• Kale
• Collards
• Celery
• Parsley
• Other “greens”
• Oranges, apples, grapes or other fruit for sweetness

This is “great” stuff!

I thank you for being so careful with my Blue Curled Scotch kale. It arrived in perfect condition because of your expert means of packaging – great stuff!

For some reason I have trouble finding kale plants each year for my garden. I even have neighbors driving around various nurseries for me. This was a particularly bad year. So, I am very appreciative of your speed and efficiency in getting this kale to me.

“Old ladies do go on” but I want you to know the value of juicing each day to the human body. Last year I overheard a voice in my next door yard. It was a young worker building a wall. He said to one of his associates “how tired he was.” At the time I was ‘juicing’ and I took a fresh juice glass to him for energy. He asked first “what was in it” and I told him. Then he drank it down, one half hour later he came back to me to again ask me what was in my juice. I repeated it all to him. Then he said “you put a kick in this stuff didn’t you?” I assured him the “kick” came from the veggies, etc in the drink. He said he felt “a kick” in the mix. Hooray kale!

Thank you again for your care!

Dorothy G.

Lawrence J.

GHS: Cathy thanks for your kind words. Glad you enjoyed your plants. We look forward to seeing you again.

GHS: You are welcome Helga, thanks for being our customer. Happy Gardening!

Many thanks, Mary

2.  This is in the yard of my own home (not where I am now)…showing a ground Amaryllis and a special brocade geranium that my son’s gardening helper pulled out of the ground last fall, thinking it was totally dead. I could have KILLED him…for I’ve never seen another one like it anywhere!  If YOU see one…HOLLER!!!

3.  This is the front entry to my house, showing lush growth all around it.  On the right is what they commonly call “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”–beautiful three-colored blooms, dark purple first, fades to blue the second day, and white on the third day.  There are a lot of ferns, lilies and celestial orchids in the ground, with an open lattice cover for the perfect partial sun/shade most of the day.

4. And here’s a shot of my wee Nina when she was a little over 2 years old and still had quite a bit of black on her mug. We were battling sarcoptic mange on the edges of her ears, and a mite infection. Got over all of that and never had any more problems. But, today–she has hardly any black mug left. Ah me.

As my plants develop, I will send you shots of them if you’d like. Can’t wait to get my next shipment.

Later…
BK

This odd, gangly and unruly plant will take over whatever space it’s allotted.  It sends out long, hairy shoots that will keep extending until they reach a wall or ceiling, then they’ll bend and continue growing to infinity. The long, flat, irregular leaves look like a Picasso painting melting. Unexpectedly, right out of the side of a leaf will sprout a hot pink stem and a bud.  Then, a spidery, multi-layered white flower singing tunes from “Little Shop of Horrors” opens to reveal a delicate perfume…evocative of jasmine and evenings spent chugging Mai Tais on Waikiki Beach.

The night-blooming cereus has a cult following. Maybe it’s because of its grotesque greenery only a mother could love. Maybe it’s a purist’s way of proving superhuman patience. Or, maybe it’s just a quirky fun conversation piece.  The first-time viewer always asks, “Why?”

I have been growing a night-blooming cereus indoors from a small start my neighbor Karen (a Master Gardener) gave me about 3 years ago. I’ve tended it, groomed it, and cleared space for its ever-increasing size. I’ve waited for what seemed like 3 1/2 years to see my first bloom, never knowing if or when it would happen.

There is something magical about nurturing this horrible-looking monstrosity to have a large, fragrant flower appear out of the edge of a leaf, only one night each year.

Well, mine bloomed for the first time last night. I missed it. Here’s the wilted, shriveled and jaundiced remains of a flower I found when I woke up:

There is no point or moral to this story. I was mocked by my own houseplant, and I just needed to vent. Thanks.

Left section (each side is 4′ x 4′ x 7′).  Note full Swedish Ivy at right–all from ONE stem of plant I rescued from the trash at Home Depot a year ago!  Just TLC and lots of water.

Right side, a bit closer.  Wish I knew the name of the top right hanger.  It’s a profuse grower!

My “Baby”…I just LOVE this Coleus.  It’s doubled itself in the past month. Unreal! Note the “drain pan”: it’s what a rotisserie chicken came in. Very sturdy, not like those flimsy clear plastic commercial plant pot liners.  I use all kinds from potato salads, margarine tubs, etc.

The lower right closer, with a peek at my deck box.  Vital in an upstairs granny flat!

An Emerald Queen Spathiphyllum (I think) just inside the deck door–a happy camper. It’s much bigger now; this was taken a couple months ago.