"Green Colleges": An Online Directory

Students looking to apply to college this year have a new online tool to help them in their search. A free directory of environmental information at nearly 2,000 U.S. colleges and universities is now available at www.ourearth.org.

The directory, which is the first of its kind, provides listings of environmental degree programs as well as environmental opportunities and organizations at campuses around the country.

“This is a unique resource that enables students who have an interest in protecting the environment to discover environmental degrees and programs that they might not even know existed,” says Our Earth founder, John Ullman, who is pursuing concurrent masters degrees at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Fuqua School of Business. “Equally as powerful, it enables students to view videos, share ideas, and learn about successful initiatives at other colleges which they can then bring to their own campuses.”

The directory was created by student volunteers at 40 campuses nationwide, including undergraduate and graduate students at Duke. It offers extensive information on undergraduate, masters and PhD degree programs at nearly 2,000 colleges and universities. Fields of study span a wide range of environmental disciplines. The directory also includes links to campus carbon inventories and recycling opportunities, environmentally focused student clubs and organizations, and environmental opportunities in the local community.

Bill Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School, says, "Our Earth has provided a valuable resource. There has been such an explosion of environmental programs recently that it’s become almost impossible to keep up. As a faculty member needing to advise students on opportunities around the country, I'll be visiting Our Earth’s Web site on a regular basis."

OurEarth.org is a nonprofit organization, Web site and grassroots initiative founded in 2006 by Ullman and classmates of his when he was an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University. “Our goal is to transform the way the public finds environmental information,” he says. “The new directory is the first of a series of innovative environmental tools we’re developing.”

The way in which the directory was created is as novel as the directory itself, he adds. “Our Earth’s coalition of student volunteers, its strong academic roots and extensive connections in the environmental community are key to its success. College students and university faculty members are always involved in its projects, and its efforts are supported by dozens of other environmental leaders from around the country.”

Roots (and Tubers) of the Thanksgiving Tradition

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, a holiday full of swirling memories and preparations, like so many colorful autumn leaves. It’s a celebration of family and food and delightful traditions. And it can be a reminder that our traditions are actually anything but traditional.

I was rather young when I first learned that my family’s traditional Thanksgiving dinner was not the universal norm. We dined on turkey and stuffing, potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. Normal enough. However, elsewhere in the colonies, specifically Brooklyn, our Italian neighbors celebrated with their traditional Thanksgiving lasagna and antipasto platter.

Later, my wife and in-laws introduced me to the traditional Baltimore side dish of sauerkraut. Curiously, the denizens of Charm City have somehow failed to draw the logical connection between sauerkraut and hot dogs at ball games, but that’s another story.

For the most part, we imagine Thanksgiving as a timeless tableau, a generous feast first celebrated by grateful Pilgrims and kind-spirited Native Americans at the Plymouth Colony in 1641. And we generally envision an assortment of foods similar to our “traditional” Thursday spread, sauerkraut notwithstanding.

Alas, we are savoring more of myth than reality. The first Thanksgiving observance actually took place in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1578, almost 50 years before Plymouth. And when the Separatists of Plymouth finally did celebrate their “First Thanksgiving,” it was more likely held near the end of July a couple years later.

Don’t worry, however, there was undoubtedly a harvest celebration in 1621, and we can always trace our tradition to that event. But don’t expect any mashed potatoes or cranberry sauce.
Written accounts from the period indicate that such feasts included venison, mussels, cod, and herring. What, no turkey? It is possible that wild turkey (the game bird, not the bourbon) was served, although duck, goose and crane were more likely.

Bad news concerning sweet potatoes: Christopher Columbus may have brought the colorful tuber back to Europe in the late 15th century, but in 1621 no one in New England was enjoying baked sweet potatoes drizzled with maple syrup. Likewise for potatoes, the world’s favorite root crop. Boiled, baked, or mashed, the noble spud would not appear on New World tables for another 100 years or more. Fortunately, Native Americans had introduced the settlers to pumpkins and to numerous varieties of squash.

And while cranberry sauce may not have been available, as sugar was not to be had, the Native Americans would have had cranberries on hand. In fact, they often mixed the berries into their traditional travel food, pemmican, sort of a cross between beef jerky and granola bars. Moreover, it has been suggested that Indians may have taught the colonists to tame the tartness of the berry by boiling it along with maple syrup, which may have been the inspiration for cranberry sauce itself.

The colorful cranberry has almost as important a role in American agriculture as it does on the dinner table. Cranberry, along with the Concord grape and the blueberry, is one of the few native fruits commercially grown.

The plant’s name is traced to Crane-berry in the early 17th century, either because cranes were noted gobbling their way through the cranberry bogs, or, more colorfully, because the vine’s discrete pink flowers in spring resemble the head and bill of a Sandhill crane, or the scarlet lores (patch) above the crane’s eye.

Today, while cranberries are grown throughout North America, nearly half the total harvest originates in the bogs of Massachusetts. It seems to be a tradition that lives on.

And while the lowly potato is a relative newcomer to our traditional feast, its journey to our table was as difficult and tenuous as airport, train, and highway traffic the night before Thanksgiving.

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) were brought back to the “Old Country” some 50 years after Columbus made landfall. Like the tomato, it is another South and Central American member of the Solanacaea or deadly “Nightshade” family. And, like the tomato, potatoes were considered to contain aphrodisiac properties, on the one hand, or cause leprosy -- which was also associated with unbridled carnal activity. There are varied accounts of potatoes returning to the new world in the Virginia colonies as early as the 1630s, or to New England via Irish immigrants in the early 18th century.

More recently, in developed countries, 99 percent of all root crop production is in potatoes. And why not? They are famously high in fiber, carbohydrates, and protein, as well as vitamins B and C, and essential minerals such as magnesium, zinc, iron, and copper.

For the most part, they are relatively easy to grow, with hundreds of cultivars available, perfect for raised beds or even containers and tubs. For the adventurous gardener, russet or white potatoes might be all well and good, but what about the dazzling array of heirloom varieties, ranging from ‘Yellow Finn’ and ‘German Yellow,’ to red-skinned ‘Pontiac’ and ‘Red Norland,’ or even ‘All Blue’ and ‘Purple Peruvian?’ After all, what could be more traditional than old-fashioned heirloom varieties?

Sweet potatoes introduce another tradition: the annual confusion between sweet potatoes and yams. For the record, the so-called “true yams” (Dioscorea spp.) are actually of West African or Asian origin, and they are dry, white, and quite starchy – unlike the sweeter, delectable flesh of sweet potatoes with their deep yellow or reddish-orange tubers.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatus) is related to bindweed or morning glory, as its fast-growing vines will attest, and originated in Central or South America, possibly Brazil, Peru, or Equador.

There are generally two types of sweet potato, a dry-fleshed variety with white flesh, best grown in colder climates (and far too yam-like for comfort), and the moist-flesh or southern variety with which we’re happily familiar. Interestingly, the majority of sweet potatoes are grown in China, while it’s the second most important crop in Japan, where it is used to produce starch, wine, and alcohol. At home, nearly 30 percent of the sweet potatoes grown in the U.S. are cultivated in North Carolina, which also goes a long way to explain the South’s fondness for sweet potato, rather than pumpkin, pie.

Sweet potatoes can be rather versatile in the home garden. They can be cultivated normally, like potatoes, or even used as either an attractive ground cover, or interspersed in hanging baskets with trailing flowers. No promises, but the vines also infrequently produce pink flowers. In addition, by way of warning, I once surprised myself to find about two pounds of tubers growing in a hanging basket one fall season. I had only planted the vines to provide a light green contrast to other, darker foliage, little expecting a side dish.

You can start your sweet potato plantation by simply buying “slips” from local nurseries and garden centers, or through catalogs, for more unusual cultivars. About 25 slips will suffice for a family of four. You can also propagate your own from tubers which you or a neighbor have successfully overwintered from the garden. Don’t try to use store-bought tubers, as they are frequently treated with a compound precisely to prevent sprouting. Set your sweet potato in a glass of water, with one-third submerged. When the young sprouts are about six inches long pull them off (don’t cut them) and set them in water or moist sand until a dense mat of roots are formed. You can transplant them outdoors a few weeks after the last threat of frost. And, by the way, sprouting sweet potatoes is great fun for younger children. Many a school windowsill is covered with vines every spring.

For home composting devotees, note that sweet potatoes can be easily grown in a modest-sized bin filled with shredded leaves from the previous autumn. Be sure to keep the leaf mold moist for the first several weeks while roots are developing. By the following fall, your leaves will have mostly decomposed into a wonderful mulch, and your tubers will have grown freely and exuberantly in their fluffy medium.

Overall, sweet potato vines can grow up to four feet or more, although there are several cultivars with compact growth habits and shorter vines, which are ideally suited for barrels or patio containers, including ‘Bunch Porto Rico’ and ‘Vardaman.’

Other popular standard varieties include ‘Allgold’, ‘Heart-o-gold,’ ‘Nancy Hall,’ ‘Centennial,’ high-yielding ‘Beauregard,’ ‘Jewel,’ ‘Yellow Jersey,’ and ‘Southern Delight.’

And while sweet potatoes are an important part of our Thanksgiving tradition, they are gaining even more status as an important source of nutrition, with fiber, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium, antioxidants, and beta carotene. In fact, one sweet potato provides half the recommended daily allowance of beta carotene. It’s everything you need for a happy – and healthy – holiday. Just watch out for those tiny marshmallows!

Copyright 2009, Joseph M. Keyser

Good Scents for Better Indoor Living

Tired of our artificially-scented and perfumed world, bubbling with pots of potpourri and plug-in air fresheners? A more natural choice to add aroma to our homes and offices can be found in an amazing assortment of plants which are as beautiful in bloom as they are richly laden with extraordinary fragrance.

The most popular fragrant plants for the gloomy days of winter are usually spring-flowering bulbs or corms, which are easily forced into bloom, sometimes within weeks of planting. Favorites include sweet-scented paperwhite narcissus, which can be grown in soil-less media like sphagnum moss, attractive pebbles, or even glass marbles. These and similar species can be stylishly arranged in exotic Asian cache pots, shiny copper trays, or homespun wooden baskets.

Paperwhites, despite their name, can also be purchased through catalogs offering single or double white petals framing a central cup of lemon yellow, gold, and orange, and providing varied intensities of aroma.

An undisputed champion of fragrance is freesia, another bulb, which blends the warm sweetness of paperwhites with a spicy citrus-like aroma. Freesia’s characteristic scent is so popular that it has unfortunately become one of the most overused fragrances in candles, sachets, bath soaps, lotions, and related personal care products. These synthetic versions are often cloyingly sweet and fail to capture the delicate nature of the flower itself. And while the traditional tubular flowers are a pale yellow, it is also possible to find plants with purple, pink, white, red, lavender, and orange blooms, as well as dwarf varieties, which can be grown without staking.

Hyacinths are undoubtedly one of the showiest and most pungent of indoor bulbs. While frequently associated with outdoor planting beds, mixed in with narcissus and tulips, hyacinths are readily grown in either containers or aptly named "hyacinth glasses" and can be found in shades ranging from deep to light blue, red, pink, gold, light yellow, and pure white. Typically, the largest mass of bloom is found in the exhibition Dutch hyacinths, which are more suited for forcing in a glass. French Roman varieties are best planted in a light soil medium and often produce several stalks of closely packed star-like flowers.

Incidentally, the notion of forcing bulbs in glass containers has become increasingly popular, perhaps even trendy, with paperwhites, where special “forcing vases” filled with some pebbles and water help focus more attention on the plant and its dainty blooms than on the container.

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria maialis) is one of the most sweetly scented plants available. It is not actually grown from bulbs but from rhizomes called “pips,” which can be set either into a soil medium or grown in pebbles and water like paperwhites. Its familiar aroma is rather much the mainstay of the soap and toiletries industry, although there is a more pleasant association in older legends in which the gentle fragrance is said to attract nightingales. Like hyacinths, rooted Lily of the Valley pips can be readily transplanted to the outdoor garden in spring after their blooms have faded.

Beyond the world of bulbs and pips, there are a great many traditional and unusual plants which can add color and fragrance to tabletops and sunny windowsills. One of the most common is the gardenia, which dramatically balances it bright, creamy blossoms against dark, glossy foliage. There are some 200 species of gardenia, but the most readily found is the common gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides), which grows as an evergreen shrub in southern latitudes, although gardeners in our area must maintain it as a potted specimen. While in bloom, a single plant can send its sweet odor through an entire house. However, the plant is rather sensitive to changes in humidity, temperature, soil moisture, and light, and will readily – and annoyingly – drop its waxy buds and sulk for the remainder of the season.

Another inspired selection is jasmine, a tropical plant which can be grown outdoors during warmer weather, but must be overwintered indoors, where its rich fragrance will fill a room and delight family members and visitors alike. Although there are scores of plants called jasmine, only some of them are true jasmines, belonging to the genus Jasminum, many others are jasmines in name alone, and there are almost as many synonyms for the most popular species as there are species overall. Be sure to order the jasmine you want by botanical name, if purchasing a plant on-line or from a catalog. Otherwise, let your nose be your guide.

Among the most exquisite olfactory candidates are angelwing jasmine (Jasminum nitidum), normally a 20 foot tall shrub with strongly scented pinwheel-shaped blooms, easily kept under control in pots or planters through regular pruning. Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac) is one of the most frequently sold species, and is the plant used in Asia and the South Seas to flavor tea. With proper care, this variety will bloom time and time again, gracing both indoor and patio spaces. Note that there are numerous cultivars of Arabian jasmine which can provide either simple, five-petalled starlike and glistening blooms, like “Maid of Orleans” or large, showy two-inch blossoms resembling small white roses, such as “Grand Duke of Tuscany.”

Another outstanding selection is pink or winter jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum), a twining subtropical vine with a soft fragrance, not as pungent as the Arabian or angelwing varieties, but noticeable and appealing. Flowers begin with pink-hued buds which open into small white flowers. The vining habit makes the plant a perfect choice for training on hoops or small trellises.

One of the most interesting non-jasmines is night jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum), also commonly called “Night Queen” or “Queen of the Night” in India. This fast growing evergreen shrub is actually native to the West Indies, and is widely, if not wildly, popular in many tropical regions. Night jasmine produces countless masses of light greenish-white or greenish-yellow flowers several times a year, which open only at night. The intoxicating fragrance from even a small, five-foot container grown specimen can reach for many hundreds of yards. Some Cestrum aficionados actually bring their plant indoors during summer evenings to fill their home with an aroma which seems to last throughout the day.

Madagascar jasmine (Stephanotis floribunda) is another popular non-jasmine. This familiar tropical vine is also commonly referred to as "Bridal Veil Vine" or "Wedding Plant," as the clusters of sweetly aromatic blossoms are frequently used by florists in wedding arrangements and bouquets. At home, Stephanotis can be grown in a pot with a trellis or other support, or trained as a hanging basket with frequent pruning. Those cuttings, preferably four-inch tip sections, can be readily propagated by sticking them into a moist rooting medium.

Naturally, there are fragrant plants which do not even pretend to be jasmines. Two of the most spectacular are fragrant Bouvardia, a Mexican plant which grows well in containers and provides clusters of aromatic white flowers in tight racemes, much favored in cut floral arrangements. Another is ylang ylang (Cananga odorata), an Indonesian native with greenish-yellow petals appearing in large clusters. The name means “flower of flowers,” and those allegedly seductive flowers are credited with everything from inducing hypnotic and euphoric states, to being a potent aphrodisiac. Most commonly this plant is known for the essential oil derived from the blossoms.

Finally, not all fragrant plants have to actively broadcast their scent. For example, scented geraniums (Pelargonium species) are easily grown indoors on windowsills and offer an unmatched array of botanical and culinary aromas and flavors, from rose and lime, to pineapple, ginger and nutmeg. The fragrance is easily released by lightly brushing against the foliage. Leaves can be used to flavor jellies, sugars, potpourris, and sachets.

Rosemary is one of the few culinary herbs which happily grows indoors. Just rubbing against the stiff needles releases an amazing aroma. The plant can be trimmed and grown as a miniature Christmas tree, or trained into other fanciful topiary shapes. You can also let the plant grow haphazardly on a sunny kitchen windowsill, where ends can be snipped-off for use in freshly baked foccacia.

In the end, why bother with spray can room deodorizers and pint-sized potpourri crock pots when you can fill your living space with real fragrances, brilliant blooms, and the quiet joy that living plants can bring?

Copyright 2009, Joseph M. Keyser

Landscaping to Save Energy (Winter Edition)

Homeowners across the colder portions of the country are about to find themselves yet again being uncomfortably squeezed between cold temperatures and increasingly higher natural gas and energy prices. In fact, depending on the size of the home, residents can expect to spend between two to three times as much on basic heating costs, if not more. Not surprisingly, in many a home chilled fingers are turning down the settings on thermostats and caulk guns and insulation kits are eagerly being snatched off retail shelves.

All of which are virtuous actions for indoor energy conservation. But there are some long-term and attractive landscaping solutions which can provide effective winter climate control by deflecting cold winds and drafts, while providing indoor comfort and increasing property values.

It is important to note that for most homes, almost one-third of all heat loss is due to cold winds, either through conduction, with heat simply “carried off” by marauding winds, or through infiltration, with cold drafts entering through and around cracks and improperly sealed windows and doors.

Of course, it is too late for any plantings this weekend to help your current season’s heating bill, but it is not too late to start budgeting and planning, either for the spring or next fall. Some landscaping choices, like foundation plantings, will make a difference almost immediately, while others, like windbreaks, might take a number of years before their full value is realized. But any and all plantings will certainly boost property values and aesthetic quality.

Moreover, your planting scheme need not be massive. While establishing an effective windbreak may take a substantial number of trees, computer modeling by the U.S. Department of Energy has found that just three well-placed trees, including a deciduous tree for shading the southern side of a house, can save the average household 100-250 dollars in annual heating and cooling costs. Overall, combining trees and shrubs can save from ten to 30 percent on winter fuel consumption, depending on how well insulated the home is already.

Foundation plantings are undoubtedly the easiest and most satisfying landscaping elements in your palette. Typically, you are looking to establish a continuous line of evergreens extending along the length of the foundation and around corners, approximately five feet out from the house. This living wall of vegetation will create a dead air space of slow-moving or still air between the shrubs and the house, effectively establishing an insulating layer which will reduce convective heat loss and infiltration.

Never allow the plants to grow much closer to the house than five feet. The dead air space needs to be of sufficient size to work, and the extra distance will help to prevent potential problems with mildew, insect pests, and humidity, which might lead to fungal diseases.

Visually, you will want to select different types of dense evergreens for your planting scheme, with varied heights, shapes, leaf textures and colors. Planting a simple row of junipers, for example, all growing at the same height, is both boring and impractical. Shrubs with different heights provide a more effective wind barrier, while a mixture of foliar colors and forms is more appealing to the eye. Of equal significance, using the same species repeatedly increases the likelihood that a plant disease could spread from one shrub to another, even to the extent of wiping out the entire planting.

Windbreaks are certainly the most effective components in cutting winter heat loss. A mature windbreak, normally comprised of several rows of tall evergreens, can reduce wind velocity by up to 50 percent, and otherwise deflect or channel wind movement away from the house.

Unfortunately, in many urban areas, there may not be sufficient space for a fully developed windbreak, although new housing developments, especially with larger lots, are prime candidates. Also, while planting a single row of evergreens can provide some appreciable windbreak benefits, the textbook windbreak requires two or three rows of trees, planted in an “L” or “U” shape on the north and northwest corners of the home. That can mean a sizable number of trees. Further, starting with cost-effective container-grown stock, it can take up to ten years or more before the trees will begin to pay for themselves, save for their aesthetic and environmental benefits.

However, few of us strive for textbook perfection, anyway. Even an incomplete or immature windbreak can start to deflect some wind movement. Also, while evergreen trees provide the greatest wind reduction, you can incorporate existing deciduous trees, fences, and walls on your property into a windbreak by adding additional evergreen trees and shrubs.

For the truly ambitious, an efficient windbreak should be about as tall as the house itself, and planted at a distance of one to three times the height of the trees away from the house. Where space permits, it is recommended to start the windbreak planting 50 feet beyond each windward corner of the house. The greatest impact of the windbreak will be on an area within approximately five times the height of the trees, although wind velocities are reduced for a distance up to ten times the height of the windbreak.

Depending on the mature diameter of the selected trees, space each evergreen between six and eight feet apart. If you can plant multiple rows, for maximum impact, stagger each of the trees in alternate rows, spacing each row 12-20 feet apart.

As with the foundation plantings, select a variety of low-branching evergreens for your windbreak, especially with respect to height and species, which will prevent disease outbreaks and ensure some wind penetration. Avoid growing a completely solid wall of evergreens, which can potentially create a vacuum effect on the protected side of the windbreak, thereby reducing its effectiveness.

With large scale windbreaks, it might be advisable to start with some fast growing species, such as White pine and Loblolly pine, and later interplant them with medium growth-rate species, such as Eastern red cedar, American holly, and Common Juniper. Fast-growing specimens will yield results more quickly, although they will also lose some of their lower branches. Your next series of plantings, whether interspersed with the first or established as a second row, will fill in any gaps.

Finally, windbreaks are investments in the future. They will eventually provide valuable screening for privacy, energy savings, and, if native species are selected, abundant benefits for wildlife. However, you should not try this approach on the southern side of your home, especially where the evergreens might block sunlight from providing passive solar heating in the winter.

Copyright 2009, Joseph M. Keyser

Planting Suggestions

Whether developing windbreaks or foundation plantings, the following list of trees and shrubs concentrates on native species, which are far preferable to exotic species which are not necessarily well-adapted to this area, and provide little or no benefit to wildlife. For example, instead of planting Leyland Cyprus, substitute Eastern red cedar, whose berries help feed birds during the winter, and whose aromatic bark is a favorite nest building material for cardinals.

Windbreak Trees (mature height)

American Holly 30-50'
Common Juniper 5-30'
Eastern Hemlock 60-70'
Eastern Red Cedar 50-75'
Eastern Arborvitae 50-75'
Loblolly Pine 90'
Pitch Pine 50-60'
Rosebay Rhododendron 20-35'
Shortleaf Pine 100'
Virginia Pine 50-80'
White Pine 75-100'

Foundation Shrubs

Bearberry (Arctostaphylos) 4-20'
Common Juniper (pruned back) 3-30'
Compact Oregon Grape Holly 2-3'
Cotoneaster 3-15'
Inkberry Holly 4-6'
Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) 7-15'
Northern Bayberry 4-8'
Southern Bayberry/Wax Myrtle 6-12'
Sweetbay Magnolia (semi-evergreen) 12-20'
Wild Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) 3-9'

Indoor Plants for Hanging Around

Indoor hanging plants seem to come and go in style. Unfortunately, many people lose interest in them because they become bored with little more than green fronds hanging over their heads. But hanging plants can offer a great deal more, depending on how they are selected.

A hanging plant does not simply mean Boston ferns, Swedish ivy, and spider plants, although these are remarkably easy to grow. There are some foliage plants which sport colorful stripes and veins, while others offer weird and intriguing leaf shapes. There are also a great many flowering plants ideal for indoor hanging baskets, each suited to different levels of light exposure, as well as temperature and humidity ranges.

In fact, it is possible to find an indoor hanging plant for every conceivable situation. The trick is actually reading plant labels before bringing a plant home and also doing some quick horticultural research before visiting a reliable garden center.

Some basic concerns for hanging plants involve just how you plan to hang them. Nothing is less appealing than simply dangling an inexpensive plastic pot from a hook in the ceiling. Instead, consider grouping three or five containers of various sizes together in an open, well-lit area and hanging them at different levels. Your arrangement will create a sense of both height and depth. While determining the height at which you will suspend the plants, keep in mind that you will want ready access to the plants for ongoing care. Sometimes it is best to hang pots no higher than eye level, depending on the location.

Also, the container need not be the typical plastic pot and attached saucer. The saucers often overflow, creating a mess, and the pots are usually very cheap in appearance. You might want to set a plain pot with drainage holes inside a more decorative pot or container without a drainage hole. You will avoid spills, and decorative containers can offer a broad range of textures and styles, which will enhance the overall appearance of your plants.

It is often useful to set plants into a soil-less medium to reduce weight, rather than relying on a heavier standard potting mix. Some soil-free mixes are specifically made for hanging plants and help conserve moisture and enhance aeration for growing roots.

When it is time to water your plants, it is preferable to actually take the plant down and water it in a sink, at least on occasion. This approach ensures complete drainage, and also allows you to inspect the plant more closely for pests while tending to damaged foliage, dead flowers, and other pruning chores. In addition, use this opportunity to thoroughly rinse off the foliage, removing potential pests and dust. In fact, removing dust actually increases the amount of light which can reach the leaf surface.

As for the plants, do not limit yourself to traditional selections. Common asparagus ferns are all well and good, but why not a look a bit further for a special cultivar like Emerald fern (Sprenger asparagus)? And why settle for plain green foliage when there are hundreds of variegated plant species which will give you bursts of gold, cream, and brilliant yellow, such as the popular Goldfish plant (Columnea microphylla)? Or substitute variegated Swedish ivy (Olectranthus coleoides 'Marginatus') for its lackluster cousin. Other interesting foliage plants, like the large-leafed Fittonias, feature either deep red veins (Mosaic Plant), or brilliant silver veins (Silver Net Plant).

Of course, entering the world of colorful foliage requires special attention to light exposure. Always select the proper plant for the proper location. For example, not all plants thrive in direct sun. Two varieties of Arrowhead vine (‘Emerald Gem' and ‘White Butterfly') are among the most beautiful trailing plants readily available. Given moisture and shade, they will thrive for years. But place them in too much light and they will literally fade away and die.

Location is not just a matter of sunlight and shade, however. One of the most intriguing hanging sedums, Burro's Tail (Sedum morganianum), has leaves or "pads" which are easily dislodged through handling. Such plants are best kept out of reach of children, pets, and tall human heads.

Hanging plants can offer colorful flowers in addition to exotic foliage. Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus are perhaps among the most used flowering indoor plants, although many garden centers also offer knock-outs like Lipstick vine (Aseschynathus radicans), which boasts profuse bright red tubular flowers, and Italian Bellflower (Campanula isophylla), an alpine perennial which does well in cooler indoor locations. One of the most unusual trailing plants is the Rat's-tail cactus (Aporocactus flagelliformis), an absolutely stunning cactus specimen with striking pink flowers. If you can recover from the unpalatable common name, you may find that this might be the only hanging plant you will ever need to impress friends and visitors.

Orchids, naturally, offer an amazing range of colors and growth habits, although they are a bit more temperamental than grape ivy. Devotees, nevertheless, will justifiably argue that the plants are worth all the extra care and attention. In fact, for sheer horticultural hubris, an upscale gardening concern offers an wrought-iron globe with built-in magnifier for displaying and viewing one's prized specimen.

On a more mundane level, bright kitchen windows provide an ideal environment for garden herbs. Culinary favorites like parsley, chives, and rosemary can do extremely well indoors, whether grown together as a miniature hanging garden or planted and cultivated separately.

The most important step you can take with hanging plants begins with selecting species most suited to your environment, including light, temperature, and humidity. But you should also select plants based on your personality. Choose something exotic, fun and different, if you enjoy caring for and exhibiting plants. If not, you can still add color and life to your living space by referring to the following list of dependable, time-proven favorites.

Copyright 2009, Joseph M. Keyser

Reliable Hanging Plant Species

Asparagus fern
Basket begonia (Begonia tuberhybrida pendula)
Baby's tears (Soleirolia soleirolii)
Christmas/Thanksgiving cactus
Creeping fig (Ficus pumila)
Devil's Ivy (Epipremnum pinnatum)
Ferns (numerous species)
Grape ivy (Cissus rhombifolia)
Hoya (Wax plant)
Ivy species
Kalanchoe
Lipstick vine (Aeschynanthus pulcher)
Philodendron species
Pothos species
Rosary vine or Hearts Entangled (Ceropegia woodii)
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
Swedish ivy (Plectranthus oertendahlii)
Wandering Jew