I planned to keep them outside and perhaps transfer them to a hanging basket in the fall.

I used to think that Chenille plants were meant to be grown and kept indoors. Despite having been intrigued by the appearance of unusual fuzzy catkin flowers in pink or red in hanging baskets, I have never owned one, although I often purchased them as gifts. The plants usually look remarkably healthy and pretty in nurseries but somehow they lose their luster in people's home.

So far, the two chenille plants have adapted well to sun and rain and being outside. They continue to bloom...

...and even look prettier with raindrops on them.

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Chenille plants are known to be easy to care for. Regular watering, weekly fertilizing and removal of dead flowers are recommended.

I found the plant around mid-May last year and planted it in the partially shady area in my back garden. The flowering season went by rather quickly,

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but I was able to enjoy the lovely foliage well into fall.

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This year, polemonium leaves appeared quite early, some weeks ago, followed by an appearance of tiny pink buds on long flower stalks.

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The pink buds gradually opened into pale blue, dainty, nodding flowers.

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According to the Garden Splendor website, this variegated Polemonium reptans "occurred as a chance seedling at the New England Wild Flower Society's gardens in Framingham, MA".

It is also known to be an easy plant to grow and to require very minimal upkeep.

I am also delighted to report that I am no longer bothered by tiny insects that often flew around near my PC monitor.

So far the plant has required very little attention, except for its need of distilled water (I'm into my second gallon).

I have read in Wikipedia that "Healthy venus flytraps produce flowers in the spring," but never expected to see any flowers. Then, a few weeks ago a long stem with a rounded tip appeared. It slowly grew into tiny green buds that turned white.

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The first flower opened 3 or 4 days ago,

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... followed by a few more today.

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The white petals look delicate and dainty.

I hope I will have this carnivorous plant for a long, long time. Venus Flytrap is known to have a long life span, 20 to 30 years.

I planted all my tulip bulbs last November when we were enjoying unusually warm 70-degree days.

When spring rolled around, I could barely remember what I had planted. The Belicia's first appearance was 3 green buds on one flower stem.

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The largest of the three gradually opened up while the green petals turned greenish yellow, then yellow, taking on pink edges.

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That's when I realized that these were Belicia Tulips.

The yellow petals became lighter, almost white, while still maintaining the pink edges as the blooms mature. The flowers are double and are considered to be in the same group as peony tulips.

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It is fascinating to watch the transformation of the colors on each bloom, day by day.

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Belicia tulips, with multiple bouquets of flowers also make terrific cut flowers.

Forget-me-not is a perennial flowering plant, with tiny flowers, three-tenths of an inch at their largest. I have always tried to grow them in my front yard, but have yet to see any this spring.

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A few days ago I picked up 2 new plants. One has pink flowers and the other the usual blue.

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Pink forget-me-not is new to me. Pink and blue look beautiful together in an arrangement. I have since found out that they also come in white.

Forget-me-not belongs in the family Boraginaceae and there are about 50 species in this Myosotis genus.

It is a symbol of remembrance for the Nation's war dead in Newfoundland.

Peace Lily is in the Araceae family ( as are Anthurium and Calla Lily) and is not a true lily (Liliaceae). It is popularly grown as an indoor house plant and known for its attractive white flowers and shiny green, elongated leaves.

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Peace Lily plants can be found in different sizes. They tolerate low light and require minimal maintenance. I have had mine for a few months and it still looks healthy.

Spathiphyllum is also useful for cleaning environmental contaminants in the air, including benzene and formaldehyde.

Then about 5 or 6 years ago, I noticed that many fruits remained on the branches and some matured and turned yellow. I have since learned that these are Chinese yellow plums and they are edible.

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They looked so nice on the tree when ripe, and I left them for the birds.

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The tree is now full of blossoms, in peak bloom due to the unexpected heat wave last week. It was such a beautiful sight -- white blossoms against the clear blue sky -- early this morning.

The plum blossom has five petals and triple stamens for each petal. The plum flower has long been a beloved subject in the traditional painting of China.

It is the national flower for the Republic of China. The blossom is a symbol of resilience in the face of adversity.

The plum trees have been cultivated for ornamental planting in gardens throughout East Asia and for cut blossoming branches, used in flower arrangement.

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...in a bright green 4-inch bucket with a clear plastic handle, at a Home Depot. ($5.99) just yesterday. I thought, "This is very attractive and just perfect for St Patrick's Day".

(My shamrock plant from last year is still alive and the purple shamrock, now 5 years old, is still doing well but neither is in bloom at present.)

I have always been fascinated by the endurance and appearance of cactus (flowers, spines, etc.)

One of my two original cacti is thriving, but the globe cactus that never produced any flowers died a year or so ago.

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This is an appropriate time to add another cactus to my house plant collection and I will refer to it as my special 'St. Patrick's Day' cactus.

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I got to enjoy the flowers right away ...

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and there are two more flower stems with young buds yet to open.

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I have learned from this garden forum that a lot of people have experienced difficulty in getting Madagascar jasmine to flower.

Madagascar jasmine requires bright indirect lighting, slightly humid environment, moderately moist soil, 60 - 85 degrees and a cooler winter dormancy period for optimal flower production.

Blooming time is supposed to be spring and summer. I hope mine will have a prolonged blooming period.

Madagascar jasmine is also known as bridal wreath, the Hawaiian wedding flower and wax flower. It belongs in the Floribunda species, Stephanotis genus and Apocynaceae family.

In the meaning of flowers, jasmine symbolizes amiability, cheerfulness, grace, elegance in the Victorian Britain era and used as a compliment to shyness and modesty.

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I particularly enjoyed looking at the horticulture arrangements sponsored by garden clubs, as I did last year.

The show's theme this year is "Through the eye of a child."

These are some of my favorite pieces : -

2.25.12 - A Mystic creature

2.25.12 - A fairy's house

I also picked up a few plants including a pregnant onion to replace the one I purchased 2 years ago. (It died last year.)

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The show runs through Sunday.

Google Images

Winter sowing: Gardeners' photos of the method. All sorts of recycled containers become greenhouses.

Yesterday we were coatless near 60 degrees, today it is snowing, tomorrow I shall plant seeds.

Every year I buy larkspur seeds too late, and this year I went looking early for how and when to plant them. I ran into an answer of "now" in search results devoted to "wintersowing," which uses natural light and recycled containers to start seeds outdoors. Basically, cut a translucent, clean plastic milk jug in half, leaving a hinge, poke drainage holes in the bottom, fill it with four inches of potting mix and plant and water your seeds. Tape it back up, throw away the cap and put it outside in dappled shade where the seedlings won't bake on warm days.

Your little greenhouse protects the seeds from wind and critters and snow, the small opening allows ventilation and some watering, and the seeds come up when they're ready. You can use all sorts of containers -- I'm trying a large rectangular plastic box that held baby spinach in the market. I'll make slits in the lids and expand them till the seedlings harden off. I also have a stash of large plastic cups I could cover with plastic wrap I'd then slit. (There's a lot of out-of-the-box thinking in this method: I love using tomato cages to make a "hoop house'' on top of seeded boxes.)

It took me a while to understand that wintersowing is a method, not a calendar. You can wintersow in May, although the "season" starts Dec. 21. (But many dedicated wintersowers still start tomato seeds indoors to get larger plants earlier.)

Ironically, larkspur don't like their roots disturbed, and wintersowers suggest planting them directly in the ground. But I'm going to plant broccoli and beets, spinach and lettuce to start. Maybe more, seeds I didn't get to last year.

I'm a newbie to this, and it's still theoretical. But growing plants outdoors from the start sounds like a natural plan.

If you want to experiment, here's the place to start: How to Winter Sow Seeds Outdoors at wintersown.org. There's an enormous amount of information here -- an excellent FAQ, photo galleries and links to lists of suitable seeds for wintersowing in our gardening zone (most of Rhode Island is in zone 6, Newport and the South County coast are in 7a) on the homepage.

The Winter Sowing forum at GardenWeb is full of enthusiasts, and you can browse or search without joining. If you want to ask a question, getting a password is free. This Winter Sowing Newbie... thread has great photos of the process.

We'll see how it goes.

In previous years, crocuses did not appear until early to mid-March.

Today I spotted the first crocus in bloom in my sunny front yard ...

... then the second one.

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By the time I finished photographing the first two; I had seen two more.

Spring doesn't arrive until March 20; but according to the crocus, spring has arrived!

I have always been fascinated by Venus flytraps whenever I saw them at various botanical gardens; but never thought I could cultivate any.

I took a chance and placed the order. The tiny plant in a 2-inch container arrived in good condition in the rainy week in January, allowing me to use rainwater to start the process. I have since used distilled water.

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Tap water is not to be used due to dissolved solids in it such as sodium, calcium, alkaline salts, sulfur, chlorine and magnesium, which could kill the plant.

The plant has grown considerably.

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I am learning not only about how to care for this carnivorous plant;

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but also about the opening/closing of the traps and how the digestive mechanism works. ( see The Mysterious Venus flytrap ) I haven't fed them -- there seem to be some insects around making their ways to the plant.

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Venus Flytrap belongs in the genus Dionaea and Droseraceae family.

Spring is still five weeks away! My perennial Daffodils usually do not appear until April.

The miniature daffodils (at $2.50 each) in very small containers, have been blooming inside my house for about three weeks. They look like all other daffodils, except the flowers and leaves are much smaller.

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The plants have grown much taller since first acquired and there are only few blooms left on the plants.

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Daffodil is not the flower for Valentine's Day, but I'll welcome the cheerfulness of bright yellow any day!

Miniature Daffodils belong in the genus Narcissus and the Amaryllidaceae family.

Pink variegated-leaf African Violet was totally new to me. I had not known anything about this hybrid until I found it on sale, in a 4 inch container, at nearby nursery last summer.

This particular plant had pink-edged, predominantly dark-green leaves, with a few opened flowers that are long gone.

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New, smaller leaves, almost covered in pink, appeared a few weeks ago after months of regular watering and fertilizing. The leaves have taken on more green as they've become larger. Two tiny, short flower stalks have also appeared and are yet to open.

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I have just learned that "this variegated pigmentation is due to a recessive mutation in the plant's cytoplasm"; hence less chlorophyll is created (according to this page on African violet types. ).

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This unique, eye-catching, pink/green foliage should remain beautiful even after all the flowers are opened and gone.

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