http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy Gardening tips by Ivy: Botanist Extraordinaire Wed, 09 Nov 2011 04:30:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Dear Ivy, I wanted to ask you a plant question. I've inherited the responsibilities of caring for the dilapidated peacy lily at my mom's taekwondo school. It's about eight feet from the windows so I'm wondering what other problems I should tackle first. The damage is pretty typical: tips and edges of ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/plants/paging-dr-greenthumbs/ I found this stock photo, an old engraving. It's my first lead in The Case of the Mystery Plant. This picture most closely resembles what I bought at the garden center a few days ago. It's called: Hoya Carnosa, also known as the wax plant. This is a pretty common house ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/plants/a-break-in-the-case/ I like to frequent the "distressed plant shelf" at my local home and garden center. This is where all the wilted, neglected plants are put when they no longer appear well enough to sell at full price. House plants can be expensive. I usually try to clone mine in order ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/seasonal-plant-care/new-additions/ Dear Ivy, I'm learning about plants and love the Pothos plant. My question is this: I looked up your blog saw how to clone a Pothos so I did it. It's not dying, but it's not growing the roots yet out of the nodes and do I have to wait until ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/uncategorized/concerned-about-cloning/ I swear I was going to bring it in... soon. I just needed some time! Oh, the carnage... [caption id="attachment_1098" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Sorry, little guy..."][/caption] This is what happens when you leave your tropical house plants outside, and the weather turns. I had started bringing other plants in, in preparation for Winter. I supposed ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/seasonal-plant-care/fail/ So I've been gradually moving my houseplants back in from their long Summer vacation outside. I'm determined to keep any would-be freeloaders OUT of my house. This includes anything that could cause problems with the rest of my plants. The main one I'm concerned about is spider mites. Ugh, those ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/compost/hitchhikerss-guide-to-my-front-porch/ I think I might be one of the only girls in the world who enjoys a bouquet MORE when there's a spider in it :) I arrived home to a bundle of wild flowers on my desk the other day. How sweet and awesome is that? I then texted the responsible ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/seasonal-plant-care/bonus-bug/ There are a plethora of containers to choose from to keep a plant in your home. There are as many types of containers as there are plants! In this series of posts, I will pick a material and describe the pros and cons. Hopefully, this will help you decide which ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/indoor-plants/types-of-containers-part-1-terra-cotta/ I will now attempt to use a picture that does not do Mother Nature justice to tell you how Mother Nature has it all figured out. [caption id="attachment_1077" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="A perfect example of "Terracing""][/caption] This was an outcropping I saw on my recent hiking trip. The picture above is of a ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/plants/nature-creates-the-best-planters/ I know all of you who have a love of gardening also love the wild and natural world. I went hiking recently in the Hocking Hills region of Southern Ohio, and I want to share some pictures of a little critter I met, and a beautiful example of a flower. ... http://www.thirstylight.com/ask-ivy/uncategorized/wild-flowers-and-wooly-caterpillars/