Nice haul! I'm dying to look at that Unexpected Houseplant book!

My Mom gave me some really nice gloves, and DH said (truthfully) there wasn't any gardening stuff in the stores last week (here in town) but that's what he was looking for, for me and his Mom. I absolutely love the soooo soft purple blanket he got me though.

I asked for a wrought iron single plant stand from my BIL. I wanted one a little bit taller, but this one is ok.

Purple: ooh! Purple can wrap herself up in purple! :). Nice to have nice gloves--- that's what I got my dad this year!

I've read a section of the Unexpected Houseplant. The book is split into seasons and I read Autumn last night. Each season is broken into a half dozen plants or so. Sans. were included in autumn. The author has strong feelings about a lot of plants that I don't agree with--/ she hates spider plants! :(. But her personality helps shape her writing so I can't complain TOO much. I'll keep you posted on my feelings when I get through another season or finish the book.

Elkay: thanks for sharing about your wrought iron plant stand. Sure it is lovely! I think plant stands will be one of my quests for next year!

That is interesting, personally. I'm realizing I have very little love for these spider plants. Having them around for decades has not caused them to be dearer to me, the opposite really. They're just never happy for more than a few months. I'm sure it's me and I take all the blame, and foist whatever portion of the responsibility belongs to tap water to the tap water, but if we're really going to get along so badly, is the relationship worth sustaining? I think I will find homes for the rest of the mass of it, if I can this summer, and let that story end.

Anyway, I respect anyone for being honest if they don't like a plant, as long as they say why.

Maybe spider and I just need relationship counseling? Ha!

Anxious for your next review installment...

If you feel like it, I'd love to see a pic of your new stand, Elkay. I'm sure it's much more attractive than some of the objects my plants are temporarily calling home.

Here it is......nothing special, just your old, run of the mill stand.

{{gwi:65259}}

Yep, I knew it, that IS more attractive than boards on cinder blocks, various scrap pieces of wood from DH's work, furniture hidden under plastic table cloths, and an old chair & desk from the elementary school (they were selling them for $2 per set when they built the new school.)

I like that!

I finished The Unexpected Houseplant. I really enjoyed it. The book includes a lot of standbys and a lot of plants I've never seen/ heard of. The pictures are artsy and stylish. Each plant has a little essay about it, but also a sidebar with the basics for a quick reference. I like that this book applies to beginners as well as experienced gardener a who want a challenge. I would definitely recommend it.

Just so you get an idea of the plants, here are the ones included in Winter:
Asparagus, burnished, camellia, clivias, euphorbia, ferns, forced spring bulbs, fragrant plants, herbs, holiday plants, orchids, pelargoniums, pepperonias, selaginellas, South African bulbs

That's it, I must ask the library to get this if they don't already have it. I'm dying to read more about this seasons thing!

My mom loves to garden and i was wondering if could give her some culinary herb set for her to plant the whole season. I think she would be very happy. I'm still searching for the top gift for gardeners.I hope some of these can help me.

This post was edited by jeremy2013 on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 2:34

Jeremy! That herb set looks nice! With spring approaching, I've been seeing a lot more herb kits (some with soil included) around stores and also some cute herb markers. I think this is a great time to be shopping for a gift for your mom.