Perfect Pots

Although we are keen outdoor gardeners we had often had a poor success rate with house plants, sometimes joking that rather than having green fingers we had the touch of death. This probably came from concentrating our efforts on the garden outside rather than those in the house.

In recent years however, this has changed. The main reason was the addition of a conservatory in the summer of 2013 and a new interest in growing plants in doors. Typically we have steered away from the more usual house plants, opting to grow several agave and aloes.

Of course with house plants, comes the need for pots. In the garden we have used a number of unusual pots or repurposed other objects for something more unusual. However in the house we have not always been able to find the perfect pot.

I'm sure we are not alone in wanting something a little different from the typical pots available, and neither are James and Eleanor at plant.furniture who fell in love with the styles from 1960s Germany. They have set out to bring back a number of these classic designs from the same factories as the originals.

They very kindly sent us the Fernand, amodern plant pot manufactured in Germany by Otto Keramik exclusively for them.

The Fernanda names means 'Adventurous' and features a very bright orange glaze poured on top of a light summery matt blue base as the glaze is applied by hand, each pot is totally unique.

Fernanda from plant.furniture

An instant hit in out kitchen, with the vivid orange complementing the orange bull from Habitat.

As well as a number of other contemporary interpretations of mid century German style they also have a number of retro pots available for sale.

A selection of the pots available

This really is a lovely piece, very well made, with great colours echoing the 60s, I'm sure one or two more of their pots will find a way into our home, and with prices from just £12 these instant classics will not break the bank.

Gaz
 

Read More

Indoors, Outdoors

In the summer of 2013, we had a number of major upheavals, mostly planned although not all! One of the planned upheavals was the addition of the conservatory on the back of the house, along with a number of internal changes.

Eighteen months on (time really does fly) and we are gaining the benefit of that addition, in several ways. There are the sensible benefits,  the house is warmer with the conservatory creating an air gap - acting as a porch and also helping us to keep the kitchen tidier. But also for the more fun reasons, having nice plants with sufficient space around them to enjoy them.

In the past we have had too many plants in the house, with the kitchen, hall way, lounge and just about any spare surface filled by plants. We made a decision to reduce how much came into the house, but the conservatory allows us to bring some in and enjoy them, rather than having to duck under or round large palms in the kitchen!

It is nice to sit in the conservatory with exotic plants around us, having a nice warm drink but with the space to enjoy it.

The plants have benefited from the warmth, light but also from not being too hot. In the past when we had plants in the main part of the house the central heating gives a very dry atmosphere that not everything appreciates.

We were talking about the changes we made to the house at the weekend and I mused whether we should have made the conservatory larger, however as that would have reduced the top patio by the house neither of us would have wanted it to be bigger. Overall I think we got the size about right. Large enough to sit in and not feel cramped but not a huge space. 

Lets hope the plants continue to enjoy it!

Gaz.

Read More

Winter Homes for Garden Houseplants

A few plants in the kitchen.

Every winter a number of plants that spend summer in the garden have to find homes away from the cold, the damp and the snow of a typical British winter. Every year we try to reduce the number of plants requiring homes but somehow the numbers never seem to get any smaller.

We are fortunate in having two greenhouses, plus a temporary plastic greenhouse to overwinter some plants, as well as using the jungle hut (See here). However a number of other plants come into the kitchen and occupy window sills in the house.

Many gardeners might wish their partner was more interested and encouraging of their hobby, sometimes it has its drawbacks. As we both are keen gardeners we are not very good at self restraint, so every windowsill and spare space in the house will have some plants in.

Knickers is fascinated by the Phoenix.

We are fortunate that our kitchen has a particularly high ceiling so can be home to a large palm, Howea fosteriana that would be far too tender to live outside, other potted palms such as Phoenix roebelenii and a selection of Chamedoreas also find homes in the kitchen.

A small number of Aloes spend winter months in the lounge bay window - often relegated to a tighter spot elsewhere over the festive season to fit in a Christmas tree, windowsills in the bedrooms all find small pots of unusual and rare Agaves occupying every spare inch.

Only the most tender plants find homes inside, other plants are grouped into the greenhouses depending on the temperature they need.

The first greenhouse we have is home to various Aloes and Agaves, as well as a few more leafy plants such as Begonia luxurians. This greenhouse is well insulated with bubble wrap and has a small fan heater set to keep the temperature between 3 and 5C (37 to 41F).

 

The second greenhouse has hardier plants inside, most of these will eventually be planted out, but with them still being smallish plants in pots we keep them under cover for winter with a heater set to keep these above 0C (32F). For the majority of winter this heater will not be needed as average winter temperatures will be above freezing.

We also take advantage of the wooden workshop we have in the garden, this building is insulated and double glazed and in summer is occupied by a home gym. However in winter a selection of Palms and Ferns take advantage of the protection offered (3 to 5C minimum) and will cope well with the low light levels.

Inside the workshop

The key considerations when planning the winter homes for plants are the light, heat and humidity requirements. Each plant will have different requirements and juggling this can be quite a skill to ensure everything that needs a home can find a suitable one. Balanced against this is the costs of providing heat, if money was no object then heating the greenhouses to 10 or 15C would reduce the risks and avoid having to have as many plants inside the house, but this would be very expensive. Therefore the most tender generally find homes in the house - except those that hate the dry conditions.

We need to have a regular routine of watering the houseplants - many of the palms require a lot of water in the house over winter as the dry air from central heating quickly removes all the moisture from the compost.

It is always a welcome relief at the end of winter when the plants go back outside and the house regains a light and airy feel!

Gaz

Read More