Some of you already know I love succulent plants. So I have a collection for outside, who are winterhardy and another collection who I keep inside as they are not winterhardy. This is one of my sanseviera’s, also called mother’s tongues (I don’t know why :D), I have several species of this plant. They are such easy plants, really. All they need is a bit of water once in a while and a light place but not in full sun behind a window. They come in many forms, tiny and big, and they are cheap. You can easily divide them to get more plants or to gift them to a friend.
So if you think you have no greenfingers, buy a sanseviera or ask a friend for a piece of her plant.
In September 2017 we went to the south of France for a holiday and when we visited a gardencenter there I found a cactus that I really wanted to have and as it was small it was easy to take it home in the car without damaging it.
THIS IS HOW IT LOOKED WHEN WE BOUGHT IT . OPUNTIA INDICA BURBANK.
Much to my surprise it grew a new disk in the Summer of 2018.
And in 2019 it got another disk.
TINY AT THE BEGINNING BUT GROWING VERY FAST.
This year, no new disk, I don’t know why, it is healty and growing good, those brown spots are normal. I was hoping for a new disk and maybe a flower or 2.
The following pictures were taken only a few days ago.
But this plant with only 3 disks is soooo very heavy I can’t lift it anymore, luckily I have a husband and a son. In Winter it stays in an unheated greenhouse cos it doesn’t like wet weather but in Spring it comes out again and gets the sunniest spot in the garden. Each time I look at it it reminds me of France.
Why I wanted this cactus ? There are lots of these cacti in the south of France, some turned into really big “bushes” with bright yellow flowers and edible fruits. It can take frost as long as the soil is dry. And last but not least it is almost spineless. There are other opuntia’s that are more beautifull but they all have a lot of spines, I have grandkids and dogs so that would be too dangerous.
At the moment we have a heathwave and the end is not in sight. So I have a lot of watering to do in the garden and especially the plants in pots need a good watering every day. But my French opuntia loves it.
SANSEVIERIA PARVA OR MOTHER-IN-LAW’ S TONGUEA CLOSER LOOK AT THE FLOWERSTALK, THE FLOWERS ARE NOT OPEN YET.
As you know (or not) I love succulents and cacti and I have about 100 of them in pots as our climate is too cold in Winter and too wet to keep them in the garden. I have a small collection of sansevieria’s and this one is in bloom at the moment. I prefer them when when the flowers are still closed. All sansevieria’s are really easy to keep!!
This year’s colour scheme for the front garden will be red and yellow. A few more days and we can finally put the annuals out. But first we might get a few nights of light frost despite day temperatures of arround 25 C°. Recently we changed our front garden, we removed all the plants and shrubs, then put dark grey pebbles everywhere and we added a few big rocks. The front garden was just too time consuming. So now I have to make the place look more colourfull with flowers. So I thought about red and yellow. I’ll show you when it’s finnished ok.
ONE OF THE FLOWERS I’LL USE ARE RED DAHLIA’S, AS THEY’LL GIVE A BIT OF HEIGHT
AND LOTS OF YELLOW TAGETES
But I want more red and yellows as I have big pots. It is not easy to go to the garden center at the moment, they reopened only a week ago cos of the coronavirus. And in a few days other shops may open again but there are lots of rules to follow. Not in my wildest dreams I could imagine something that would have such an impact on our lives and of the lives of everyone on the planet.
It is time to give your houseplants a bit of tlc, they are probably covered in a bit of dust so you can easily brush that off with some old soft paintbrushes, the small ones for the nooks and crannies (also handy for your cacti !!), the big ones for the big leafed plants. They’ll look better, they can breathe better and they can absorb the light better. Give them a bit of water and when the soils is moist again you can give them a bit of firtilizer, just a bit to start with.
As the weather keeps on being wet and windy I can’t start gardening now but I want to start as soon as possible.
So here is another indoor plant, Anthurium (flamingo plant) pretty and easy to keep as long as it doesn’t get direct sun, light : yes, sun : no. And it wants to be watered weekly. They come in all colours and can become quite big with a bit of tlc. And you can use the flowers and leafs for flower arrangements.
As it is not much fun to be out in the garden at the moment I’ll show you one of my favorite indoor plants. We do have blooms in the garden but it is wet and windy and cold at the moment.
This one is a member of the huge EUPHORBIA family, some come with leafs, others with spines and some even have both leafs and spines. I am the proud owner of several euphorbia spieces, in my home and in my garden . They all get tiny yellow flowers. And they bloom for a long time.
I hope you are all ok and having fun. Take care and thanks for visiting.
GWENNIESGARDENWORLD 
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