It happens every year at about this time. A bunch of plastic pots of dirt start creeping up the stairs from their dark winter home in the basement and taking over every square inch of counter space in my kitchen.
It's begonia take over time. I love all kinds of begonias but B. boliviensis and tuberous begonias are my favorites. Although in a mild year, if they don't get too wet, they may return for a second year if planted in the ground. Our springs are a little too cold to get them going very early so even if they make it through the winter, they won't have time to bloom in subsequent years.
So, I grow them in plastic pots, some of which get dug into the ground for the summer while others get plopped inside decorative ceramic pots. They are such agreeable plants that all I have to do in the fall is cut them back, throw them in the cool dark basement and wait to see signs of new growth in late winter.
We have a small kitchen with little counter space. Thank goodness I've an understanding partner who tolerates the one square foot of counter space we have available for a couple months a year. For me, it's worth this sacrifice to have begonias like
these from June to November.
For the time being we've been taken over by begonias and there are many more in the basement waiting to come up. The pot stacking gets somewhat comical as time progresses. Maybe it's time to think of buying a grow light for the basement. Nah. What would we do with counter space anyway?
Do you have plants taking over your house this spring? (Yea! Spring!)
This is cute Outlaw .. I don't do it but I admire other gardeners that have the patience to put the effort and "space" in. I try every year to cut down on pots to make it easier on myself and husband when the drought and heat makes summer such hell.
ReplyDeleteThe fewer the pots the lesser the stress about trying to water them ? I'm sure there is an actual physics equation for that problem ? LOL
Looks like you have some nice greenery to appreciate though !
Joy in the white north still !
Dear Joy in the Great White North, I'm sorry about that pesky snow but spring will win out soon! Let's see, the winters are cold and long and the summers have been described as hellish. Sounds like paradise for masochists.:) I hope that spring and fall are enjoyable.
DeleteA bright, well lit kitchen can be a perfect place to acclimatise plants. A gardener's house will always have plants all over, not just the kitchen :)
ReplyDeleteThe kitchen is the brightest downstairs room that isn't full of stuff that would have to be moved to make space for tables or shelves of plants. There is an extremely bright upstairs room that is full of agaves, trevesia palmata, solanum quitoense, coleus, and friends that I've tried to keep alive during the winter. Between my interests, there are stacks of music, potting soil, and shards of glass all over the house. It's not a pretty sight.
DeleteI bring my favourite geraniums in over the winter and like you, when they either look ugly or start to crowd us out I wonder why I bother. But now, when they start to grow and flower indoors it all seems worth it.
ReplyDeleteI sneak a few geraniums inside for the winter too. I adore the smell of the cut stems or bruised leaves.
DeletePeter, your begonias are big enough! You store them in basement, Do you get them out of a pot or store in a pot? This winter I decided to store my begonias in their pots and I'm glad--all wintered well. Have a nice weekend!
ReplyDeleteI've stored them in the pots for several years now. It's much easier than having to repot each year. You have a wonderful weekend too Nadezda!
DeleteFunny I'm posting about plants in the kitchen tomorrow! We are both lucky to have understanding partners. Mine threatens when poked by an agave but has yet to act on those threats.
ReplyDeleteGreat minds... Tom only gets upset when, making space for the plants, I move things like the knife block to places where he brushes against them and they fall on his feet. Some people...
DeleteThe first time I saw Begonia boliviensis was at the Seattle Fling, in one of the private gardens. It's a really beautiful plant. I finally ordered one recently, but it hasn't arrived yet. I've tried overwintering Begonias in the past, but they haven't done well. Wish me luck.
ReplyDeleteYou must be ruthless, either let a frost cut them back or do it yourself, throw them (pot and all or you can dig and store the tubers) in a cool but not freezing place and don't give them any water until you see the little eyes start poking out of the soil or tuber. They don't seem to like to grow all year as houseplants.
DeleteI am afraid I do this to both my apartment and my parents' house every winter, not just for a few weeks in spring. The tuberous begonias in the kitchen make me think of my grandmother in Germany, though, who has been growing and multiplying the same red and orange ones for decades and gets them started every spring in large tubs on top of her kitchen cabinets. Once outside temperatures have warmed up enough, they fill her tiny front yard as well as the family plot on the nearby cemetery.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I don't do houseplants but the house is full of stuff from the garden all winter. What a wonderful grandmother you have and a sweet begonia tradition!
DeleteWhy the kitchen counter and not, say the diningroom table? This from someone who can't even stand a toaster on the kitchen counter :). I have some shelves with grow lights upstairs in the guest room for a few plants I bring in that do not go dormant. A few of the Agaves are in sunny windows. The only dormant plants I keep in the basement are a few Colocasias, Alocasias and a Brugmansia and /or Ensete (although I managed to kill me Ensete last spring and did not replace it). They go from the basement right to the patio in late April/ early May.
ReplyDeleteThe dining room isn't light enough. I'm doing brugmansias in the basement and in the cool glass room this year to see if it makes any difference in bloom times. Last year they cycled nicely so that there was always one in bloom. I'm wondering how long we'll be interested in carting Ensente, brugs, etc. up and down stairs twice a year.
DeleteHahahaha...well, I guess that's at least one thing Norm doesn't have to put up with at our house...I'll make sure to point that out to him next time he grumbles about something else garden-related!
ReplyDeleteNorm grumbles about garden related things? He should be thankful that he has his own personal gardener who creates such gorgeous outdoor spaces.
DeleteOMG, your so lucky they're only in the kitchen! My husband has them crowding us out everywhere! He will never, ever, throw away a plant, and the annuals and tropicals I buy for the patio always end up in the house. And they survive! And even bloom! Aaaggghhhh! (Good thing I like plants, too...)
ReplyDeleteWhat would you do with all that empty space anyway? Furniture is soooo overrated!
DeleteI am definitely experiencing a plant takeover! What exacerbates the issue is that I won't put anything in the ground because I despise our landlord, so I end up growing some ridiculous things inside and in pots - dracunculus, an apple tree, hellebores. I have a sunroom that doesn't actually get any sun so I did install a giant grow light. Have you thought about a baker's rack, perchance? You know what they say - when you run out of space, you've got to go vertical!
ReplyDeleteI hope that the dracunculus is outside and in a pot! Every time I see Loree's set up in her basement on her blog, I think of racks and lights but then another summer comes and my money mysteriously gets spent on plants. Hey, my birthday is in the late summer, maybe I'll ask for those things. Thanks for the great idea!
DeleteI've never grown begonias - but I've never thought to put them in pots to overwinter in the garage! Great idea! I don't have much inside, but my garage is so full, I can't park my car inside of it. I just move tables of plants in and out daily.
ReplyDelete