- Author: Andrea Peck
- Editor: Noni Todd
Ghosts In The House
By Andrea Peck
Indoor plants are like garden ghosts, shadows that take second fiddle to your outdoor range. They get moved around, relocated, live and die or hardly change.
When we speak of gardening, the little specters are seldom mentioned.
But, could it be that your indoor flora are serving you even less selfishly than those that beautify your great outdoors? After all, haven't we all heard that indoor plants increase well-being, productivity and air quality? Isn't it the case that the great NASA has studied the effects of plants on indoor air quality and that your most ignored plants are doing their darndest to filter airborne impurities before they reach your delicate lungs?
All the while, your spider plants and sansevieria get short shrift, becoming root-bound in pots that you had to have at that sales event, but are oh-so-heavy for lifting. Watering, repotting, and fertilizing.
They need fertilizing?
It finally dawned on me this week. It was a busy week filled with parties and engagements. I must admit, I am a homebody and extended periods of “not-home-ness” puts me categorically on edge. As I was doing dishes one afternoon, I realized that plant greenery, even in undefined clumps, makes me feel protected; relaxed. They are sort of like a mini-jungle fortress. This is all in my mind, of course, because they do not answer my door and shoo away unexpected guests, nor do they raise the drawbridge when I am at my wit's end. But, they do seem to lessen the outside din when it becomes too loud. Do they have little reflectors that send stimuli back to its source? Who knows – someday they may find tiny quieting nannies furiously working inside those green cells. For now, I am working on increasing my collection of hard space in the shape of bookshelves and tables in order to add space for my indoor friends.
Next week, I'd like to continue talking about this often neglected part of gardening. Write in with your tips, hints and questions!
Don't forget to attend the Master Gardener's Advice to Grow by Workshop scheduled for Saturday June 21st from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm! The workshop will address summer pruning of deciduous trees. Following the workshop is the much awaited Drought Tolerant Plant Sale from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Meet at the Garden of the Seven Sisters, 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo. We will feature numerous drought tolerant plants, including California natives and Mediterranean climate plants. Master Gardeners will be available to answer plant questions.