Indoor Garden Update | December 2014

Hello! It's been a while since I've shown you the progress of my Indoor Houseplants, and many of them grew a ton! 

Here is my Aloe Vera plant, which is the plant I am most proud of. Unfortunately it went through a period in which it almost died, but now it came back to life and started growing amazingly! I don't water it that much at all- in fact, I water it less than my other plants because it's in the cactus family, and doesn't like that much water. I'm planning on doing a full blog post dedicated to my Aloe Vera and how I care for it in the future!

My next plant is my Chinese Evergreen. This plant makes me so happy, because my Grandma always had this plant, so when I got one, it made me really happy :)

I give it water about once a week, and it definitely doesn't require a lot of light. It's a great plant to have and very easy to care for!

 

Here is my Phalaenopsis Orchid! It has bloomed far longer than any other Orchid I've had in the past. I got it at the end of August (in bloom), and now it's almost the end of December and it's still blooming! I don't do anything special to care for this plant, I just give it plain water when the moss/bark mixture gets dry. I can't believe it still has a bud that hasn't even opened yet! I have a full blog post dedicated to How I Care for My Phalaenopsis Orchid. I'm telling you, they are not hard to care for!

Here is my Lucky Bamboo, which is currently the oldest plant in the collection at the moment. (My actual oldest plant is not with me currently). It has become an actual bush- which I am so happy about! When I first got this plant about six years ago, I had it in a vase with rocks and water. It didn't really grow much then. After a while, I decided to switch it to soil, to see how it would react (because soil actually has nutrients for the plant). Apparently, it loves the soil! I switched it to soil about three years ago, and it has grown so much. All I do is water it once a week, and I don't even have it by a window. I have it in the center of the living room (which happens to be a bright room). If you don't have a Lucky Bamboo, I definitely recommend getting one!

Here are my two Zinnia seedlings. You may be wondering where the third went, and unfortunately it died. But these two are doing absolutely incredible. I have them sitting in the same pot as my Dracaena, and they seem to love it there. So much so, that one even started blooming!

I've noticed the little bud growing more and more, but I didn't expect it to open just yet. What an amazing surprise to come home to! Also, these plants are grown completely from seed, so this is the first time I had success completely growing a plant from a seed :) I water these plants about twice a week, and a lot of times I give them some fluorescent lighting to give them a little extra light now that the sun goes down so early.

My Dracaena is doing absolutely amazing! I have a blog post where I talk all about it. Click Here to read it :) I give it water about once a week, and it doesn't receive a ton of natural light (because it's winter) , but it does receive a nice amount of fluorescent light- because my Zinnia seedlings are right there.

Last but not least, is actually my brother's mini Phalaenopsis. He doesn't really take care of it, so I started to. It's doing okay (not as good as mine!). This plant actually ended up in an accident. When we got home from purchasing this plant, my brother accidentally dropped it on the floor and the blooms fell off. So we couldn't even enjoy the blooms. But hopefully next season, if properly cared for, we will get to enjoy the blooms :)

I also wanted to mention that I have come up with a blog schedule for the new year, and I'm super excited about it! Stay tuned!!

Let me know what you have growing down below!

-Isaac

Special Things :)

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to have a little chit chat :)

So I've been thinking a lot about my blog in the New Year- and I want to make it awesome! Even though I'm terrible at schedule-following for my blog, I would like to take another "crack at it" this coming January. I'm still figuring out whether I want to do theme days, or just a plain schedule when posts will go up. 

For the rest of December, I will most likely only post once a week- due to planning my blog for the New Year, and mostly (this may sound pathetic), I want to save a lot of the good posts for the New Years :)

I'm not saying that this post is bad, because it has been one that I've wanted to blog for a while but I've never got around to doing it. So I'm going to start off here:

I'm a very sentimental person. I love getting things passed down for generations in my family, mostly because I'm extremely family-oriented (which I see as a great thing)! This past birthday, my mom got me a very large plant for my birthday, which I absolutely love! Every time I walk into the living room it makes me feel happy. Also, because it's a plant, it cleans the air :)

I think the fact that I got a plant for my birthday is very special. It is something that I really enjoy doing (taking care of my plants), and it will last a really long time. Also, plants are a sign of life (in my opinion) so it always makes me feel good inside :)

I have my plant located right near this little couch area, with a little table right near it. This is where I write 90% of my blogposts. Also, what makes it even better is if I have a hot chocolate near me :)

In the future I will definitely make a blog post on how I care for my amazing plant!

Thanks for reading this quick little post, let me know what you think about it, and what you've gotten that puts you in a really good mood- or something sentimental that you've received. Also, let me know about the blog schedule this coming January. I want to make it extra special! :)

-Isaac

Flowers Opening + Chat

Today I wanted to quickly share with you my Orchid plant. The flowers started opening and I wanted to show you guys! I can't believe how much it's bloomed- it's been almost four months! Yup, four. And you can get the same results if you read my blog post on How to Care for Phalaenopsis Orchids.

I don't know how many gardening posts I'll do in the future, as I'd like to switch it up a bit. Also, I'm not going to create an exact schedule for my blog yet. I will most likely do that in January- as part of my New Years Resolutions. It will most likely be in that blog post as well- which hopefully I can get up on January 1.

The only way I will create a blog schedule is if for the rest of December I can be consistent on posting on my blog.

Lastly, if you have any requests for what you would want to see, let me know in the comments!

You can follow my blog via Email, or through Bloglovin.

-Isaac

Appreciation

With it being Thanksgiving tomorrow, I think it's very important for everyone to take a step back from their busy lives and appreciate everything they have. That is the number one key to happiness- appreciating things. The small, the big, and whatever is in between. 

Appreciation can be shown in many different ways. By simply smiling, that's a sign of appreciation. 

Last week the thought popped into my head: Appreciation is only shown when something is missing. 

For example, if you forget to bring your pen to school, and you have to borrow someone else's- you begin to appreciate your own pen. (Maybe it writes smoother, fits your hand better, etc). You are still appreciative of your friend that he lent you his pen, however you begin to appreciate your own things- mostly when you don't have them. That may be just the way I see it. 

Remember, every day should be thanksgiving. (Not just because of the day off school, but because it's time that we should start to appreciate everything that we have around us).

Let me know your opinion down below!

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Isaac 

Zinnia Plant Experiment

Every day my Zinnia plant is growing more and more. It has even gotten too tall for itself, so I held it up using an old Orchid stake I had. It has even gotten too tall for that! So I decided to give it a haircut- I chopped it off just above where two leaves meet the stem. This way, I can get a new growing tip from where the leaf meets the stem, and hopefully it becomes a sturdier, healthier, bushier plant.

I also need to consider repotting it soon, but I'd prefer to do all of my plant repotting outdoors, but it's been so cold outside, that I don't know where/when to do it, but I know it has to be done soon! I also need to make sure I have enough pots for them, and that the pots fit them. The plastic cups they are currently in are taller than the pots I have. The pots I have are larger and wider, but not taller. I'm going to have to come up with a solution for that!

I've been giving my plants as much light as I can give them. I put them in a window where they get full sun all day, and at night I have the lamp on for about an hour or so. I also have been needing to water them a little more often then all of my other plants, but that could just be because they're growing!

A Growing Miracle!

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to share with you my Lucky Bamboo plant, which never fails to amaze me. Ever since I planted it into soil, it's been doing amazing. It originally had three main stems, but one of them turned yellow and died, so then I was left with two. Out of these two main stems, it's produced four new side shoots at the base, which have become so strong that they actually look like main stems. I was also able to propagate this plant, and it's thriving. Incase you are wondering how to take care of it, all you need to do is put it in a location that receives low-medium light, and water it just when the soil starts to get dry. Every day, I am more and more proud of it.

A couple of months ago, I gave my plant a little trim because it was really getting too tall for itself. From where I made those cuts, four new side shoots emerged! This made me so happy :) 

I will definitely keep you updated on how it grows!

My Indoor Garden | August 2014

Hi everyone! I am so excited to share with you my current indoor garden! As most of you know, the past few months I've been completely uninspired, but a couple of weeks ago I got this sudden urge to want to garden again! So I've spruced up my older houseplants, and I even got a new plant ;).

First let's start of with my Lucky Bamboo! I've really made some improvements with my L.B. and the first major thing that I did was repot it! It was really needing new soil, and a slightly larger pot so its roots can expand even more! (When I was repotting it about a week ago, I noticed it had EXTREMELY healthy and thick roots which is AWESOME)! Also, I sprayed the leaves with some water and wiped them down with a paper towel because they started to get slightly dusty. Also, I gave it a much needed drink right after repotting it. (That really spruced her up!). I've also been noticing that since I've been really taking extra care of it, the new leaves that it produced were a really nice green color, and they didn't have brown tips (which shows that the plant isn't stressed anymore!). Lastly, I pruned it! It had these two giant, leggy stems that came off of the main branch. They got really leggy and the plant wasn't even able to stand on its own anymore because these leggy stems were so heavy that I had to lean them on the wall. All of a sudden it hit me, (not literally LOL), why don't I just prune it? And that's exactly what I did! But I didn't let those two healthy stems go to waste, I simply put it in a vase and it started producing roots! 

You can barely see them now, but when the roots get a little bigger, It's going to be time to plant it into soil! 

My next plant is my Aloe Vera! This plant isn't doing as well as I would like, but I'm sure once I repot it and give it fresh soil, it will get much healthier!

Next are my two Phalaenopsis Orchids. One is a mini and one is a regular size. They both dropped their bottom leaves but I've heard this is normal, as Orchids put out new leaves at the top anyways. 

I've also noticed something really cool! One of the Orchids is producing a baby plant!

Last but definitely not least is the new addition to my Indoor Garden, it's my Chinese Evergreen (Agleonema). I absolutely love this plant, and it always puts me in a good mood every time I see it because it reminds me of my Grandmother's Agleonema which is over 20 years old! 

So those are my plants so far! I know it's not that many at all, but I would really like to make my current plants really happy and get them to be the best they can be before focusing on even more plants. However I would like to start growing some more plants, so stay tuned for next month's indoor garden update, it will most likely contain a couple of new plants ;)

Phalaenopsis Orchid Tips!

Hey everyone! So today I wanted to show you my Phalaenopsis Orchid which is doing absolutely AMAZING so I thought I would share some of the tips that I have found with growing these Orchids!

1- Lighting: Make sure they get enough light, but not too much! The bright morning sun is ideal, and keep them shaded from the hot, afternoon sun to prevent their leaves from getting scorched!

2- Planting: DO NOT plant Orchids in regular potting soil. They ideally should be planted in moss or orchid bark (which can be found at the garden center). Also, choose to plant your Orchid in a planter with a lot of holes for drainage, and also so it can "breathe". (They have special Orchid planters at the garden center). 

3- Watering: I rarely ever use fertilizer, I just use plain water most of the time. Every once in a while I use a regular Orchid fertilizer and sometimes right before it blooms I use a bloom booster. But most of the time I use plain water. 

4- Flowering: One of the amazing qualities of Phalaenopsis Orchids is that they flower for a really long time (for 2-3 months). When the stem starts growing with buds on it, it's a good idea to hold it up with a stake and a couple of clips. If not the flower can be too heavy for the plant to support, and it might snap off. 

5- Choosing an Orchid: It's ideal to choose a Phalaenopsis Orchid with really healthy leaves, and of coarse, a flower spike! If you want the plant right away for a party, gathering, etc, it's better to get an orchid with most/all of the blooms opened and flowering. If you are just buying the Orchid to enjoy it, it's better to get one with a couple of opened flowers (so you know what the flowers look like), and most of the flower buds still closed. This way you can get the most time to enjoy the flowers. Make sure to choose an Orchid with healthy flower buds as well. That means they should be really plump and green! 

So that's all! I hope this was helpful, and let me know down below if I missed anything, and what kind of Orchids are you growing?!

Indoor Garden: April 2014

Hey everyone! So today I wanted to show you all what I have growing indoors! Quite a little has changed since last month, so I wanted to update you all on it!

First of all, I wanted to show you this little guy! This is one of the "pups" (babies) that my Bromeliad plant produced! I will have a completely separate blog post on how I separated the pups from the mother plant! 

Next is my Aloe Vera. It looks pretty healthy, however it is slightly discolored and I'm unsure why. Hopefully I can "fix it up" and get it happy again!

On a brighter note, this is my Mini Phalaenopsis Orchid which is doing absolutely INCREDIBLE! I am so happy that it is blooming again, and it's just really healthy! My larger Phalaenopsis which is right behind it, is doing just as well! It doesn't have any blooms, however it is growing a new leaf, which of coarse is an awesome sign!

This is my Lucky Bamboo which is doing INCREDIBLE as well! It has really healthy, dark green leaves, and it got really tall! Everyone in my family is so amazed that it got this tall ever since I switched it to soil! It also has shoots growing from the bottom! This plant originally only had 3 stems, but now it expanded, and a lot! 

So those are all of the plants that I have growing at the moment! I would like to start growing some herbs indoors by my windowsill, but I have a lot of space taken up by my Bromeliad babies!- I will definitely keep you updated on it!

So how is your garden doing? Let me know down below!

-Isaac

Divergent Book Thoughts

Hi everyone! I've finished reading Divergent by Veronica Roth a few days ago, and let me just say IT WAS AWESOME! This was one of my favorite book's I've ever read, besides from Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (CLICK HERE for that blog post). Basically, society has been split up into 5 groups (factions) in order to maintain peace. When you're born, you are born into the faction that you're parents are in. When you turn 16, you choose your own faction (you can choose to stay with your parents, or choose a different faction.) You can not see the members of other factions ever (only on visiting day). If you don't choose a faction, you are "faction less" which are the impoverished people. The abnegation (one of the five factions) is the group who runs the government. That ends up causing a "small" (or not so small) problem, which you need to read the book in order to find out! There is also a little dating which goes on, which makes the story even better! I also really liked the writing style that Veronica Roth used, and there is a lot of suspense in the story, it was definitely a difficult book to put down!

I would also like to see the movie soon, but I recommend that you read the book prior to watching the movie! 

Let me know of any book recommendations down below, and also, tell me how you liked Divergent! Are you going to move on to the next book in the trilogy?

-Isaac

My Indoor Garden: March 2014

Hi everyone! So today I wanted to show everyone my indoor garden so far, and it isn't looking too good but I decided to show you guys anyways!

So these are both of my Lucky Bamboo, and it looks amazing! It's really healthy and ever since I've moved it to soil, it has grown maybe triple its size!

Propagated Lucky Bamboo

I was surprised that my bamboo was ever going to get to a size where I can actually propagate it and get a whole new plant from it because it was just a tiny plant with barely a leaf on it when I first got it!

So this is my bromeliad, it doesn't look too healthy because after it lost its flower, it was supposed to grow "pups" which are baby plants which are supposed to be repotted and the mother plant dies.

Bromeliad

But this bromeliad never died, nor did it produce any baby plants. As you can probably see, it has started to produce pups, but they kind of stopped growing, unfortunately. 

These are my two orchids, which makes my garden  not look like a complete fail. These are the orchids that you so on last week's post (CLICK HERE)

Phalaenopsis Orchids

The buds are getting bigger, and it looks like it's about ready to bloom soon! 

Last but not least, is my Aloe Vera, which is looking the least healthy of all of my plants. I don't know why it isn't so healthy. It's right by a window, I feed it the perfect amount (for being a succulent/cactus).

Aloe Vera

Hopefully it starts getting healthy soon because I really love this plant!

The next plant I want to get is an African Violet and maybe a cool cactus or succulent mini garden. Those plants always amaze me and the African Violets bloom so much it's like having fresh flowers that never leave!

Which plants do you have growing? Let me know down in the comments!

-Isaac

Book Review: Hollow City

Hi everyone! I am so excited for today's post because it's my first ever book review! This was literally my favorite book I've read in my entire life! As we speak, I am starting to read Divergent, so I will let you know how I like it after I finish reading it! So today I am going to talk about Hollow City by Ransom Riggs. This is actually part of a series, and this is the second book. I was thinking about doing a review on the first book (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children), but I've read it like a year ago so I'm afraid I will forget a few things but I can try to summarize it with no spoilers:) (But you kinda have to read the first book before starting the second, but trust me, you'll love it!!). So, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is about a teenager named Jacob. When his grandfather, Abe, was younger, he used to "help out" these peculiar children. When Jacob's grandfather died, he decided to follow in his footsteps by helping out these peculiars. His parents think he is crazy through all of this. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children takes place in a small island in Wales, which is part of the United Kingdom. The peculiar children live in a "loop" which is when time stops (it's the same day over and over again). They are also trying to hide out from these creatures who every now and again try to kidnap them. So that was a no spoiler edition run through of the book. Now onto the second book, Hollow City:

I liked this book even more than the first book, and the first book was really amazing! If you like magical/scary stories this book is for you! I LOVED this book I couldn't even put it down. I wont spoil it, but all I will say about the ending is that it ended in a cliffhanger. The ending really was not expected, but that's as far as I am going to say! So for a quick summary of the book, Jacob decided to stay with the Peculiars and "help them out". To understand what that means, you have to read the book! I thought it was really well written, I love the writing style of Ransom Riggs, and the time period is during World War 2, but the war really isn't mentioned so much. I also really liked how the author used these really cool looking black and white pictures, it added so much to the story, and let's you get a "feel" of the characters.
So that's it! If you read these books, let me know how you like them in the comments!
-Isaac

Snow Day!

Hi everyone! Today it snowed a ton, which brought a big smile to my face :) I woke up to a winter wonderland, everything was covered in a white blanket of fresh fluffy snow. I woke up pretty early, got all bundled up and had an extremely fun snowball fight with my brothers, and then I went to shovel my grandma's driveway!

I took this picture while taking a walk today!

This is the beauty of the trees hitting the fresh blanket of white snow!

I am especially proud of myself because I kept up with my New Years Resolutions for today because I did a ton of exercise by shoveling, walking, and playing in the snow!