Here's recent shot of a terrarium I set up and a few more of the new AV & Strep blooms I've recently added.
Enjoy!
MsC
The Gnome Home and more...
Suncoast Coral Razz... I love this fantasy bloom!
Fishermans Paradise... I love it's foliage but I really looked at the bloom today & find I love love love it too..lol
Strep Chorus Girl.. my all time favorite. She's still alive and doing well which is saying alot since I have NO luck with streps.
This is my first Russina Av, Winter Smiles....there must be a trick to growing them cause she's a bit of a wild child for me. I like the blooms but not as much as I thought I would.
What do ya think??
MsC
Hi MsC,
your plants are lovely.
Can I move in with the gnome?
That terrarium is adorable MsC..oo you have some really lovely av's too and Chorus Girl strep is also one of my favorites! I could look at those blooms all day : )
Great pictures!! I love the terrarium! I love my Fisherman's Paradise, I think they are so pretty, your flowers are so pretty. I love your Winter Smiles, so sweet!!! The other pictures are lovely also.
Oh My Goodness ... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that Fisherman's Paradise! Beautiful foliage and blooms! And, I really like Winter's Smile! She is so pretty! I think Gail grows some of the Russian AV's, aren't those the ones that get really big?
WOW Critter that is beautiful... I love your gnome set up... really pretty.. So if you let Spider move in can I also please??? Your flowers are beautiful.....
Hugs,
Susan
Hiya ladies,
Thanks everyone for the nice comments...wasn't sure if you guys would see them or if there were any AV folks left hangin around besides me & Sally.
Spidy & Susan of course you both can move in...I wished there were some of you closer...it gets lonely here.We'd have a blast growing plants & shopping for new plants.
Sally you have FMP, too, it should make a beautiful show plant for you. If you want a leaf of Winters Smiles let me know..I need to pluck a few of my Av's back.
If you're looking for smaller plants for terrariums for your shows my favorite seller has them on sell. They are wonderful!! Think I'm gonna get a few more just cause!
They're just too cute to pass up!
Hugs to you each :)
Critter, yes, Fisherman's Paradise is SO pretty. My plant is about to bloom. A good grower, that one! I don't have any more room. I have two big IGS stands and they are full. I think I have all I can handle right now anyway. Thank you for the offer of a leaf.
I am just so pleased at the way my plants are growing.
I have a few in the Oyama pots now. I have to fill them more often. They seem to be good though.
I do have one Russian av. Forest Orchid is the name.
Hiya Sally,
Well, when I pluck the leaves I'll set them to root...maybe you'll add a 3rd shelf like I did...the dining room table just was doing it for a growing area..lol Hubby added it for my birthday, it took all of about 10 minutes to fill it up and he laughed and said, sweetheart ~ we just don't have room for 4th one maybe you could try growing them outside..lol He's a trooper.
I've had trouble growing Av's here cause our water is yuck but I've switched to bottled water and I've been doing some research, too. I have some interesting pics & info if I can ever get it together to share, it might helps someone else who's having growing troubles..it's been an interesting quest to solve the problem but I was relived it wasn't bugs.:)
I loved the few oyama pots I grow in but I really love my self watering pots & have 100's of them. Since I don't show I just use them . I've altered a few with drainage holes & I've added wicks to some, too. Some Av's love them & some hate them...most I've found I can adjust the mix and they do fine.
I just have too many not to use them and they are pretty.:)
MsC
So, MrsC are all of the plants in your little Gnome Home mini's? Who is your favorite seller?
I would love to do another terrarium with only mini's. My 10 gal aquarium/terrarium is so full and over crowded. Everything looks so great I hate to bother them but it really is packed. I ended up sticking bits and pieces of broken leaves and things in there and they have all taken off! I keep saying I'm going to clear it out, pot things up and start over but I think I might like to do a separate terrarium with just micro mini and mini plants! I would love to find some mini begonia's. I have a micro mini sinningia and a couple of noid mini AV's I could use.
MsC ... I look forward to that research information you have put together! We have had well water for so many years and just got hooked up to city water a few months ago. I really would love to hear what you've found in your quest!
I had about 75 AV's a year ago and all of a sudden they all just died ... very quickly. I thought for sure I must have brought mites or something into the house because I am so bad about quarantining (? spelling ?) new plants that come into the house. But, I'm still not convinced it was mites.
I have most of my av's and gessies on reserviors, wicked. I just wanted to try the Oyama pots too. I only need the two big shelving carts, I have them in the office and when it is cooler, I have some in my sundroom, too hot now. I like having them in just one room. I seem to have my favorites now, though I love a MILLION of them.
When I look at them, I just TRY and remember if I have one that looks like it! THAT WORKS! I am very happy with the plants I have collected. I can take care of the number I have and keep them the way I want them to look.
I have good water, but it is hard water. We buy Spring water for the violets.
Here is a picture from June. They have grown now! Amazing how they grow up. I still had a few in the sunroom here I think.
Sally: Those are some really nice shelves. Someday I might be able to afford one of those professional ones. Mine are just things I bought at Wal-Mart and rigged lights to. I had a chance of buying one like yours used for $100 through our local AV club but someone else beat me to it. I knew it would go fast!
I would love to have them made of Cherry wood to match our office and home, but it would be hard to get them made and have adjustable lights... too much trouble. They really should sell wood shelves. These are the closest I could find. Dark finish. They have been wonderful for me.
Your shelves look great Sally and your plants seem to love them for sure.
If you wanted to do cherry wood looking ones maybe you could find bookshelves and add the lights to them. Most of our book shelves have adjustable shelving. The only thing about wood is the water marks would drive me nuts, I'm a lil clumsy with my watering technique.lol
I've started doing exactly the same thing when I look at a new AV I just "think" I have to have...I'm much better now. I even look at colors..do I really need another pink or plain purple one..lol
I've found there are so many that look a like,too.
Lin, I get it together with the info on my research... it's nothing earth shaterring but it will make an interesting topic for sure.
I'll send ya the sellers info in a Dmail.
MsC
Yes, you could buy wood shelves, but to really get what I want, they would need to be built and so much trouble. I would love them to have a lip on the edge to hide the lighting and also trays, dark brown trays. I am picky, but I think it would look so pretty. That way, all you would see would be the plants and flowers. I would want adjustable lighting like I have now, on the sides, again hidden, ha. I don't ask for much!
I love things to be neat. When we got our huge plasma TV, I said we had to have a pretty cabinet to have it in so I can close it. We ordered a gorgeous one from a nice place here. Cherry of course. The funny thing is that I had something in my mind and I found exactly what I wanted in the catalog!
The first time I grew violets, I did have them in wooden shelves and they were pretty. It is a warm look.
Sally, what a great setup you have and your violets are beautiful. I'm going to try AVs again and I'm thinking of wick-watering them. I'm going to start with common AVs at Lowe's first. I noticed you have your pots on containers. Could you post how you wick-water your violets. Do you cut holes in plastic container lids, or did you buy them already made?
Thanks
Eileen
They are in little plastic pots, normal ones except for the Oyama pots I have a few of.
They are wicked and the wick goes into a container I buy at the Dollar Store. That is the only place I can find the right size. I have mostly green lids. Lately, I have had to have blue lids too. I try to keep them all alike. They look nice that way. I will be looking at another store for more green ones. Yes, I cut a hole for the wick in the top. Works great.
I thought, at first, that you cut round holes in the lids of containers. Now I see that they are sitting on top. What a great idea. I'll have to see what I have in the house before I go shopping. Thanks for the info.