Houseplants

Houseplants is a volume in The American Horticultural Society Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening series. It was produced as a collaborative effort between the American Horticultural Society and Ortho Books, and edited by A. Cort Sinnes. I have an old copy, which shows the book was first published in 1974 with subsequent publications through 1980. This places it during the "back to the land movement", at a time when folks were rediscovering plants for interior decorating, talking to their plants and playing classical musical to stimulate their growth. 

In the introduction, Gilbert S. Daniels, then President of The American Horticultural Society, points out that there is no real category of houseplants. All plants originate in an outside environment somewhere in the world. The key to success is to simulate their natural environment as closely as possible in your home or office. Many of the plants that thrive as houseplants originated from an environment with similar conditions, such as low or diffuse light and even temperatures.

Houseplants provides an introduction to interior landscaping, guidelines for assessing your home or office environment for light and temperature and seasonal changes, and tips for improving the environment to ensure houseplants thrive. It covers plant basics, gardening in containers, and how to provide appropriate light whether natural or artificial. The book provides an inventory of houseplant candidates (with pictures and text) that is organized in categories including flowering, foliage, shrubs, and cacti and succulents. A propagation chapter describes how to start plants from seeds, cuttings, division, and so forth. Additional resources include a plant selection guide to help you choose plants that fit your environment, and a list of sources (many of which are still viable after 45 years)! 

This is a wonderful book for the indoor gardener. I appreciated the basic information, as well as ideas for modifying the inside landscape to help plants thrive. I also appreciated the many illustrations and photos, and the encyclopedia of plants that thrive indoors. The pairing of text and photos is very useful, as is the plant selection guide that summarizes the information. The American Horticultural Society no longer publishes the The American Horticultural Society Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening; instead they publish multiple encyclopedias with different focuses. You can still find the original set or the Houseplants book through online vendors. I recommend this book as a great quick reference for getting started with houseplants.

Winter Movies 2020: A Morbid Taste for Bones

Welcome back to our winter movie series, in which plants are the real movie stars! This winter we're enjoying several episodes from Cadfael, the British drama series that is based on the books by Edith Pargeter, also known as Ellis Peters. The series is set in medieval England in the early 1100s, and takes place in the fictional Shrewsbury. Brother Cadfael is a Benedictine monk in the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and works in his garden and medicinal shed to prepare botanical remedies. He joined the monastery later in life, after serving in the Crusades, and is often called upon to use his logic, experience, and plant knowledge to solve local mysteries.

A Morbid Taste for Bones (Season 2, Episode 3)

Prior Robert Pennant feels called to collect the remains of Saint Winifred from Wales and bring them to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, where they will be better cared for and revered. Brother Columbanus, a young and ambitious monk, sees visions and communicates with Winifred in his reverie, which seems to support the prior's mission. The prior and several monks set out for Gwytherin, where Saint Winifred has been buried for hundreds of years, to collect her bones. Brother Cadfael is ordered to travel with them since he is Welsh and may be an asset. He does so reluctantly as he sees more human ambition (the benefits of a relic in their abbey) than a divine mission.

At Gwytherin the monks receive hospitality from the local parish priest, but resistance from the villagers. When Rhisiart (a wealthy landowner and vocal critic of moving Saint Winifred) is found murdered, Brother Cadfael is given three days to catch the killer and convince the villagers to relinquish Saint Winifred. A key clue is a missing dose of poppy juice, which Brother Cadfael uses to relieve pain. Cadfael sorts through all the passions, motives, and intrigues of the suspects to identify the killer and bring a satisfying resolution.

This brings our winter movies series to an end for 2020. I hope you've enjoyed these episodes of Cadfael, as we wait out the cold, dark days of winter for the warm, productive days of spring ahead. I've really enjoyed seeing Brother Cadfael working in his garden and medicinal shed, and solving mysteries using his plant knowledge. It's interesting to note the "useful" nature of the garden at this time, to grow produce, cultivate orchards, and provide medicinal herbs that are used in healing. To learn more about medieval gardens and their place in gardening history, see Garden History – Medieval Gardens and Elements of the Medieval Garden. Useful gardens are one of the many stepping stones through time that have brought us to the modern gardens of today.

Winter Movies 2020: Monk's Hood

Welcome back to the Winter Movies series for 2020, in which we watch movies where plants are the true stars. This year we're travelling back in time to watch the British drama series, Cadfael, set in 1138 medieval England. Brother Cadfael is a Benedictine monk in the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the fictional town of Shrewsbury. Brother Cadfael works in his garden and prepares botanical cures in his medicinal shed (and is frequently called upon to use his plant knowledge, intelligence, and worldly experience to solve local mysteries).

Monk's Hood (Season 1, Episode 4)

A wealthy and cruel nobleman plans to cede his estate to the abbey, to spite one of his sons as part of an ongoing family conflict. Later the nobleman dies after eating a gift of fowl that was cooked at the abbey, and somehow laced with poison from monk's hood (Aconitum spp.). The son is immediately suspected of murder, and arrested for a speedy trial. The poison source is one of Cadfael's preparations, which uses monk's hood to make a medicinal rubbing oil that is not meant to be ingested.

Complications slow down the legal process a bit, since the noble family is Welsh and subject to Welsh laws instead of English laws. Cadfael suspects the son is not the murderer, and uses the time to investigate the crime while waiting for sheriff Hugh Beringar to return from the field. Cadfael feels that his own honor is at stake, since the murder weapon was one of his potions. When Beringar returns from the field, they work together to ensure justice is served.

In this episode we meet Cadfael's former love interest who now lives in Shrewsbury, and learn more of Cadfael's past from the days before he left for the Crusades. This episode is also interesting for glimpses into the inheritance laws at work in the 1100s, and the separate application of English and Welsh laws depending on the family origin. It's also a pleasure to see Cadfael at work in his garden and medicinal shed, and using his plant knowledge to help the people of Shrewsbury.  I recommend this series for anyone interested in botany, gardens, mysteries, and the details of everyday medieval life.

Winter Movies 2020: One Corpse Too Many

We're deep into winter, and it's time to hunker down to enjoy winter movies, in which plants are the stars! This time I'm watching episodes from the British drama series, Cadfael, which aired from 1994 through 1998. The mystery series is based on the books by Edith Pargeter, writing under the pseudonym Ellis Peters, and stars Sir Derek Jacobi.

The series is set in medieval England in 1138 during the 20-year civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda. It takes place in the fictional Shrewsbury, but several characters are based on real people.

One Corpse Too Many (Season 1, Episode 1)

In the opening episode, rebels are in control of King Stephen's castle in Shrewsbury, but are overthrown by supporters of the King. The 94 rebels are sentenced to death by hanging, and the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury is called upon to give last rights. The monk, Cadfael, is assigned the task. Brother Cadfael is a Welshman in his 60s who was called to the monastery late in life after an adventurous life as a Crusader in the Middle East for 15 years, then as the captain of a fishing boat. While in the Middle East he learned how to garden and heal with herbs. At the abbey he tends his vegetable garden and prepares herbal remedies in his medicinal shed.

Cadfael soon discovers there are 95 bodies, instead of 94 (one corpse too many), and the 95th was strangled not hanged. He sets out to find the murderer. During the investigation, loyalties are tested and motivations questioned. Cadfael finds botanical clues to track down the killer, and administers healing herbs to those in need. His knowledge and intelligence solves the crime and brings justice. Brother Cadfael finds a friend and ally in Hugh Beringar, who is appointed sheriff of Shrewsbury for his part in solving the crime and proving his loyalties.

I enjoyed seeing Cadfael's character at work in his garden and his medicinal shed, and the small details of medieval life. His worldly experience serves him well as he solves the crime and engages with those he encounters along the way. I also appreciated learning more about this time in British history. This is the perfect series to watch while waiting out the winter, until the gardening days of spring. I found the DVD at a local library, and through online retailers, such as Acorn Media.

Indoor Gardening

January is a perfect month to do a little indoor gardening, where it is warm and cozy and dry! With any luck, a little golden winter light streams through the windows.

Christmas cactus, paperwhite bulbs, and pothos vines enjoy extra light and warmth
(Warrior Girl, 3D art by Jason Quisenberry)

Your indoor plants may benefit from being moved around your home to a better location during the winter, either to avoid long periods of low, slanted sun or to capitalize on it. Spend some time observing where winter light lands and adjust plant placement accordingly. For example, plants that flourish in eastern or southern oriented windows in the summer may do better when moved to a western window in winter.

Pothos vines (Epipremnum aureum)

This is a good time to check over your indoor plants for pests, to re-pot or add soil, or to re-evaluate your fertilizer regimes. It's also a good time to learn more about houseplants that would thrive in your home environment, and maybe introduce a new specimen or two. You may want to try propagating plants from cuttings, or even force some bulbs out of season.

Forcing hyacinth bulbs

Indoor gardening doesn't have to be elaborate, but a few projects can provide a lot of satisfaction while you wait out the dark and damp days of winter, until spring comes with all its promise and chores.

Winter Moss

The San Francisco Bay Area was pelted with multiple rain storms over Thanksgiving and Christmas, and continues to receive light rain showers into January. Rain means that our moss springs to life. Several years ago I reported on the wonderful green moss in our yard (see Moss). It's time for an update!

Moss thrives along the path in the lower yard, and catches the golden afternoon light. Lichen also thrives on the trees and rock wall. One of these days I plan to harvest some of the lichen for a dye project.

Garden path is lined with moss

Moss also thrives in the yard beneath the oak tree. The filtered winter light on the bright green carpet of moss is lovely. The two terra cotta pot liners are filled with water and attract little brown birds who gather to drink and bathe and forage for insects.

Moss thrives under the oak tree with just a little water

Patches of moss are starting to take hold in the side yard around some camellias trained as trees. The bright green captures the slanted sunlight of winter.

Patches of moss around a camellia tree

I'm grateful for the seasonal rains that bring the moss back to life in the long days of winter!

Looking Ahead to 2020

Happy New Year! 2019 is a blur behind us, and 2020 is in our sights. It's always fun to have a new year stretching out before us, beckoning us into the future!

Each year I like to pick a theme for Eden By The Bay. For 2020, I think the only thing we can possibly entertain is Vision! It's too perfect, and the same opportunity will never present itself again. So, for the year 2020, we will look to the past for visionary ideas that got us to where we are; live fully into the present moment with the ideas that surround us; and look to the future for great ideas that will sustain close to eight billion of us. As always, our focus will be gardens, landscapes, and the natural world.

2020 vision - past, present, future	Innovations of the past
Roof gardens of today	Future of farming

Along the way we'll take time to rest, to breathe, to read great books and watch great movies. We'll spend time with our loved ones over delicious meals, get our hands dirty in the garden, and take inspiration from time in nature. We'll roam locally here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and hopefully put on our travelling shoes to venture further afield. Despite the ups and downs of life, I'm planning a great year in 2020, and hope you'll come along!