The BIC Plant and Gardening Thread

[sister13]

Hello BIC friends and fellow gardeners! Whether you have a container on your balcony, some indoor plants, a whole garden, or even if you just happen to visit a botanical garden or see a lovely space or plant in your neighborhood you want to share, this is the place! Please share pics, tips, plans and tricks about all things gardening!  

For many years I had a container balcony garden with mostly flowers and herbs (when travel allowed), and I am now embarking on my first backyard landscaping and gardening journey. 

I am often taking inspiration from the natural world around me and have recently had some spring inspiration for the Makeup Challenge of the Week and have loved chatting about gardening in our other threads, so I thought a new thread would be nice. 

It’s always so interesting to me to see plants and gardens from different regions and countries, so I hope you’ll join the conversation!  

PS: if you create a makeup look based on some plant or garden inspiration, please feel free to post your look or flat-lay here, too! 

Here are a few pics of my spring bulbs to start and I’ll share more soon (kindly ignore the weeds)! 

 

 

My old balcony (from the outside) - I’ll try to find an internal pic too:

[jaaayp]

@Titian06 thank you! 😊 

[Saradestin]

Today I am going to share the pride of my garden, my most loved corner (at least at this point, but it will be difficult to surpass this beauty)

I am talking about my caladium. I had them in pots in my apartment balcony and I planted the bulbs in a rush after buying the house and before the trip to Europe, too close to each other, because I didn’t have the time to dig more and clean the area. I will do it for next year. They don’t need to be taken out in winter, but I will do it just to re-plant them more separated so they can really shine! I have so many varieties! ❤️❤️❤️

Loving the morning sun! 

And some more sun in the evening

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think this one is my favorite!

I have probably missed some. I still need to get a few that I have seen and I don’t have. 
In love!!!! 

[Samtian]

@Saradestin Whoa those are cool looking!!

[Saradestin]

Aren’t they so pretty @Samtian ? There are so many different varieties and all so beautiful! 

[Samtian]

@Saradestin Yes they are!

[JoSometimes]

These are so brightly coloured @Saradestin! I can see why they’re your pride and joy! They seem like they’re doing well even if they were planted in a rush. 

[Saradestin]

Thank you so much @JoSometimes !! They make me happy every time I look at them, so beautiful!!

[CookieGirl1]

@Saradestin those are stunning!  I can't believe how large they are!  They must be happy 😊.

[Saradestin]

Thank you so much @CookieGirl1 !! Some leaves are huge! And this is with a quite poor soil. Next year I need to work the area much better and prepare it nicely for the bulbs to grow bigger and happier! But that is the best spot for them: morning and late evening sun, and cool shade the rest of the day. Good dose of humidity, and nice temperatures day and night. What wouldn’t be happy in those conditions? 😁

[CookieGirl1]

@Saradestin wow, I'd be amazed if they could actually get BIGGER.

[jaaayp]

Omg @Saradestin my friend LOVES these plants. I recently bought her a huge plant of the whiteish ones for indoors but together in a bunch looks so much nicer!!!

[Saradestin]

Your friend has great taste @jaaayp  😁 These plants are stunning by themselves or combined with others. They are just to pretty! 

[sister13]

Oh my goodness, I love them! So colorful and unique! It's so fun to have a collection of beautiful plants like that. Do they ever put out any flowers, too (not that they need to, but I'm just wondering - like hostas have those tall stalks which surprised me the first time I saw them because I thought they were just leaves, lol.) Thanks for sharing them and keep 'em coming! @Saradestin 

[Saradestin]

Thank you so much @sister13 !! They are gorgeous with so many colors! Some have bigger leaves, some smaller. And yes, they bloom but the flowers are very ugly. It is very rare for them to grow seeds so I always cut them so the bulb doesn’t waste energy. I will check if there is any already. 

[Titian06]

They're all so pretty, @Saradestin ! 💖🌻🌷

[Saradestin]

Aren’t they gorgeous @Titian06!!! 😃😃😃 I am still in disbelief that I can grow them in my garden! 

[Titian06]

Why is that, @Saradestin ?  The soil?

[Saradestin]

Well, this soil is pure sand, to start with, but it is basically because I see this plants so beautiful and tropical looking that I envision them more in the Caribbean than here @Titian06 . I should know at this point that some tropical plants grow here but, as I was born in a place with extreme weather, where little could grow, I still have that feeling that everything is going to die (well, it actually did this past December, in a rare strong freeze, but I had taken these bulbs out so they didn’t die) 

[Titian06]

Oh, I forgot, @Saradestin ! 🤗  You did say--a few times--you have sandy soil.  Well, your USDA hardiness zone is 8 to 10, which is the correct zones for your plants.  You're a good plant mama! 🙂🪴🌻

[Saradestin]

I love gardening and I have been doing so for so many years @Titian06 (mostly in apartments), but changing climate so drastically is always a challenge (or a surprise 😁)

[sister13]

These poppies and this adorable globosa were impulse buys for My flower bed I’m planning. And look at that spearmint (in the back behind the poppy), it was only $6! I usually do a container with a few varieties of mint, the sweet mint is my favorite, but this will be nice to have too. 

 

 

Also can never resist some new seeds, even though many are dupes plus what I already have! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I’m planning a flower bed (maybe 2) plus a tomato and herb bed off our patio. Also grabbed some gloves so I can keep a pair in the back for easy access. 

 

 And i picked up some gladiolus bulbs to try in the back of the bed, too! Never planted these before but I liked the colors!