Good Job Little Moss!

I love moss. It's one of the coolest little plants and I think I love it more since I live in the hot Sacramento Valley and can't grow it myself. When I go hiking, I touch all the moss and tend to talk to it a bit. "You are such cute moss, yes you are!" I'm a dork, I freely admit that but moss is just so awesome.

So on a recent trip to Reykjavik, Iceland I found a whole wall of moss surround a building in downtown. I didn't get a lot of nature on this trip (we were there for a music festival), so I got my fill by hanging out with this moss wall for a little while.

It's happy moss.

I'm Plant Poor

Oh my goodness, what does it mean when my money plant dies?! I got this little guy at Ikea for almost free and it lived for a couple of years in my office. I kept it moist but not soggy and it just started slowly dropping leaves for the last few months until they were all gone.

The only thing I can think is that it didn't have enough sun. Any other ideas? Maybe it's because it lived at a non-profit...

Air plant: Bulbosa

The last of the air plants that I impulse bought at the Orchid Show in the spring. The Bulbosa. It's adorable with it's curly tentacles and it's bulbous base.

Air Plant Flower

The Jenny, Guest Blogger

Soon after I got my new little air plant, it flowered! A cool purple spike that reminded me a bit of a fuschia flower with its color. Flower spike stuck around for a couple of weeks. I hope the air plant will like me enough that it will flower again someday.

End of an era...er, violet

Do plants have a natural lifespan in captivity? I am going to go ahead and say they do to make myself feel better. This sad, dead plant was once a very amazing rescued African Violet that has been doing great for about 8 years and blooming consistently for the last 4 1/2 years. I didn't change anything. It's just started to die.

RIP rescued violet. You outlived all expectations.

Gorgeous Bird of Paradise

My bird of paradise plant that I've had in a pot for about 7 years surprised me today with a perfect bloom! I get about one a year, and this one is gorgeous.

Bob's Nicotania

The Jenny, Guest Blogger

The pride of Bob's Summer is his backyard Nicotania. He waters it faithfully and it gives me great hope that there is a gardener in him somewhere. The crop of Nicotania comes back stronger every year. It's one of the few volunteer plants we've allowed to remain in our revamped/replanted/non-lawn backyard. The resident carpenter bee loves this stuff. The color is so very intense! A glowing, electric magenta. The flowers are wide open in the morning, which is the best time for viewing. It's a lovely addition to our Summer landscape.

Orchid fail

I killed it. I'm sorry. It used to look like this. Now it looks worse. I figure it just too damn small for me. I can't keep it watered enough. Heavy sigh.

Leopardy Orchid Rebloom

The Jenny, Guest Blogger

This completes my own Orchid Challenge! My trusty Brassia orchid is one of the highlights of my fledgling collection. Even the flower buds are spotted. When they open up, they bust out into a leopardy, spiky, shock of awesomeness. They fade a little faster then some of my other orchids, but their death is interesting too, the spots all morph into a solid plum color.