African Violets: Tender Loving Care

My plant obsession isn’t all about monsteras and fiddle leaf figs, I lovelove African Violets, too.

The African violet symbolizes devotion, faithfulness, and commitment. They’re also supposed to be great for indoor air purification because African violets absorb toxins.

They appear delicate and precious but they’re actually quite hardy and sturdy and not really high maintenance at all, at least not in my opinion. The flowers last for a long time.

Their botanical name is Saintpaulia and they belong to the Gesneriaceae genus. I started propagating my own violets a few years ago. Creating new life gives me a great deal of pleasure, plus it’s pretty easy, so there’s a high success rate.

A couple of my very own babies are flowering. I’m so proud of them!

They’re not too finicky or hard to take care of if you follow a few tips:

❀ Don’t water from the top and try not to get the leaves wet.

❀ They love bright, indirect light.

❀ Fertilize about once a month.

❀ Some websites suggest an Epsom salt drench every two weeks to assist flowering.

❀ Remove dead or faded flowers.

❀ They don’t like to be too wet or too dry, I use filtered water because our SoCal tap water is disgusting.

❀ It’s almost funny but the best performing violets are in the smallest pots, much smaller than you’d think for dinner plate sized foliage.

❀ Propagating is simple. The traditional method of propagating violet leaves is to place the stem into water until roots begin to grow. Select a healthy leaf. It doesn’t take very long for roots to form.

Good luck!

Autumnal Equinox in My Zen Den

One of the Angel Kids came in, looked around the living room, and said, “Grandma, you turned this room into a zen den!”

I had never heard of that term before; apparently he heard about it from one of Mom’s friends.

A Zen room is a tranquil space designed for meditation, reflection, and relaxation. It draws inspiration from Zen Buddhism’s principles of simplicity, mindfulness, and harmony with nature. 

Recently, my love/obsession for indoor plants has spilled out all over the house to every available space, and the living room is no exception. I found an awesome boho rug and switched out some 90s burgundy drapes for a softer, more gentle mauve. I already had lots of pillows and crystals, rocks, and seashells, so it wasn’t such a drastic change.

If I hadn’t almost burned down the house a few times (truth), I’d add to the ambiance with a few dozen candles, but I don’t think it’s a great idea based on my track record.

It’s a sanctuary, a safe haven, a great place to play Scrabble, work on puzzles with the Angels, or listen to them play in the “mansion”, which is what we call their giant doll house that’s five feet tall and so big that we set it up in the living room.

“We like it down here, Grandma.” That’s all I needed to hear. My zen den is a success. It really does have a serene, peaceful vibe, and I’m happy they could feel it, too.

It’s a great place to quiet the mind and think about the autumnal equinox, free of TV or other distractions.

According to Isis Channelings, this equinox represents the balance of light and dark, and falls within a highly karmic dark night of the soul eclipse gateway. It’s like a bandage has been ripped out and all our wounds are exposed and demanding to be seen .

Dream time is intense right now and can bring much clarity and insights from our subconscious which could prove useful as we navigate these emotional tidal waves.

Enjoy twelve equal hours of light and dark, the first day of fall, and celebrate Mabon and honor Mother Earth by eating apples, decluttering, and don’t forget to write in a gratitude journal.

Phytophile: Word of The Day

phytophile is a person who loves plants, and for me, that includes dandelions! Phytophile comes from the Greek words phytòn (plant) and philìa (love or passion).

Last week I rescued a six-foot ficus and a sad little cordyline from the nursery clearance section. They were dried out and cruelly discarded. These once beautiful specimens simply needed a bit of my tender, loving care. They quickly perked up and are both now enjoying the good life here at Casa de Enchanted Seashells.

Margaret Tarrant

More about the adorable and functional dandelion…

Love Is All You Need | Rescue and Thrive

A couple months ago, a neighbor was planning to discard half a dozen orchids she thought were dead or dying and asked me if I wanted them before they ended up in the trash.

That really broke my heart, as I have a soft spot for animals and plants (and a few humans) that might benefit from some kindness and attention, so I took them all.

When I brought them home, they were sad little things; dried up, starving, and so thirsty that I could feel their pain, so I immediately submerged them in filtered water and set them in a quiet and shady place to drink all they needed.

I pruned some of the withered bits, found pretty pots for all, and decided to give them some time to heal in a loving environment.

This is the first orchid that has rewarded my caregiving with a spike of stunning color!

Let me introduce my rescued baby, a pink Phalaenopsis Elastic Love, also called Moth Orchid.

She is SUCH a drama queen and thrives as the center of attention!

The remainder of the rescues all have new growth and are throwing spikes, too, which brings an overwhelming sense of joy! All they needed was a little tender, loving care.

What an absolutely amazing way to start a new month!

Don’t Cry, Baby Girl

When plants cry…not at all like Prince’s When Doves Cry

I was beyond ecstatic when my mini-Monstera began to unfurl the first new leaf since I brought her home. When I checked on her progress this morning, I noticed that she appeared to be crying.

Why so sad, baby girl?

I try to do everything to make her happy and healthy; water, fertilizer, the right amount of sun, and I adorned her with a beautiful, thrifted Satsuma pot.

This tear looks like it’s coming from her alien-eye, the classic Monstera fenestration.

They’re not tears of sadness nor joy; they’re actually due to a process called guttation.

Guttation is a mixture of xylem and phloem fluid, which contains sugars and other chemicals produced in the leaves that are exuded overnight by the plant.

Guttation is one way houseplants attempt to regulate their growing conditions. This response can occur when a plant has been overwatered or under stress, or the plant could be perfectly fine and want to balance its nutrients or minerals.

Aren’t plants SO smart?

I confess that sometimes I love my plants too much, as in too much watering, and I hope this isn’t the reason because I adore this new leaf baby and her brothers and sisters love her, too.

Don’t shed any more tears, little one! I promise to try and not love you to death!

My Soul Mate is a Monster

Sorry for the typo.

I meant to say my Giant Monstera is my soulmate. I certainly should have done a better job of proofreading…my bad.

This guy is the cause of my freak injury. I know I should hate him for it, but he’s so beautiful, especially when backlit by the sun.

I can’t help but love the source of my trauma, my pain.

You can’t really see it in this photo, but the reason why I raced down the stairs in slippery socks (and fell HARD) was to get the Amazon package that contained the moss poles to help my BFF climb to new heights.

When we first met (at Trader Joe’s) and fell in love, he whispered to me that a little support would make him happy. Since I love to oblige, it was an easy request to grant, however, this proclivity of mine set the stage for me to become irrevocably injured.

Deep wounds take a long time to heal, but my love for this Giant Monstera will last forever. Pretty soon I’ll need taller poles and more support because he’s growing and thriving under my care.

Love hurts, but isn’t he gorgeous? My monster(a), my soulmate.

Update on my injury: Stitches came out yesterday (after two weeks) but were replaced by a dozen Steri-strips to help the eight-inch gash finish healing, which it is,  but at a snail's pace, probably because I'm not a very patient patient. I'm a much better caregiver. The recommendation was no strenuous activity for at least two more weeks or it'll open up again and I'll need more stitches and the doc threatened me with an aircast to immobilize my leg. "Threatened" might be a SLIGHT exaggeration, but that's how I interpreted her words...

Dreamy White Christmas

I’ve always had red and pink zygocacti, and for some reason, mine bud and bloom several times a year, whether they’re labeled Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter cactus.

I’ve been seeing other, amazing colors of these flowering succulents. I couldn’t resist this white Schlumbergera that I found at Trader Joe’s for about five dollars. This is her very first flower. Check out the magenta stamen. It’s absolutely stunning. The Chanel-inspired pot was a Daiso treasure.

I’m in LOVE. I can’t wait until all the other buds open.

Do you see that double bud? It’s ridiculously easy to make me happy.

Garden Gossip: What’s Growing Out and In

Before it gets so hot and dry that everything dies a slow and painful death, here’s a few pics from the garden:

The raspberries aren’t ready to eat, but oh so pretty cherry red.

Still thriving; a decades old bottlebrush.

Flowers everywhere!

Photobombed by my resident Scott’s Oriole. What a show off! Look at how adept he is balancing on the tip of an agave.

And then he flew over to the bottlebrush in time to get his photo taken again.

I have pretty good luck propagating alstroemeria; now it’s blooming everywhere!

And indoors, it looks like all these plants are growing out of the fireplace, but this is where they get the perfect amount of diffused light. My Monstera looks bright and healthy living her best life with a fresh white orchid.

Lots of happy plants in and out. I hope you enjoyed this tour of Casa de Enchanted Seashells!

Holiday Flower Photo Shoot

Happy early Hanukkah! It starts tonight at sundown which is closer to 4pm now after that ridiculous time change.

Things are super dry here in SoCal and there isn’t much color in the garden but I have a spectacular Christmas cactus that decided to bloom on Thanksgiving. Also called Zygocactus, it’s really a Schlumbergera hybrid.

I’ve had this one for quite a while…

I found a pure white African violet at a local nursery and that’s the new addition to the fam. I hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing and fun Sunday!