Air Plant Success...Even With Cats

Love the idea of plants around the home or office but don't want to deal with taking proper care of them or tired of trying to keep your cat from chewing on the leaves or making a mess of the soil?

Welcome the ease of air plants, low maintenance plants that grow without soil! 

They get all of the water and nutrients they need through their leaves. Each leaf is covered in smooth or sometimes hairy scales known as trichomes which have the special ability to absorb water and nutrients. What roots they do have are used only for anchoring themselves to rocks, trees or other means of a support.

Known as tillandsia, these plants are a type of bromeliad and come from areas of the southern United States, Mexico, Central and South America. In their native setting, they thrive in areas receiving bright, but filtered sunlight, warmer temperatures between 50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit and good circulation.

Sounds easy enough, so what are we doing wrong that they end up dying anyway?

Ok, so we try again with a new order of plants.

They arrive and we follow the directions, yet again, pondering what we did wrong the last time: Unpack them and submerge them in a warm water bath for about 30 minutes. Shake a bit to remove excess water and let dry for about 4 hours. Plan to put them in an east, south or west facing window, somewhere with bright but filtered sunlight. A bathroom is nice since the plants can take advantage of the humidity generated from our showers. A screened in porch during the warmer months would be great. Somewhere where they'll get enough light but not at risk of too much direct sun baking and drying them out which is stressful if not kept hydrated.

While air plants can survive periods of drought and are forgiving, they won't thrive if moisture isn't adequate. There are many crafty ideas that have air plants glued to boards or stuck in bottles and the directions just say to mist them once in a while with a spray bottle. That is fine for the regular 2 - 3 times a week watering but ideally they should be soaked every 2 - 3 weeks for a half hour or at least run water over them thoroughly. Plants in bloom should be just rinsed rather than soaked. This means the plants need to be taken off of or out of whatever means we have them displayed. 

Recognize signs that your plants need water. If they are looking shriveled or getting dry tips or brown outer leaves, they need to be hydrated. Before tossing a seemingly dried up plant, try soaking in warm water for a few hours and observe if it plumps up and regains some green.

Too much of a good thing is lethal as well. Once a plant shows signs of rot it can literally fall apart and is often too late. Also, be sure to water during the daytime rather than in the evening. The plants need circulation and light in order to dry adequately. 

Even though there are plenty of Pinterest photos of really neat ideas for air plants, I've learned through loss that they really don't do well on the wall or as part of home or office decor unless they are actually at or near a window. They can do well with indoor lighting, but it has to be full-spectrum fluorescent lighting, not incandescent bulbs. The plants should be no more than 3 feet from the light source and receive about 12 hours of light a day. 

Finally, the death of many an air plant comes when discovered by a cat.

These light, little things are no match for the delightful play of being tossed around by bored house cats. So, after I had the perfect cute little containers in which to display my new baby plants, I found them missing, only to later reappear shriveled and disheveled when I vacuumed. Ok, let's try again but put them inside bottles where I thought they wouldn't even be noticed much less reachable...wrong. Little paws are good at fishing them out anyway. Well now I hope I have a solution.

I put them onto a wreath that I hung on the inside of a glass door. They're facing indoors so the wreath itself protects them from direct exposure to the sun, yet they get plenty of light all day long. I wanted to be able to take them down for their watering so didn't want to actually attach them to the wreath. And best of all, the cats cannot reach them!

I started with one of those wire wreath frames. Wrapped around that frame is burlap that you can get on a roll. The burlap is wrapped around the metal frame (a straw wreath would work great too), overlapping the edges as it goes around and around. Wrap tightly to avoid bulges and use a safety pin to secure the end when done, and then hot glue down the edge of the burlap roll. You can use your own creativity in sprucing up your wreath, but I just happened to have one of those artificial berry garlands that are used to drape mantels and doorways. This one was about four feet long. I tucked the wire on one end under the gaps from wrapping the burlap and then wound the garland around and around the wreath and tucked the other end under the burlap as well. Add a loop of fabric or ribbon around one of the vines for hanging.

In the past I had made fairy gardens for my kids and saved those tiny little plastic pots from the fairy plants. I hot glued them here and there around the wreath, pressing them firmly onto the burlap. Then viola, they made perfect little homes to just sit my little air plants! Now when its time to water them, I just remove them, plop them in the sink and then either spray them thoroughly or let them soak for 20 minutes. Let them drip off a bit and put them safely back into their little pots!

So time will tell!

 

Winterberry Holly, A Deciduous Native Shrub

Mention holly and most people think Christmas and holiday decorating. The image that comes to mind is the bright red berries and the glossy, pokey, evergreen foliage. But did you know there is a deciduous holly that doesn't have those glossy leaves and loses them every autumn?

The holly we are most familiar is Ilex opaca, the American Holly.
The deciduous holly is Ilex verticillata.
Both species are natives to eastern and south-central United States and very beneficial to our wildlife.

The Winterberry Holly is generally considered a wetland holly but it does grow just fine in drier soils. The difference is that in wetter soils it suckers to form a spreading thicket and in the typical garden soils it tends to be more of a clump.

 A tough, easy to grow shrub with few serious disease or insect threats, this shrub is a winner. The size ranges from a height of three to fifteen feet with a variable width as well.

There are male plants and female plants. Originally I didn't know this and only planted the one you see in the photos, so obviously there must be males around or this one wouldn't produce berries.

In the spring, Winterberry Holly produces tiny white flowers, not much to write home about. But by late summer, the slender branches are covered right to their tips with numerous berries. This photo was taken in November and you can see that the leaves are still hanging in there.



Then when the leaves do finally drop, the shrub is in it's glory all winter long.

The berries provide beautiful winter color to the landscape for months until they are finally stripped by the birds and small wildlife.
Keep in mind that though the berries provide an important food source for wildlife, they should not be eaten by humans as they are considered mildly poisonous.

Therefore, if you do cut branches of the Winterberry Holly and bring them indoors for holiday decorating, keep them out of reach of small children and pets. If the berries or leaves are ingested, they can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

My Sweet Annie

The genus Artemisia is a member of the Asteraceae (formerly Compositae) family. There are many varieties of Artemisia and though Sweet Annie is also called Sweet Wormwood, it is an annual whereas Wormwood, Mugwort and Silver King are perennials. If let go to seed you'll never have to plant it again, as it'll pop up anywhere. This sun, loving, drought and heat tolerant plant will grow in even the poorest soil.

Any of these plants are grown for medicinal purposes, to ward off insects, or as an ornamental plant used for wreaths and crafts. Growing to 4 - 5 feet tall, Sweet Annie isn't grown for their flowers and best used as a background plant. The foliage is attractive, various shades of light to silvery green and gathered for beautifully scented wreathes, swags, baskets...a crafter's love.

I've found that although Sweet Annie is a finer textured and softer plant to work with than most Wormwoods, it does wilt rather quickly once cut. To use it for wreaths it is best used as the foundation part of the wreath like you would use moss, and to use other everlast type plants layered over the top. 

Here is an informative post all about the various types of Artemisias and how to use them for crafts.

 The resilience of plant seeds and how they just lie dormant and wait for ideal growing conditions never ceases to amaze me. We used to have our chickens wandering around an area I had for my perennial plants and native shrubs. We fenced it in and the chickens helped keep the weeds down so I didn't have to mow in there. After a winter storm took down the fence we enclosed a much smaller area which didn't take long to become bare ground from the chickens scratching. This year we had only a handful of chickens so that area was able to fill in again. I was thrilled when I realized that a large patch of those little plants were my Sweet Annie!

 All is abuzz out there with so much insect activity. Artemisias are one of the group of plants that attract beneficial insects and pollinators to your gardens. By providing a variety of plant sources for all stages of insect life, you will find a healthy, balanced ecosystem that has no need for man's pesticides. Here is a good post on the subject to help identify beneficial insects and plants that attract them.

Paintbrush of the Fairies...Periwinkle

"In the language of flowers, the periwinkle is the symbol of pleasures of memory and early friendship."
Sharon Lovejoy

Periwinkle or Creeping Vinca or Myrtle (Vinca minor) is a dense forming ground cover excellent for erosion control and can often be seen growing around foundations or down embankments. It was introduced into North America in the 1700's as an ornamental. It grows best in partial shady areas which is why if it escapes cultivated areas can be a problem when it covers the forest floor. It is very hardy and drought resistant so if it likes where it is established, can compete with native species.

Personally, I love this plant, as it brings back a lot of memories of my childhood home. My mother originally got her starts from her own mother and over the years it wound its way around the house and the little summerhouse that was at one time used for the summer canning season.

When I had my own children and discovered Sharon Lovejoy's books on gardening with children, I loved the flower stories and little games that could be played.

This is the story of the periwinkle as is told in the book "Sunflower Houses" by Sharon Lovejoy:

PERRY WINKLE'S PAINT BRUSH

The first Spring descended upon the earth, and all of the new, young animals and shimmering green plants and trees were healthy and happy. The view from a hilltop across mile after mile of wildflowers with all different blossom and leaf shapes revealed one startling, glaringly obvious thing. Somehow, the finishing touch had been overlooked! All the flowers were one color-WHITE!

The very last flower to have been created was the humble periwinkle. thus, he was the one called upon to solve the problem of coloring all of the flowers.
"Goodness gracious," said Perry in a small, blue voice. "I am depressed. There is just no way a little flower like me could color all the flowers in the world."

"Perry," a deep, soft voice resounded, "what you need is a little faith! In this world everyone has a job and is expected to work. The job for you and your family will be to paint all the flowers every color to be found on our earth and in our sky."

"But how can I do such a thing? There are not enough brushes or paint in the world to color the millions of flowers you have strewn on this planet," Perry said in a defeated tone.

"The rainbow will be your never-ending supply of colors. And listen closely: Slip your petals off, and you will see that I have given every periwinkle in my kingdom its very own paintbrush."


This is the magical part while telling your child this story. When you slip off the last pale blue petal you will discover the tiniest, most fairy-like paintbrush imaginable!

After gently removing the petals, carefully take off the outer wrapping of the pistil/stamen and you'll find the little paintbrush. Children love this story and will never see this simple flower the same way again.

To Purchase

Flowers and Folklore....Bleeding Hearts

If there is a flower that brings out the child in us, it has to be the bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis). It is inevitable that anyone who has never seen these before will bend to get a closer look at the dancing little hearts that line up along the slender branches. The bleeding heart actually does look like a dripping heart, and if you turn it upside down and pull it open a bit, it looks like a lady in a bath. In fact, lady in a bath is another name for it.

Bleeding heart was originally from China. In 1842, Robert Fortune set out to explore an unknown world and sent back many of our garden treasures. He had with him carrying cases that were accidentally invented by Nathaniel Ward. Ward used a closed bottle to bury a chrysalis and observe the development of a moth. When he noticed plant growth in the closed environment he figured this would be the perfect way to transport plants and protect them from lack of water, changes in temperature and sea spray during long sea voyages to the home destination. This discovery completely revolutionized the transportation of live plants from far away.

Robert Fortune disguised himself as a Chinese man to get into the forbidden areas around China. He collected and smuggled out many plants that were the result of centuries of China's select breeding and cultivation. He called China the "central flowery land."

These delicate old-fashioned plants emerge in the spring, display their chains of hearts, and too soon the plant dies back till next year.

Children love this plant. The flowers encourage the imagination with creative pretend as they become earrings, heart hair tiaras, dancing ballerinas, lady in the bath play or man in a gondola play.

Many flowers have stories attached to them and bleeding heart is certainly no exception. Here we have two stories from folklore:

 The first is the story of Princess Dicentra. This beautiful princess wandered away from her walled garden home and became lost in the darkness of an ancient forest. An evil crone, angry at being disturbed, took out her vengeance on the vulnerable Dicentra. The crone reduced Dicentra's size to a fraction of her normal self and the princess became entrapped in the satiny pink folds of an oddly shaped flower.

The crone told Dicentra that she'll only escape if by chance she is discovered by an innocent youngling. What the crone didn't realize is how attractive these flowers were to any passing child. It took only three days before travelers stopped for water in the forest. A little boy noticed the dancing wand tipped by a pink and white heart, and as predictable with children, he plucked it. When the child started to play with the flower, the princess was freed when he pulled back the pink skirt.

The second story is called "Ann's Story of the Bleeding Heart" by Elma Lang.
This is exactly as the story goes so the full credit goes to Elma Lang.

Ann thought she was the most unhappy girl in the world. Although she had gone to her new school for a whole week, she hadn't made a single friend.

Things might have been different if she hadn't been so frightened that first day. Some of the girls had spoken to her, but her throat had become so tight that she hadn't been able to answer them. Maybe after that the girls has thought she was stuck up or unfriendly. At any rate, they had left it up to her to make the next move.

Ann stopped to pick a bouquet of lilies of the valley and bleeding hearts for her new teacher. Many were growing in the garden of her new home.

As soon as she was in their classroom after the morning bell rang, Ann took the flowers to her teacher.

"My what lovely bleeding hearts!" exclaimed Miss Johnson, smiling at Ann. "Isn't that a sad name for such pretty flowers? Why do you suppose it was given that name?"

"Don't you know the story?" asked Ann in surprise. "My mother told it to me when I was just a little girl."

"Perhaps you can tell the story to the class," suggested Miss Johnson.

Ann looked at the class and felt horrified. Then she thought, I know the story well, and I love it. Of course I should share it.

Both her hands and her knees were shaking as she broke off one of the flowers, but she bravely stood before the class and told her story.

"Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess. Young men from far and near came to pay her court. But the princess was very vain and would have nothing to do with any of them. A young prince fro the neighboring country fell deeply in love with her. She ignored him like the others, though he tried and tried to win her heart. One day the prince found a pair of pretty pink rabbits at the market. He sent them to the princess thinking 'these will surely melt her heart.'"
 Ann carefully broke off the two outside petals of the flower in her hand. She placed them on the teacher's desk. Sure enough they looked like a pair of pink rabbits.
"But the princess went right right on ignoring him," Ann continued with her story.
"Then the prince sent her a pair of beautiful Oriental slippers." From the front and back of the flower, Ann took off the two long petals. One could easily imagine the dainty heels, the slender insteps, and the widened toes. They looked like a pair of real Oriental slippers.

Ann had to wait until the oh's and ah's of the class had quieted down before she could go on.

"Still the princess would have nothing to do with him. The young prince was so heart broken that he took his dagger and drove it into his heart." The remains of the flower in Ann's hand made the outline of a heart with a line down the center. Ann broke out the stamen, which had made the line. It looked like a dagger. She put it through the center of the heart. Ann held her hand so that the class could see the perfect heart pierced by the dagger.

Ann went on with the story. "As soon as the prince was dead, the princess realized that she had really love him. 'As long as I live, my heart shall bleed for my prince.' she wept".

"That" finished Ann, "is the story of the bleeding heart.

"Show me how to do it," said Donna, who sat in the front seat.

"Me too, me too!" cried the other girls.

"Ann may show you at recess," Miss Johnson stated firmly.

My story has made everything all right, Ann thought happily as she went back to her desk. I won't have any trouble making friends now.



For those who love to save their flower collections by pressing them, the bleeding heart is perfect. Picked early in the morning after the dew has dried, tuck between the pages of a thick book and after a few weeks the flower is transformed into a perfect flat, papery little heart.



Information for this post came from "100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names" by Diana Wells and "Sunflower Houses" by Sharon Lovejoy

Below are three wonderful books to spark a child's imagination and love of gardening:

To purchase

To purchase

To purchase

How to use Plant Leaves to Dye Easter Eggs

Dying Easter eggs can be a time for fun, creativity and a little kitchen chemistry.
To get started you'll need white eggs, not brown.
Use a size pot to accommodate the number of eggs you want to boil. Too few eggs for the size pot will result in the eggs rattling around and increase the chance of them cracking.
Add enough water to fully cover the eggs.
Bring them to a boil, cover the pot with a lid, turn off the heat and let sit on the burner for 15 minutes.
Put the pot in the sink and run cold water to cool off the eggs. This works better than tipping the pot to strain off the hot water since that may cause the eggs to bump and crack.

Gather your plant material.
This time of year you'll probably have to rely on houseplants or herbs purchased from the grocery store. Parsley and cilantro leaves are pretty.
As far as houseplants use whatever you have. Boston fern, English ivy and Pothos have pretty shapes and work nicely.
Choose and snip off the tinier leaves.




Use an old pair of nylon stockings.
Cut it up into sections of about 5 inch lengths
Spread out the leaf so it lays flat onto the egg and carefully stretch the nylon over the egg to hold it tight.
Twist the nylon ends to close and tie shut with a twisty tie (the kind from loaves of bread)

To dye your eggs you'll need:



Small glass or metal bowls, one for each color you'll be using
Into each bowl add 1 cup boiling water
2 tsp. vinegar
10 - 20 drops food coloring (single colors or various blends and shades)
Using a slotted spoon or tongs lower the eggs into the dye
Let sit for at least 5 - 10 minutes or until satisfied with the strength of the colors
If dying a large number of eggs you may  need to increase and adjust the water, vinegar and dye amounts.

To remove the stocking from the eggs:



Work over your kitchen sink so all drips, stockings and plant material stay in the sink and you won't risk staining your countertop.
Using a scissors, carefully snip off the stocking and peel away the stocking and the plant leaf.
Lay the egg on a cookie sheet to dry.
Repeat for each egg.
Once all the eggs are dry the eggs can be put into an egg carton and stored in the refrigerator.
Hard-boiled eggs are good for about a week.

If you want to take the time and use all natural dyes for your eggs, this is a great tutorial.
Tumeric gives you yellow
Beets give you purple
Onion skins give you a brownish orange
Red cabbage gives you a blue

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Forcing Spring Twigs for a bit of Color

In a hurry for spring to arrive? Try cutting branches from flowering shrubs and force them to bloom a little early in the warmth of your home. Enjoy yellows, whites, pinks and purples!

This is a fun project to spark an interest in children to the wonder and beauty of our natural world.

During the months of February and March cut one to two foot long branches from such shrubs as:
pussy willow, dogwood, forsythia, redbud, plum, cherry, wild crab apple, apple, lilac and wisteria.
You can try tree types but shrubs tend to bloom much easier.
If you wait till March and the buds are starting to swell you'll get faster results.
Cut the branches on the diagonal.
Using a hammer, bruise the ends to allow the branches to soak up the water faster.
Put the branches in a vase and add water. Change the water every few days.

Below is a chart from the Farmer's Almanac as to the length of time you can hope to enjoy the blooms.

Buckeye	5 weeks
Cherry	4 weeks
Cornelian dogwood	2 weeks
Crab apple	4 weeks
Deutzia	3 weeks
Flowering almond	3 weeks
Flowering dogwood	5 weeks
Flowering quince	4 weeks
Forsythia	1 week
Honeysuckle	3 weeks
Horse chestnut	5 weeks
Lilac	4 weeks
Magnolia	3 weeks
Pussy willow	2 weeks
Red maple	2 weeks
Redbud	2 weeks
Red-twig dogwood	5 weeks
Spicebush	2 weeks
Spirea	4 weeks
Wisteria	3 weeks

Lilac

Red Bud

Forsythia

Crabapple

Dogwood

Pussy Willow

Salt, Lemons, Vinegar, Baking Soda...Helping Hand to Raising Children

Though many of us are aware how useful the Fab Four (Salt, Lemons, Vinegar, and Baking Soda) by Shea Zukowski can be around the house for anyone seeking earth-friendly solutions, it is difficult to actually remember which is for what purpose.

I came across this little gem of a book and now I have all these tips in one place for reference instead of forgetting where I read those tips and to where I filed them away. The book is categorized into sections including kitchen, laundry, personal, pet and outdoors. For this post I am just going to center on what can be useful to make life easier in raising children.

CLOTH DIAPER CLEANER

1/2 cup baking soda
1/4 cup vinegar
Fragrance-free liquid laundry detergent

Add the baking soda to the wash cycle along with the detergent. Baking soda helps neutralize the acids in the dirty diapers.
Add the vinegar to the rinse cycle to soften clothes and help remove the detergent.


BABY FORMULA STAIN REMOVER

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water

Baby formula easily stains clothing because of it's high protein content. Keep this mix in a spray bottle in the refrigerator so it is handy to pre-treat stains as soon as possible. Let the garment air dry in the sun and then wash as usual.


BABY AND CHILD TOY DISINFECTANT

1/4 cup vinegar

Soak a clean cloth in the 1/4 cup of vinegar and wipe down all  non-plush toys. Allow items to air dry. The vinegar scent will fade away.


STUFFED ANIMAL CLEANER

1/2 cup baking soda

Not all plush toys can be put into the washing machine. To rid stuffed animals of odors, put them in a plastic zip lock bag along with the baking soda. Shake the bag to distribute the baking soda over the stuffed animals and let sit overnight. Remove the toys and shake off the excess baking soda.


URINE SMELL ELIMINATOR

2 cups vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup baking soda

Bed wetting can be frustrating for everyone. There are waterproof mattress covers to protect the mattress but if the deed is already done you'll want to get rid of the smell of urine. Mix the vinegar and water and apply with a sponge to the affected areas. Blot dry with a towel and cover the spot with the baking soda. Let the area fully dry and then vacuum.


MUDDY CARPET CLEANER

When kids or pets come charging into the house leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind them, resist the urge to try blotting it up. This could just drive the dirt deeper into the carpet fibers. Take a handful of plain old salt and sprinkle generously onto the messy spots and leave it. Give the salt time to absorb the liquid and once dry vacuum it up.


PRE-TREATMENT FOR GRASS AND OTHER STAINS 

1 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tsp lemon juice OR 1 tsp vinegar

Stained knees and shirt fronts are prime targets for stained clothes. Sprinkle baking soda on the area, followed up with the lemon juice or vinegar on top. As the mixture starts to fizz, rub the fabric or use a toothbrush to rub it in to make sure the mix is getting through the stain. Let it sit a few minutes and then launder as usual.


CHEWING GUM REMOVER

Before you grab the scissors to cut out gum stuck in your child's hair, try using a lemon. Cut a lemon in half and rub the cut side onto the gum to help it loosen its grip. Gently squeeze the lemon to release some juice. Lemons can cause some bleaching so rinse the hair. This method can work on clothes and carpets as well, just remember to blot it up so it doesn't lighten the carpet.

SWIMMER'S EAR PREVENTION

2 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp isopropyl alcohol

After a day of swimming there is always a chance the protective layer of wax in the outer ear canal gets worn away. Bacteria rich water from swimming can get in there and cause an infection. To lower this risk, make a solution of equal parts vinegar and isopropyl alcohol and store in a bottle or jar. Soak a cotton ball in the mixture and squeeze a few drops into each ear after swimming.


POOL TOY MILDEW PREVENTION

Inflatable pool toys are susceptible to mold and mildew once deflated and stored away for the winter. To minimize this from happening, let them sit in the sun to thoroughly dry before storing. Sprinkle each deflated item with a handful of baking soda before rolling up.


FRUIT AND VEGETABLE WASH

1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp baking soda
1 cup water

A homemade, very economical fruit and vegetable spray to remove waxy coatings and help clean off pesticides. Fill a spray bottle with the lemon juice, baking soda and water. Shake before use. Spray the produce before eating and rinse it well to remove any aftertaste from the wash. The spray will last about a week.

NEED SOMETHING TO DO KID ACTIVITIES

SALT PAINTING

4 to 5 small bowls of salt
Food coloring of different colors
School glue
sponge brush
Paper

Pour an equal amount of salt into a few small bowls. A few Tbsp in each should be plenty.
Add a drop of food coloring into each bowl and stir to create different colors.
Using the sponge brush, coat a piece of paper with a thin layer of glue and let the children sprinkle the colored salt to form pictures and patterns.

SALT CLAY DOUGH

1 cup salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 cups flour

Mix the salt with the warm water and stir to dissolve. Add the vegetable oil and flour and stir slowly to combine. Knead the dough till pliable, adding flour if necessary till not sticky. If desired, divide into smaller balls and add a few drops food coloring to each to make different color dough balls. Store the play dough in a zip lock bag or lidded container. If the kids want to save their creations, let them air dry a few days and paint them with watercolor or acrylic paints. A thin coating of clear nail polish will help preserve them.


Here are three other posts about natural care for adults and children:
All Natural Care for Mom and Baby

The Well Stocked Natural Child's First Aid Kit

Dealing with the Pitfalls of Summer, Naturally

Lamb's Ear, the Bee magnet, Pet a Plant

Once you get hooked on the fun of herbal gardening you soon want to know what the name of every plant you see and what it can be used for. Be it medicinal, edible, cosmetic, insect pollinator, butterfly gardening, companion planting, crafts, aromatics or even just to enjoy as a visual beauty.

One plant in particular that meets most of those criteria is Wooly Lamb's Ear (Stachys Byzantina). This fuzzy, wuzzy fun-loving plant is a favorite for any child's garden. It's thick, fuzzy leaves are soft, easily dried and a pleasure to simply play with whether you are an adult or a child. The soft leaves can serve as "worry stones" to stroke mindlessly while lost in thought. During imaginative play, children often pretend they are beds or carpet floors for the wood fairies. 

On a more practical note, this plant serves as a very good toilet paper, tissue or even menstrual pad if in a pinch.

 

Lamb's Ear has been used for centuries as a wound dressing on battlefields. Known as nature's band-aid, the leaves not only absorb blood and help with clotting, but they contain antibacterial, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. 

For eye problems such as sties and pinkeye, knead a few leaves to release the juices and simmer in a small pot of water. Cool and strain (use a coffee filter) the infused liquid and use as an eyewash.

If stung by a bee, knead a leaf to get the juices released and apply to the bite to reduce swelling.

Lamb's Ear is also edible. The young leaves can be eaten fresh in a salad or gently steamed as greens.

Simmered and use as a healing hot tea for relief from a sore mouth and throat, fevers and diarrhea.

For those of you into crafts, you will love, love this herb. With its texture and soft gray color it dries easily and blends beautifully for wreaths, potpourri and can even be made into bows.

As a bee plant this choice is a true winner. Once in bloom you'll be amazed at the number of bees Lamb's Ear attracts. You'll have to resist the urge to cut it back once those flower spikes start losing their appeal and get lanky. You'll find bees on those flowers till the bitter end. Don't be too concerned about those bees becoming pests. They are only concerned about those flowers and really do mind their own business.

Easy to grow, this plant is a perfect solution for a low maintenance rock garden, around a homemade pond or as a ground cover. If happy where it is planted, it will easily spread and though some may find it invasive, it is not difficult to control. With shallow roots, it is simple to pull out and replant elsewhere if desired. Drought resistant, Lamb's Ear actually forms a mat, leaving little room for weeds. With a shallow root system, it doesn't like humid or wet conditions or it'll rot off.

Lamb's Ear happy around a homemade pond

Lamb's Ear easily spreads to thrive in an herb garden

Holiday Wreaths, Reused, Resurfaced Memories

Craft stores and holiday bazaars abound with beautiful home decor to beautifully decorate your home for the holiday season. But you can create your own work of art even if you don't believe yourself to be all that crafty. We all have an imagination, it just seems to get buried over the years with the load of everyday responsibilities leaving little time to revisit that part of us.

If you have a love for thrift shops, yard sales and bargain bins, try to get in the habit of collecting stuff for the "possibilities" of what can be done with it. You can often find wreaths you may not like as is, but they can be taken apart to reuse the base wreath.

This wreath started with one of those wire wreath frames. Wrapped around that frame is burlap that you can get on a roll. Wrap the burlap around the metal frame, overlapping the edges as you go and do it tightly enough to eliminate any bulges. Use a safety pin to secure the end or glue it down with a hot glue gun. What you do from there is up to your own creativity, but for this one I had one of those artificial berry garlands that are used to drape mantels and doorways. This one was about four foot long. I tucked the wire on one end under the gaps from wrapping the burlap and then wound the garland around and around the wreath and tucked the other end under the burlap as well. Add a loop of fabric or ribbon around one of the vines for hanging.

Plastic canvas is a fun needlework project that requires time and patience but once done, these craft projects are very rewarding to know you made it yourself. Digging them out at the holidays can bring back memories on what was happening in your life at the time you were working on them.
If you don't have time or interest in making your own, these little sewing creations can be found at craft shows and thrift shops. Someone put a lot of time and loving energy into creating these types of sewing kits and it is a shame to see them end up at a thrift shop. So if you can bring a new life back into someone's work that would be great.
The chickadee seen above on this burlap wreath had been a gift to my mother-in-law and holds a special place in our hearts now that it has been returned to us so many years later.

This wreath was another thrift shop recycle project. I bought the green wreath as it was and took off the trimmings it already had. I wrapped the whole thing with a 50 bulb string of the tiny white lights. Use the string with a bulb on one end and a positive plug on the other. If you use one of the end-to-end types of lights you'll have to hide the negative plug so it doesn't show.

Next, use whatever trimmings you have to decorate your wreath. A hot glue gun works great for lightweight balls, ornaments and ribbons. The Rudolph plastic canvas was done when my children were small and to now have it pulled out again and added to this wreath means it'll  bring back fond memories every year when the kids come home for Christmas.

So have fun and let your imagination soar as you decorate your home with a little piece of who you really are!

A bittersweet find is the Bittersweet Vine for Autumn Decor

 Gathering natural plant material for fall craft decorating ideas can be a fun and rewarding time spent outdoors. The materials are the real thing rather than craft store imitations, and cost us nothing except the time and energy to collect them. Acorns, pine cones, grapevines, milkweed pods, teasel cones and dried grasses are just some of the treasures you may discover. There is another that is a bittersweet find... the Bittersweet Vine.

Bittersweet is an ornamental climbing vine that is running rampant across the United States, strangling anything in its path that it can wrap itself around.

Celastrus orbiculatus

There are two types which look very much like. The one that is native to North America is called "American bittersweet" or "false bittersweet", Celastrus scandens. This plant has smooth stems and is well-behaved.

Celastrus scandens

The other is called "Oriental or Asian bittersweet", Celastrus orbiculatus, an exotic invasive brought over to the United States in the 1860's as an ornamental. It was purposely planted for years as a form of erosion control and for wildlife food and habitat. Discovered a little too late was that this vine literally takes over anything in its path. It looks different from the American bittersweet in that it has stems with blunt thorns and its flowers and fruits appear in small clusters along the branches where leaves are attached, whereas the American bittersweet has larger flower clusters but they are only at the branch tips.

The reasons why the Oriental bittersweet is so successful at displacing the endangered American bittersweet is because:
The bright orange/red berries are more appealing to birds who then spread the seeds around wherever the birds eliminate.
The seeds of the Oriental bittersweet have a higher germination rate than the American.
The Oriental bittersweet is better at photosynthesizing therefore grows very rapidly.

From the picture above, it is understandable why people would want to gather this plant in the fall. It's berries burst open in late September and are very pretty with the red/orange centers surrounded with the yellow skins. People like the vines for crafts for the seasonal color but also because the vines are easy to conform to almost any shape, allowing them to be a part of whatever craft project, wreath or floral arrangement in mind. 

Keep in mind two things if you are going to use them for fall decorating. Once brought indoors into warm temperatures, the flowers and fruits will eventually fall off and create a potential mess on the floor if stepped on. If used for outdoor decorating, remember that wherever the berries end up on the ground you may discover a vine growing come spring. Seeds germinate best in low light environments.It spreads by both the seeds and the sprouting roots.

The problem with Oriental bittersweet is that it doesn't distinguish among plants to climb over. It'll smother herbaceous plants on the ground as well as climb the tallest trees. 

It's sprawling growth monopolizes light and water and literally forms a canopy over shrubs and small trees, eventually becoming top-heavy and causing the tangled mess to collapse on itself. Its vines can reach four inches in diameter and as it wraps around other plants, it literally strangles them to death. 

 Yes, there are small trees under there

For light infestations the vines can be pulled or dug out by the roots and removed. Fruiting vines should be bagged and removed. To leave them lay is just going to result in the seeds resprouting. 

To deal with large, established plants, there are two ways to do it.  Cut the vines close to the ground and apply a foliar spray later when they resprout.  Or, cut the vines close to the ground and chemically treat the stumps. Cutting the vines without removing the roots or chemically treating the stems will stimulate regrowth. 

 The best time to treat is in early spring or fall when the native plants are dormant and there is much less chance they'll be affected. 

Check with your County Extension Office for advice on what herbicides are the safest to use.