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Friday, December 16, 2011

Plant table pretty

My indoor plant table where I overwinter way too much stuff is mainly functional. I think of it like a greenhouse, sort of a production facility. A jumble of pots, different plants, indoor gardening tools, pest control products, dead mantis carcasses, spilled seeds, dried leaves that have dropped or been cut -- basically, it's not pretty.


But I realized this morning that when you look at it the right way, there is quite a bit of beauty to be found here.


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As I've said before, this is what keeps me going over the winter.


It wasn't my intent when I started this post, but it ended up being a nice post about foliage (mainly). For many more blogger takes on foliage today, visit Pam's blog Digging.


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12 comments:

  1. Pam/DiggingDecember 16, 2011 at 9:00 AM

    Looking that closely, these leaves become abstract works of art. They are quite beautiful. Thanks for sharing them for Foliage Follow-Up!

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  2. scottweberpdxDecember 16, 2011 at 10:20 AM

    Beautiful...what are the pink-tinged, ribbed leaves...those are amazing!

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  3. AlanDecember 16, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    Scott: the vertical ones? They're on my plumeria which has been trying to wake up for a couple of months now. Unless you mean the second photo of this post -- that's a begonia of some kind... the reverse side of the leaf in the first image I think.

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  4. Gerhard Bock (Succulents and More)December 16, 2011 at 10:41 AM

    Alan, great photos! You could even turn this into a "name that plant" game!

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  5. AlanDecember 16, 2011 at 1:28 PM

    Gerhard: Thanks, and give it a try. How many can YOU name? (Hint: all of these except maybe one have been featured in this blog, many of them in the last couple of weeks.)

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  6. Gerhard Bock (Succulents and More)December 16, 2011 at 2:43 PM

    Alan, I guess I asked for it, didn't I? Let's see...

    1: Angel wing begonia
    4: Tower of jewels
    5: Elephant bush
    7+9: Plumeria
    8: Elephant ear
    7: Miniature rush from yesterday's post
    Last one: Papyrus

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  7. AlanDecember 16, 2011 at 3:08 PM

    Pretty good, although the numbering got mixed up at the end there. I assume you meant "10:elephant ear" and "11:miniature rush", although "elephant ear" is sort of a generic answer -- you couldn't narrow it down any more than that?

    Also, how did you know it was an elephant bush and not a jade plant? Don't they look quite similar?

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  8. AndreaDecember 17, 2011 at 1:20 AM

    Taken in isolation they are really works of art. I can relate fully with you, when the overall picture is not very good looking, get the macro shots, and they will be very beautiful. Relatedly, can't get wide angle photos of our garden!

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  9. Christine @ The Gardening BlogDecember 17, 2011 at 9:11 AM

    It all looks very pretty to me! I find my "indoor" gardening 'experiments' always get messy. But worth it once you get to put them into their garden slot.

    Love the Angel wing begonia leaf ... starting to like my begonias now.

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  10. Christine @ The Gardening BlogDecember 17, 2011 at 9:14 AM

    Just googled "tower of jewels' and found Gerhards blog post with photos - what a stunning plant that is!! Have you grown it to the large size or is this a start for you?

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  11. AlanDecember 17, 2011 at 11:39 AM

    Christine: they're just seedlings. I got seeds from Gerhard after his flowered, and started some right away. Not sure if it's possible to get a flower the first year, but I'm going to try.

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  12. Gerhard Bock (Succulents and More)December 17, 2011 at 11:09 PM

    Alan, oops, I guess I lost track there. OK, I'm going to venture a guess re elephant ear. Alocasia sanderiana or hybrid such as 'Amazonica'. Probably wrong, because it's a very tropical plant that doesn't tolerate any cold.

    Elephant bush (Portulacaria afra) has significantly smaller leaves than a regular jade plant. What you have looks to be the all-green species, not the 'Variegata'. Beautiful plant.

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