It’s a real thing. Call it a change in mood or lack of energy or just the winter blahs, the cold months of winter can be an obstacle. The glow of the holidays is gone and the seemingly endless dark winter days can be tough.
Living in zone 7b, there were a few days during the winter months that I could be outdoors gardening or participating in other open air activities with friends. Not being a winter sport enthusiast, ice and snow in New England brings most of my outdoors activities to a halt.
During the deepest days of winter, I’ve had to shift my interests. Our wonderful local library has been a magnet for me in the throws of winter along with belonging to a gym and different clubs that keep me active and involved. And most importantly, if I can’t get my green fix outside pulling a weed or pruning a branch in January and February, I can find the color green by bringing my gardening indoors.
I’ve never been attracted to houseplants in the past but suddenly I find it fun. I have a few hardy ones that allow me to fuss over them. I pinch, trim, water, and move them from
room to room to follow the sun.
There’s a tiny terrarium that sits next to my winter reading chair. I’ve made it a little landscape, a slice of nature by adding a pine cone or two, a little snake that a sister whittled and painted, some frogs from another sister, a tiny turtle, and a little dragonfly. A new Christmas gift of a jewel encrusted frog trinket box from a brother’s family sits on the table in the morning sun. Just glancing at this slice of nature gives promise that springtime that will soon be here.
I haven’t invested in any plants that are difficult to maintain. I love this ivy below that came from a friend’s garden and potted for me by another friend. I find it’s hard to make ivy unhappy and looking at it brings memories of the past. My mother always brought cuttings of ivy indoors to brighten the house in the winter.
Another ironclad plant that’s been with me for a few years is the peace lily (Spathiphyllum). The tiny sprout that I first brought home has blossomed into a specimen that has been repotted several times and may be ready for a division and a pass-along soon. With minimal care, I am rewarded with lovely tall spikes of white blooms periodically.
Now, instead of waiting to seed outdoors, I start herbs in a sunny window, root garden geraniums and candytuft (iberis) and other soft and woody cuttings from the garden.
For sure, there is little green to be seen from the windows during New Hampshire winters, but indoors at our house, we have enough green to see us through till spring!
As the Barefoot Contessa would say, “How easy is that?”
Inspiring. It’s almost time for me to bring out my frogs and other spring decor. Love your little snake!
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Now that the polar vortex has retreated from the Midwest, maybe you can dare to think about spring gardening. 🌱
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I was not too interested in houseplants either; until I brought plants back from the Los Angeles region disliked the slightly cooler winters here. We do not get much frost, but there is just enough to keep tropical plants inside.
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I bet your home is full of beautiful tropicals. I have one orchid and I baby that plant.
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Not any more. For several years, it was densely forested inside that doves nested in the kitchen, some sort of finch nested in the bathroom, and a squirrel tried to move into the guest room and would not leave. Sadly, most did not survive the move. They went outside temporarily, but stayed too late into winter. It was very saddening.
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It’s always nice to have a little green
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I’m not sure how careful you have to be with your cats around houseplants. My cat never ate plants but loved to scratch out all the dirt from planters.
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Our cats destroy everything green. We’ve had some remarkable failures, including a spider plant that lasted about 3 days before bring reduced to sticks.
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Annie – I agree I need to see green, and I enjoy having houseplants and cut flowers in the house during the winter months. All months. Your terrarium is so sweet especially with all the wildlife around it, that snake is awesome. I had never thought of bringing Ivy indoors like that, but I think I’ll put it on my must-do list because yours looks so nice. Good seeing your greens. Kim
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The friend who passed along the ivy to me is growing some, too. She has ambitious plans and emailed me, “I have dreams of a window garlanded with ivy a la the paintings of Carl Larsson.” I hope she can do that.
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Oh that does bring a lovely vision to mind. Now I’m really inspired. Does she bring pieces in with roots attached or does she start with cuttings?
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These were cuttings but there were tiny little roots at the nodes. She probably removed the bottom leaves and stuck the stem in a potting solution. It’s also easy to root in water.
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