There is snow falling heavily
outside as this is written. The wind
chill is well below zero and gale-force gusts are forecast overnight. Inside, though, there’s a date palm in fruit;
orchids in bloom; and a croton with splashy red, gold and yellow leaves.
Welcome to winter in my home,
where houseplants are king for a season.
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| One of the greenhouses at the Lyman Estate |
It is, of course, possible to
see stunning displays of flowers and greenery in mid-winter. Here in eastern Massachusetts, Wellesley College has a wonderful complex of
greenhouses open to the public as does the Lyman Estate in Waltham. I'm certain there's a comparable indoor garden near you, whereever you live. But visiting those indoor gardens requires
getting in a car and driving, and the pleasure is just for an hour or so. By all means, go see those places, but why
not stop in at your local garden center on your way home and start your own
collection?
That’s what we did several
decades ago. It started with the usual
suspects: a hibiscus and a ficus tree.
Then we added a bougainvillea or two.
Or three. We bought a peace lily
(spathiphyllum) which grew and was divided.
Each division doubled in size and was then divided yet again. Today, we force them on guests.
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| Dracaena 'Lemon Surprise' - one of our houseplants |
Our houseplants are family; they’ve
followed us around the country. When we
move, one car or truck driven by one of us and dedicated to ensuring that every
plant arrives undamaged. Moreover, every
houseplant has a history: it came from a road trip to Logee’s in Connecticut or
by mail from White Flower Farm. We
bought it at the flower show or it came via a garden club plant swap. It was a gift from a friend or there was an
end-of-season sale at Mahoney’s or Weston Nurseries.
For seven months of the year, our
houseplants get fed, watered, re-potted, rotated indoors and out, and generally
pampered. We take such good care of them
when the outdoors is filled with blooming things in order to toughen them up
for times like these. From mid-October
until the end of April, they will be continually stressed by low light levels,
extremely low humidity and drafts.
Moreover, any hint of an insect infestation can send a plant into a
quarantine from which there is often no return.
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| Two of the four bougainvillea that keep me company while I work |
To me, houseplants are a form of
rescue: a lifeline to a world of beauty when the outdoors is inhospitable. I grew up with tropicals, which perhaps starts
to explain my affinity for them as an adult.
I wake up to a cheerful variegated philodendron and a jasmine that is
starting its bloom cycle. We eat
breakfast to a collection of succulents that grow in exotic shapes and
textures. I do my work in an office
flanked by a pair of bougainvillea that will flower pink and yellow next
month.
By April, we’ll have landscapes
of early bulbs to admire. Come May, we’ll all be enchanted by annuals and
perennials, more bulbs and flowering trees.
For the next three months, it will be the houseplants that keep me sane.
They continually remind me that, even in
New England, gardening is a year-round avocation.
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