Mood Boosters. Indoor Gardening Can Ward Off the Winter Blues.
Monday October 8, 2007
Summer vacation is over for most of our houseplants. Moving back indoors means a change in light, temperature and humidity. And there's no escape from white flies, fungus gnats, mealy bugs and whatever else hitched a ride inside. Landscaping's David Beaulieu can help you keep your house bound plants happy with Interiorscaping: Ideas for Gardening Indoors. And as he explains, if your plants are happy, you'll be healthier. It's a win-win.
Photo: © Marie Iannotti (2007) licensed to About.com, Inc.
Comments
Marie,I read your article on Mood Boosters. This easy and memorable indoor year round gardening activity will ad a smile to your readers face.
=====================================================================================
Ever Grow The Plant That MOVES When You Tickle It?
Now you and your family or students can grow their own TickleMe Plants™! I have been growing TickleMe Plants™ with my sixth grade students and family for over 30 years. Imagine the amazement of your students when their living TickleMe Plant™ closes its leaves and lowers its branches as they tickle it.
Materials:
• TickleMe Plant™ Seeds
• Flower pot or cup with hole on the bottom
• Soil
Directions:
1. The day before you plant your seeds, soak them in warm water overnight.
2. Fill a flower pot or cup ľ of the way with soil.
3. Plant three to five seeds by covering them with 1/8 inch of soil.
4. Water your seeds gently.
5. Place your newly planted seeds in a room that receives bright light or sunlight for part of the day.
6. Temperatures in the room should be above 70 degrees.
7. Water before the soil dries out.
8. That’s it! Your plants will begin to grow in less than a week.
The first two leaves will not be ticklish. In about three weeks, the second set of TickleMe Plant™ leaves will appear and they will move when you tickle them. TickleMe Plants™ are best grown as house plants and can even be placed in a bright location outside during the warmer months. They are frost sensitive, so be sure to bring them inside before the cold weather arrives. The sensitive plant seeds of the TickleMe Plant grow to produce beautiful pink cotton puff ball flowers.
TickleMe Plants™ can live for a year or more and grow to about one foot plus in height.
Native to Brazil, TickleMe Plants can be found growing wild there and in other tropical areas. The scientific name for the TickleMe Plant™ is Mimosa pudica. It also has been called shy grass, sensitive plant and other names throughout the world.
To learn about the natural history of the TickleMe Plant™ go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_plant
Don’t be surprised if you find yourself and your children developing a greater sensitivity to plants. When my students first tickle their plants, they often scream “It’s ALIVE!”
Even students that are sometimes hard to motivate, can’t wait to take home their pet TickleMe Plant™ to show off to their friends and family. I grew my first TickleMe Plant™ when I was 9 years old and I never looked at plants in the same way again, nor have I ever forgotten the experience. Neither will you!
To learn more about growing TickleMe Plants™ or to order seeds go to www.TickleMePlant.com
TickleMe Plant seeds can be found at the Boston, Chicago and Liberty Science Museum gift shops as well as online, in science catalogs, botanical gardens and in toy and gift stores.
Mark Chipkin is a middle school Science Teacher and an Educational Project Director for the TickleMe Plant™ Company. He has sent hundreds of students home with their own Pet TickleMe Plants™. Mark welcomes any questions. Email him at ticklemeplants@aol.com