If you've been following the controversy involving The Grow Spot garden forum and their use of garden blog feeds you may want to shorten your feed to make your content less desirable to places like this. I'll try to make this simple and short but I have a tendency to ramble and make things more complicated than they should be; if you find that to be the case feel free to say something and I'll edit this post for clarity.
8.12.07
ThanksGiving Cactus Red-Orange Flower
The second to last of my Thanksgiving cactus flowers. The buds on this plant were a nice orange color but when they unfurled they looked more of red-orange maybe it is the addition of the white throat that changes the color temperature? This year I've realized that were these holiday cacti are concerned you can't judge the final bloom color by the color of the bud. My fuschia colored buds were more of an Asian red color and my white buds had a pink hue to them.
Younger Gardeners-Older Gardeners
I came across this entry by Katie at GardenPunks.com about leaving a comment on this entry by Kathy Purdy at ColdClimateGardening.com. The two posts touch on the observation that older gardeners don't blog much and that we're missing out on the information they have to pass on.
7.12.07
5.12.07
3.12.07
Thanksgiving Cactus Red Flower

2.12.07
New Comment Feature in Blogger
Blogger is experimenting with OpenID and is trying to make it easier for people who don't blog on Blogger to be able to comment. I just noticed that a non Blogger gardener tried to comment with the old feature and was having trouble. I've enabled the new comment feature through Blogger In Draft to see how it goes.
1.12.07
How To Pot An Amaryllis
I purchased an Amaryllis kit at full price instead of waiting until the day after Christmas to buy them when Amaryllis bulbs are discounted 50%-75% off. It feels strange paying full price for an Amaryllis bulb and the cashier practically had to wrestle the money from my hand but in the end I justified the purchase because it would make a blog entry.
Thanksgiving Cactus Pink Flower

27.11.07
Mammillaria plumosa- Feather Cactus
26.11.07
Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine Roots

25.11.07
8 Things You Don't Know About This Gardener
I've been tagged twice to participate in one of these memes. The first time was Gina at My Skinny Garden and today I learned that Barbara at Garden Grow has tagged me to reveal 7 things about me. They're both basically the same meme so I'll get them both out of the way in one post. The rules are that I'm suppose to reveal things about myself and link to the people who tagged me and then tag 8 people myself who are suppose to reveal things about themselves.
24.11.07
You Know You're An Urban Gardener When
I took advantage of a relatively sunny day today to clean up the garden a little. I was amazed at how the mind wanders and the things that occur to you when you're out in the garden with only your thoughts. I started to remember the photos that didn't get posted to this garden blog, all of the seeds that I never got around to sowing in the garden this year, the plants that didn't get propagated and the experiences I've had over the past two years in (or because of) the garden. Some of the things I was thinking about are universal to all gardeners and gardens but I can't help but think that some of them can only happen in an urban garden or to an urban gardener.
20.11.07
Decorating Cacti And Succulents

Growing Aloe Vera From Cuttings
A visitor to this gardening blog e-mailed me to ask if it was possible to propagate and grow Aloe vera from cuttings. Honestly, I've never tried it but everything I've read about Aloes indicates that they can't be propagated through leaf cuttings. But it is possible to propagate an Aloe vegetatively by removing a pup or by rhizome cuttings though.
But there are the Aloe vera hybrids that have been crossed with related succulents like my xGasteraloe 'Green Ice' which is reported to be a cross between a Gasteria 'Old Man Silver' x Aloe variegata. When I bought that plant there was one leaf that was much larger than the whole plant and has now died, that's a big clue that it was propagated by a leaf cutting.
If you happen across my blog and you don't find the answer to the question you were looking for try the search boxes on the right or e-mail me through my profile. If I know the answer I'll gladly let you know and if I don't I can probably point you in the right direction.
But there are the Aloe vera hybrids that have been crossed with related succulents like my xGasteraloe 'Green Ice' which is reported to be a cross between a Gasteria 'Old Man Silver' x Aloe variegata. When I bought that plant there was one leaf that was much larger than the whole plant and has now died, that's a big clue that it was propagated by a leaf cutting.
If you happen across my blog and you don't find the answer to the question you were looking for try the search boxes on the right or e-mail me through my profile. If I know the answer I'll gladly let you know and if I don't I can probably point you in the right direction.
19.11.07
Content Scrapers and My Blog's Feed
I've been publishing my blog with a full feed to make it easier for people who have found this blog interesting and subscribed to my feed to be notified of new posts. Recently I noticed that a site was scraping my feed in whole and publishing it to their site.
17.11.07
Storing Sweet Potato Vine Tubers

14.11.07
Everyone's A Garden Coach
Earlier today I started to write an entry on a strange encounter I had but abandoned it after 8 paragraphs because I was dancing around an issue and language to keep my little urban gardening blog family friendly.
I live and garden in Chicago, IL and living in a big city has advantages and drawbacks. It just so happens one of the drawbacks of living in a big city I deal with is living off of a very busy road. From time to time some women (lets call them "temporary companions") will provide companionship to men who are driving down this busy road I live off of. Are you following me?
I live and garden in Chicago, IL and living in a big city has advantages and drawbacks. It just so happens one of the drawbacks of living in a big city I deal with is living off of a very busy road. From time to time some women (lets call them "temporary companions") will provide companionship to men who are driving down this busy road I live off of. Are you following me?
13.11.07
Oriental Lily Seed Pods

12.11.07
Cheap Topiary Frames

11.11.07
ZZ Plant- Easy Low Light Houseplant

10.11.07
Pineapple Lily Bulbs

Preparing My Amaryllis For Blooming

4.11.07
The Future Of Urban Farming?

2.11.07
Not Your Grandma's Christmas Cactus

31.10.07
More Cacti Abuse

A Lawn Is A Four-Letter Word

30.10.07
Community Garden Resources
I received an e-mail from Greencorps Chicago asking local community gardeners to register their community gardens on the American Community Garden Association map. While this e-mail was circulated locally it isn't exclusive to community gardens in the Chicago area. The American Community Garden Association is actually a bi-national organization with members throughout the United States and Canada.
28.10.07
How To Make Your Christmas Cactus Bloom

26.10.07
"Why Is My Venus Fly Trap Dying?"

25.10.07
Argyroderma delaetii- Living Rock Plant, Stone Plants

24.10.07
Garden Center Memories

18.10.07
Pink And White Cypress Vine
There isn't much blooming in my garden right now but my 'Cypress Vine' is still going strong. In the garden this year I planted this flowering vine in two spots where it could climb and flower and provide a little bit of privacy. If you've been here before you may already have seen the red 'Cypress Vine' flower on this gardening blog, but the pink and white flowers have just started to put on their display. Ipomoea quamoclit is the botanical name for 'Cypress Vine.' The more common name is often also assigned, incorrectly, to 'Cardinal Climber.'


17.10.07
Gardeners Ignored By Blogger On Blog Action Day
If you write about your garden on Blogger you may have noticed below the dashboard that Blogger highlighted a few blogs that were powered by Blogger that participated in Blog Action Day. It didn't escape my attention that there weren't any garden blogs in the list.
15.10.07
Responsible Gardening For Blog Action Day

13.10.07
Growing Elephant Ear Plants In Chicago

10.10.07
Outdoor Gardening With Houseplants

7.10.07
Let's Grow Some Green Thumbs
Have you ever found something useful on my gardening blog? Maybe the answer on how to do something or information on a plant or seed or just really liked one of my photographs. Perhaps after that particular visit you wished you could buy me a cup of coffee...well... I don't drink coffee but I do believe in charity.
Fake Flowers On Cacti

30.9.07
Abutilon striatum- Flower Maple

29.9.07
When I Collect Climbing Lily Seeds

22.9.07
"She Fought The Lawn But The Lawn Won"
Earlier in the week I came across the story of Betty Perry, 70 years old, who was arrested after she scuffled with a police officer who went to her home because she had let her lawn go brown. During the struggle Perry fell and injured her nose and according to her attorney, Gloria Allred, she was handcuffed with "bruises and blood." Betty Perry is being charged with resisting arrest and failing to maintain her landscape, both misdemeanors.
21.9.07
The Buzz On Chicago Honey Co-op

20.9.07
Is The Opposition To CCM In Grant Park Racist?

When I first heard of plans to move the Chicago Children's Museum to Grant Park I was firmly opposed to the idea. I had visions of green space being torn up and replaced by a monstrosity overrun by wide-eyed, sticky-fingered kids. But mostly my opposition stemmed from my jealousy of even more park development for affluent areas of Chicago. Back in March I posted an entry on this gardening blog, titled "Dear Mayor Daley," where I complained about the disparity of park development in undeserved neighborhoods. Today I'm still not pleased with situation we have in many of our neighborhoods that aren't near the lake but I'm no longer in opposition of the Chicago Children's Museum desire to move to Grant Park.
17.9.07
5 Reason Why I Grow Nasturtiums In My Garden

Today I found myself collecting seeds from my Nasturtiums all the while patting myself on the back for making the decision to grow this wonderful annual in my garden. As I was admiring the flowers I started thinking of the benefits of growing this plant and thought of a few but I'll share my top 5 reasons why I grow Nasturtiums in my garden.
13.9.07
Confessions Of A Seed Snatcher

10.9.07
The 2007 Great Perennial Divide
The Chicago Botanic Garden, Greencorps Chicago, The Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, and Open Lands will be hosting the 2007 Great Perennial Divide on Saturday, September 29th. This is an event where groups and gardeners from across the city of Chicago can swap, donate and/or receive perennials, trees and shrubs.
9.9.07
Slugs In My Garden (Green Thumb Sunday)

4.9.07
Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly

Recently I came across a small light colored butterfly in my garden that at first glance I thought was a Small Cabbage White I had seen in my garden here in Chicago. When I approached the butterfly it fluttered away revealing a blue or gray tint to the upper leaves. I knew immediately this wasn't a Small Cabbage White.
When I Collect Candy Lily Seeds

3.9.07
Lords Of The Gourd: The Pursuit Of Excellence
The other day while channel surfing I came across a commercial on my local PBS station for a program called "Lords of the Gourds: The Pursuit of Excellence." Once I got past the cheesy title of the documentary and saw that the program was about a competition involving the growing of giant gourds (pumpkins in particular) I made a mental note to watch it when it airs on Wednesday in Chicago. The PBS website doesn't have a good description of the documentary but I found one on the Rocky Mountain PBS website.
Creative Garden Gate

29.8.07
Orbea variegata-Starfish Cactus, Toad Cactus

27.8.07
Leafminer Bugs

23.8.07
When I Collect Pineapple Lily Seeds

Self-Rooting Coleus In My Garden

When I Collect Purple Coneflower Seeds

22.8.07
How To Propagate Eucomis Bulbs: Leaf Cuttings

20.8.07
When I Collect Cleome Seeds

Tradescantia pallida: Purple Heart Or Wandering Jew

19.8.07
Ipomoea batatas 'Blackie'

Columbine Seedling
We've been experiencing a bit of rain in Chicago these past few days and one benefit from it is the seedlings that have emerged or have been given a boost by extra water. I was taking advantage of the fact that the soil is saturated with water and pulling weeds is relatively easy when I spotted a couple of seedlings. One of the seedlings I spotted amongst the weeds is this columbine seedling.


When I Collect Nasturtium Seeds
I was out in the garden today picking a few blooms from my Nasturtiums to decorate a salad with when I noticed how many seeds were being produced by my plants this year. When I first grew them I was worried I wouldn't be able to recognize the Nasturtium seeds and that I would somehow lose them all to garden critters. Once these annual set seeds it is pretty easy to spot them if you move the foliage aside and inspect your plants. For the most part the seeds are produced in pairs like in picture of nasturtium seeds in this post but on a few occasions I've observed them growing in groups of three or four.


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