Haxuan, that lady slipper orchid is exceptionally beautiful. I've never gown that kind of orchid before, but after seeing yours I'm inspired to find one and make it my own! Webkat, you will love your little philo. They are slow growers and it will take many years for your baby to get as big as mine, but they tolerate a wide range of conditions and are easy to grow. I keep mine in partial sun and let it dry out completely before watering. You'll have to keep an eye out for spider mites----for some reason they are attracted to this philo more than other philos. Happy growing!

Nice pictures everyone. Gazania, I have never seen a ring of worms. Is that a common occurance in your area? All I have to say is it's a dog eat dog world. Linda

Nicole, that is not a giant ice plant, although it is an ice plant. I simply put some cuttings from the front yard into a hanging basket that has other succulents. The orange flowers are epidendrum orchids, which bloom all year here, and I now have them in several colors, but mostly yellow to red. I want to get a purple one. Murraysmom, weather here is springlike all year, and so it is difficult for me to remember what month it is at times, but we do get changes of day-length. Still, it is mild enough in the winter for me to grow tropical fruit, such as cherimoya, mango (which I don't have since I left Venice), bananas, and white sapote, which are just now about to get ripe. I also love that I have year-round citrus. A lot of herbs are perennials here, but certain herbs (like parsley, cilantro, and dill) do best in the winter. However, I have learned to move them to shadier spots in order to grow them in the spring and summer. In a couple of months, my epiphyllum will start blooming, and that is my favorite time of the year, as the flowers provide a riot of color. I have orchids and bromeliads blooming in my back yard throughout the winter, and I really do appreciate the colors that they add. My favorite plants are probably the bromeliads, but when the epiphyllum are in bloom, there is no comparison.Here you can see my one of my epiphyllum in bloom from May 2015, but it is not in full bloom. I am expecting a lot more flowers this year, as I keep adding to my epiphyllum collection. I've almost run out of room for more bromeliads, but I could rearrange things, perhaps with a local plant swap. I have some bromeliads that I would like to get rid of (because they are too prolific), and I would like to replace them with different bromeliads.

I'll go with rotting leaves as well and just go with it. :-) Think of it as a light compost tea, quite literally, from the gutters. Although I might not use it on plants that are intensely sensitive to salts or salt build-up in containers. Unlike Jane, I don't have the gutters cleaned. There's fifteen years of &#^@ in there. The gardens, where the downspouts drop into and fan out, look fantastic. As I think on it, rainwater wouldn't have the fluoride that tap water does, nor the monochloramine that our municipality uses in the water. That might be an advantage for plants that are a bit sensitive to salts. I have a corn plant that absolutely insists on distilled water. My local water is very soft, so that's neither here nor there as far as rainwater goes. I swear--utterly without proof--that the fluoride slows growth on some plants as well and that natural rainfall is "better." And yet the photos really don't show much difference between dry and wet summers, so I think I'm just having a bit of confirmation bias on that one. Plus the pots, which see far more house water, grow enormously.