Symbolism

 

Before I bought my first gardening book and before I cared about containers that have proper drainage, I knew the importance of having certain plants in the home.  Since college, every time a friend moved to a new apartment I brought them an aloe plant for their kitchen because my family always used it for burns.  I've also kept jade in my apartments because my mother, a former Feng Shui consultant, taught me as a child that jade plants are a symbol of abundance. 

Gardening on a Dime and Avoiding Waste

I recently ran low on supplies for this year's gardening and money is tight this week, so I decided to improvise with some of my seed starting.  For those of you who are also gardening on a budget or just don't like to waste materials that are still usable, here's a technique I put together for using would-be trash for seed starting.  All you need is some used tea lights, an empty rotisserie chicken container, sewing pins, and some coconut coir pellets (about $3 at Loews, the only ingredient I purchased specifically for this project).

How the Flower Show practically ushered in the Spring

The Philadelphia International Flower Show went well last week.  Over 250,000 visitors packed the PA Convention Center's floral oasis, looking for a taste of spring and exotic plants from around the globe.  Looking back, I'm amazed to see that the show seemed to mark the transition from deep winter snow to pre-spring balminess.