Bits of Springtime

  Part of having a positive outlook in life is having positive surroundings. A person cannot be expected to function at peak potential if their environment isn't. What helped me immensely when I was getting a bit humdrum at home was adding a few small plants to my kitchen.

  Both were actually gifts from my mom. The fist one, a Coleus plant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleus), was rooted from a cutting my mom gave me from her plant. Lots of plants can be treated this way... You simply take a cutting, stick it in a jar of water until it grows roots, and plant it in a pot. I currently have more cuttings growing roots in a jar in my kitchen window, and they will eventually be added to this hanging pot with the rest:

   A hook next to my kitchen window provided a great opportunity for color and life in my apartment. As you can see, the leaves are green with red in the middle, and I have found that the more sun they are exposed to, the more the red becomes predominant. The cuttings I talked about, being set in more direct sunlight, developed a red vibrancy to the point that one might mistake it for a different variety of coleus altogether. A beautiful greenery, the coleus plant is one of the most charming, and easy to care for, houseplants I have come across.

  Another gift from my mother was this beautiful hybrid dahlia plant, called a Dalinova California (http://www.provenwinners.com/plants/dahlia/dahlinova-california-dahlia-hybrid). These are quite hardy , and can survive in full or partial sunshine, and need water when the dirt around them in no longer moist. I have found that pinching off a dying blossom ensures a quicker and more vibrant bloom of the remaining blossoms. This particular plant can be kept in a state of bloom for most of the year. When I got it, it had one flower that rather reminded me of a little lion's head...and now there are four on the same plant.

  From time to time I stir in a small amount of compost-worthy food scraps into the dirt around my plants. Because they eventually use up the minerals in the dirt, it helps to keep them healthy and strong even when they have been in the same pot of dirt for a long time. They seem to especially love bits of whipped egg with the shell broken up in it. If a recipe calls for only egg white or egg yolk, I give the unused bit to the plants. Hey, it is a lots easier than going the Little Shop of Horrors route!