Savvy Gardening

Easy projects for mini holiday houseplants

One year in late November, as I was pushing my cart around a local garden center, trying to decide between an amaryllis and paperwhites, I discovered something sitting among a table of poinsettias: a mini poinsettia! I brought it home and popped it into a tealight candle holder. It was such a cute addition to my mantle, it sparked an obsession with mini holiday houseplants. Now each year when I go to purchase the usual festive assortment of plants, I also grab some minis to display in various ways. In this article, I’m going to share some easy mini holiday houseplant projects.

Plant an herb garden for a kitchen window

Written by Niki Jabbour

There are so many reasons to grow herbs indoors; they add garden-fresh flavor to food, fragrance and greenery to indoor spaces, and because packages of fresh herbs are expensive to buy at the supermarket, growing your own can save you money. It’s easy to create an herb garden for a kitchen window when you start with a little smart planning. Most herbs grow well indoors, but you’ll need to provide a few basic necessities, like adequate light, to ensure a healthy windowsill garden.

The coolest houseplants: Indoor plant love

Written by Tara Nolan

I think Instagram helped shine a light on the coolest houseplants and really spark the trend of filling one’s space with lush greenery and interesting specimens. It’s not that indoor plants ever went anywhere, but a few factors have meant a bigger selection at garden centers, grocery stores, and other retailers where you can buy plants. It’s now possible to find more than a peace lily, African violet, or Boston fern to decorate with indoors. Some of the accounts I follow on social media feature vibrant, leafy feeds full of recommendations. Lush greenery frames the pictures and modern knick knacks, rather than the other way around. I enjoy Plant the Future’s feed with its Star Wars planters and fun, and the Toronto-based Houseplant Journal, to name a few.

How to Overwinter Cucamelon Tubers

Written by Niki Jabbour

Cucamelons are the most popular crop in our vegetable garden with the long, slender vines yielding hundreds of grape-sized fruits that resemble tiny watermelons. Hence, their other name, ‘mouse melons’, or as they’re better known, Mexican Sour Gherkins. Most gardeners start their cucamelon plants from seed sown indoors in mid-spring, but the plants also produce tubers that can be lifted and stored over the winter. Growing cucamelons from tubers gives you a head start on the spring growing season, and results in an earlier and larger harvest.

How to winterize your yard with our fall gardening checklist

Written by Tara Nolan

I love fall, but I’m not a fan of cleaning up the garden. There, I admitted it. I hit a bit of a wall of garden fatigue at this time of year when I’m actually excited to turn my attention indoors. And if I’m outside, I’d rather be hiking or biking and enjoying the weather. However, despite these feelings, I still haul my lazy self outside, often in a toque and warm woollies because I’ve left things so late. I also have a warmer pair of gardening gloves to keep my hands warm. Of course I adhere to the 6 reasons NOT to clean up your yard, but alas there are some must-dos on my to-do list. I have a loose checklist of how to winterize your yard, which I’ve outlined here.

A wildlife garden project for all seasons: The best plants for success

Written by Jessica Walliser

When it comes to starting a wildlife garden project, most gardeners tend to focus on the spring and summer months, when wildlife is very active. But the truth is that autumn and winter are the most critical times to be supporting wildlife. Some animals migrate south for the winter, but many others stay put by either remaining active or hibernating for the frosty months. In addition to providing summer-time nutrition and habitat, supporting a diverse array of wildlife on your property also means making sure there’s ample food available in the weeks before winter’s arrival, so the animals can consume and store as much nutrition as possible. Whether providing nectar, seeds, or another source of food, your garden can become a critical haven for the many small animals living there.
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