Grow Something Interesting for Once!!!

Many people across the world have Gardens; They grow the world's variety of plants, some for sustenance, some for beauty, and some for intoxication. These plants form the basis of our cultures and have influenced humans in many different ways since the beginning of time! In this post I plan to comb over some of the plants that Westerners probably don't have kicking around their garden, along with some of the plants I am growing and others that are just downright bizarre or interesting.

It's easy to plant a plant in a hanging basket, and it's
low maintenance, hang it in your condo, or on the patio.

So, where to begin? I must first say that if you are the type of person who feels they do not have time for gardening or that you lack interest in it, I can assure you there is a plant that you would enjoy and ultimately benefit from growing; For example, everyone loves strawberries!

In my case I enjoy growing far out, radical looking plants like the Drosera, an Avocado, or other neat-o stuff like that.  Lets dive in, shall we?

Oh, ya. One more thing I would like to point out is that you should never feel as though you are "cut-off" from some types of plants because of where you live. In most cases, you can provide for any kind of plant in any kind of climate. For instance I have a Mango tree, as well as a Calamondin Orange, and live in Ontario, Canada. I have also seen Common Fig trees (the fruiting kind) grown outdoors and wrapped in the winter, here in Canada.

The Calamondin Orange Undoubtedly the best indoor/patio citrus plant you could own, the Calamondin Orange is native to asia and Can be grown in tough climate, adapting well. It fruits prolifically throughout the year all the way into winter.
My Calamondin is still trying to bloom and it is nearly October 1st in Canada! Although, Hilariously the oranges are the diameter of a nickel but whatever, it is very neat as is. I would strongly recommend getting your hands on one of these little guys, they are nothing like oranges you can buy, they are more like lemons, possibly even more acidic; Use them as garnish, in salads, or anywhere lemons can be substituted, you can even freeze them and use them as ice cubes (this is great for wine as it doesn't water down your wine and can leave a little citrus note in there for ya. The most neat-o thing about it is that it only takes about two years from seed to start fruiting, cool huh?

Kalanchoe pinnata (The Miracle Leaf)

The Miracle Leaf plant is a pretty awesome plant. It has been coined the Miracle Leaf because of the miniature plantlets that come out of the leaves. Some other names for it are; the Resurrection Plant, the Air Plant, and Cathedral Bells. I have owned mine for about 3 years now, I got it at a neighbors during the winter and rooted it in a window sill. I have yet to see the "Cathedral Bells" as it hasn't been given the right conditions, and I hardly ever fertilize my plants. It also died back last year but is thriving now, hurray! This Plant is an awesome addition to your indoor plant cache, simply because guest can rip a leaf of and root their own Miracle Leaf with ease. It's also great for kids! Like growing a bean plant or something, except you can expect to have your automagic buddy for years to come!

 Funny story... I've moved it around quite a lot this year and it is rather bushy, it loses leaves here and there and now I have little Kamakatakas running around all over the place! oh yeah, Kamakataka is another name for the Air Plant in the Philippines.


I also forgot to mention it has wild and crazy uses, everything from treating rheumatoid arthritis, bruises, burns, to being a sedative and a muscle relaxant. Pretty cool huh? Click the Kamakataka links above for more info on the uses and properties of this miraculous plant! Onward!