Low Light Plant Guide for the Winter Home

During these shorter days of winter there is nothing better than to have a few houseplants around to remind us that summer and warmer temperatures are indeed just around the corner. Here's a little info to help you choose the right plants for your home.

Houseplants serve multiple purposes, not only do they hold us over until we can get outside and enjoy the lush green of our backyards once again, but they also help to de-toxify the air.

House plants are the ultimate in functional decorating. Some well-placed greenery can not only brighten a space, but also purify the air -- and they're also helpful in creating a more relaxing, restful ambiance in any room.

Top 10 most beautiful houseplants that are easy to take care of and effective at increasing oxygen and clearing out toxins for cleaner breathing air:

1. Aloe Plant

2. Ivy

3. Rubber Tree

4. Peace Lily

5. Mother-in-law tongue (Snake Plant)

6. Bamboo Palm

7. Philodendron

8. Spider Plant

9. Red-Edged Dracaena

10. Golden Pothos

Now if taking care of houseplants has never been your "thing" maybe you just haven't found the ones that can practically survive in a closet. I have several friends (I won't name any names) that have trouble with houseplants because their homes are quite dark. If this is also your issue, then here are a few plants that can survive a darker room and still offer you the benefits mentioned above:

1. Ferns

2. Mother-in-Law tongue (sansevaria)

3. Rex begonia
4. Pothos

5. ZZ plant (zamioculous Zamiifolia) 

A few words of Garden Shop wisdom...there is no such thing as having a "Black Thumb"!  You just haven't found the plants that will work in your environment yet. So stop in to The Secret Garden and we'll help you find the one that will work for you!

Jennifer, The Secret Garden

Got Ants? Are You Ready to Try a More Natural Approach to Control

In our home we do our best to use as few chemicals as possible. I'm not perfect by any means, but we really try. I was put to the test just before Christmas when I saw a few ants in the bathroom. Of course the next day they were in the kitchen, the pantry, the other bathroom! We were no longer talking about just a few! Wow, their timing was perfect! The holidays, loads of extra food prep happening, guests, all of it, and I was dealing with ants!

It had been a while since I'd had to deal with ants so I did a Google search and looked for DIY ant killer. There are lots of recipes for homemade all natural ant spray so I settled in to try a few. The first one I made was a combination of apple cider vinegar, baking soda and dish soap. I got the recipe here 

http://thesoccermomblog.com/2015/05/16/diy-natural-ant-repellent-spray

It killed the ants I sprayed, but more just kept coming!

Next I tried a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, mouthwash and dish soap that I found here 

http://frugalandthrifty4.blogspot.ca/2013/01/ant-killer-spray.html

It also killed the ants on contact and smelled great, but more ants just keep coming!

So I honed my search for a recipe that would work on killing the queen not just the workers you see in your pantry. That's when I came across a recipe that called for just 3 ingredients, two of which I readily had and one I had to go looking for, Sugar, Water and Borax. I found the recipe here http://www.listotic.com/everyday-products-you-can-easily-make-from-home-homemade-products/18/

Borax is a natural mineral found within the ground that has been used for years as a natural laundry booster, multipurpose cleaner, insecticide, disinfectant and more. Its chemical name is sodium borate, or sodium tetraborate and while I wouldn't be feeding it to babies, I feel better about using a mineral from the earth than I do about using a chemical compound created in a lab somewhere.

The process for using this recipe is simple. Mix sugar and warm water and borax and then soak a few cotton balls with the stuff. Leave the wet cotton balls where the ants will find it. The sugar and water will bait the ants into thinking they've hit the mother loads of free snacks, and the borax will deliver the punch, just not immediately. Here's where you have to have a little faith that the Google Guys won't steer you wrong,

So I did as I was told and soaked a few cotton balls. One in the pantry where they were thick as thieves on a bag of unsweetened coconut of all things. One in the downstairs shower where they had developed  a taste for my daughter's shampoo. And one on a window sill in the family room where I had seen a few ants.

Within 20 minutes the one in the pantry and the one in the shower where covered in ants. The message was out that dinner was served and hundreds, no thousands, had answered the call. Here's where my aforementioned faith was being tested. Was I just feeding them or would this work?

Well, here's what happened. The two that had drawn a crowd were rock hard in about 6 hours. I guess the ants were sucking it dry. So I replaced it with another treated cotton ball and they sucked that one dry. This went on for three days. By day two though I noticed a few dead ants near the cotton ball. And by day three there were a lot of dead ants. Dead ants in the kitchen too even though I didn't leave any baited cotton balls in the kitchen. Finally by day 6 the baited cotton balls weren't drawing any ants at all and I couldn't find any ants moving around anywhere. 

I'm calling this a success. It took a week to be completely rid of the little pests, but I did it without laying down toxins in my house or spraying toxins that we could all be breathing in. And I think if borax came from the earth, then our landfill won't mind a few cotton balls laced with the stuff when they finally get there.

So that's my story. How are you making changes to live cleaner, greener and safer?

Jennifer

The Secret Garden

Feeding The Birds in Winter

I love having birds in the garden. I love the songs they sing up in the trees and I love to watch them take a bath in the fountain. I'm not really a bird watcher as a hobby, I just love their singing and their playful spirit. I also really like the fact that offer up some very natural pest management by eating aphids, spiders other bugs I may not want around.

Our garden has a fair amount of bushes and trees that do offer berries even in winter, but it's nice to offer up something extra this time of year when food is scarce. If you take the time to make sure your garden offers water and food all year then you will be able to enjoy the benefits of having birds year round.

Some people tell me that they don't want to put out seed because it germinates and creates weeds. If that's you, then try heating the seed to sterilize it. 5 minutes on high in the microwave or 30 minutes at 300 degrees in the oven should do the trick.

Last week I made some bird seed cakes to hang in the trees. I tried this recipe I found online and it was quick and easy. Then I used cookie cutters to make them fun shapes. The birds will be just as happy with some simple seed in a feeder, but I was drawn in by the cuteness factor of these cakes. Besides, you're never too old to play and smooshing sticky birdseed into heart forms is pretty fun stuff!

If you want to have a go, here's the recipe i used...

Bird Seed Cakes

4 cups wild bird seed

3/4 cup flower

1/2 cup warm/hot tap water

1 packet unflavored gelatin

3 Tbls corn syrup

In a large bowl mix the bird seed and flour until well blended. In a smaller bowl dissolve gelatin in water and add corn syrup. Pour liquid into bird seed mixture and stir well to combine. 

Spray your work surface and the insides of your cookie cutters with non stick spray. Pack the cutter with bird seed mixture, pressing down to make a dense cake. Use a straw or a kabob prong to make a hole near the top for string. You can use the same cutter over and over, just release from the cake carefully.

The cakes will need to air dry for about a week. I put them on a wire rack so they would get good air circulation. After about 4 days I got impatient and baked them for about an hour at 200 degrees. Worked like a charm! 

Next, thread with some string or colorful ribbon and they are ready for hanging outside. Have fun! 

Freshly smoothed into shapes!

Dried and strung with twine.

If you like the look but would rather a quicker solution, stop by The Secret Garden. I made lots!

Jennifer

The Secret Garden