October: Indoor Plants and Flower Arranging

Sarah Bell gave us some great tips about how to incorporate fresh plants in our homes. There are many, many health benefits to live indoor plants and she had some great handouts with easy-to-care-for plants. Some of her favorites are Peace Lilies, Spider Plants and Boston Ferns.

Low Light Conditions:

With the exception of the Peace lily, all of these examples of low light plants commonly bear no flowers and are grown for their foliage.
• Cast Iron Plant
• Chinese Evergreen
• Corn Plant
• Striped Dracena
• Baby Rubber Plant
• Bird's Nest Fern
• Heartleaf Philodendron
• Swedish Ivy
• Peace Lily
• Snake Plant
• Maidenhair Fern
• Bamboo Palm

Indirect or Medium Light Conditions:

• Asparagus Fern
• Rex Begonia
• Cattleya Orchids
• Spider Plant
• African Violets
• Fuchsia
• Streptocarpus
• Pocketbook Plant
• Gloxinia
• Cyclamen
• Norfolk Island Pine
• Pothos
• Dwarf Schefflera

Direct Light Conditions:

• Cacti and other succulents (water-storing plants)
• Urn Plant
• Gardenia
• Geranium
• Amaryllis
• Christmas Cactus
• Chrysanthemum
• Lilies
• Kalanchoe
• Jerusalem Cherry
• Hibiscus
• Arabian Violet
• Croton
• Bird-of-Paradise
• Sago Palm



Tisha Ashwood then led a great flower-arranging class where we all got to try our hand at our own small arrangement.
Some of Tisha's tips:
- Make sure to strip an low-lying leaves from your stems. If they sit in water they will rot.
- Place the flowers so there is a visible "triangle" from each side of your arrangement
- Use Flower foam (found at craft supply stores or Walmart) and soak it in water beforehand
- Two favorite products: Chrysal Leafshine and Dynamite fertilizer