Friday, September 07, 2012

Some of my gardens . . .

I actually do work, but around my office space I have plants – lots of plants. You see, while I really love my home, I don't have enough natural light to grow plants. Plus, I have a cat. Case closed.


One of my plants has been doing extraordinarily well. It is a Calathea, which is native to South and Central America, Africa, and the West Indies. For awhile, this plant was spindly and had few leaves. Apparently, I was over watering it. Of late, it is really flourishing. I like it because it is a bit unusual.


This is my Shamrock garden, or Oxalis. I was inspired to have my first Shamrock because my Aunt Liz had one – a big, beautiful one. I got my first one, the one in the yellow pot, over 14 years ago, when I worked at my last job. The Shamrock comes in two colors: green and dark purple leaves. The green plants have little white bugle-shaped flowers; the dark purple plants have pink flowers. If you want one of these plants, you'll have to wait until February—right around the week of St. Patrick's Day. That's the only time of the year it is sold in stores. It's worth the wait—it's a very inexpensive plant. I think I usually pay around $4 or $5 for one.


I won't attempt to tell you what plants I have here because I have many varieties. They are on the shelving that butts up to one wall of my cubicle. I can see them from where I sit, but they also grace the space above our galley storage. I get a lot of compliments over them.


Finally, this space above my cubicle has two Purple Passion plants. I got my first one from Heidi. I believe she lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at the time. This plant has green leaves covered in velvety purple hairs. It is very easy to grow – one can take a clipping and simply root it in water. 

2 comments:

Heidi said...

I should have been in college when I had the purple passion. I wish I had another one now. I should try to find one. I wish I had your green thumb!

DD4 said...

Heidi, would they allow you to have a couple of small plants up in the tower? With all of the window area there, some varieties of plants would flourish.