Earth laughs in flowers. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I want my garden in the spring to look like Alicia Paulson’s blog.  It’s not going to happen this year or next year or for many years, but that is my goal.

African Violets never bloom for me.  They come into the house full of sweet, cheery little blooms which are never to be seen or heard from again.  During this long dark winter, in an effort to keep myself from going entirely stir crazy, I decided that what I really needed was to nurture something green and growing.  But no spending money, remember?  So I took stock of everything we had and tried to figure out how to make more and get more enjoyment and beauty from it.  I did some serious houseplant research and rehab.  At the same time I took lots of cuttings of geraniums to start rooting them to pad out the gardens in the spring.

The violets- this one was given to us as a gift when Miss Seraphina Violet Juliette was born and it went the way of every other violet we’ve ever owned- big leaves, no flowers.  Wanting to do well by it as usual, I took it out of it’s tiny pot and put it into a nice big pot with room to grow.  Well the joke was on me!  It turns out African Violets really only bloom when they are a bit pot bound!  Mairi Rose gave me a sweet little green pot for my birthday and it’s just the thing.  I moved it down, started fertilizing regularly with fish emulsion and moved it to a sunnier window.  While they generally prefer indirect light apparently in the winter they can sometimes do with a bit more sun.  It took a couple of months, but buds appeared the week of her birthday and it now blooms non-stop.  We started many more from leaf cuttings and they all have strong roots and the beginnings of new growth.  This blog has a wealth of information on proper care.