In my humble opinion, yes, flower gardening can be addictive. The addiction referred to here has nothing to do with food cravings or other known additions but rather the compulsion of shopping in abundance for roses, different types of plants, flowering shrubs, bulbs and even seeds. For me, the compulsion is roses as these are my favorite flowers. For some, it’s the stunning colors of annuals come spring time. And those of you who love bulbs completely ignore your budget and buy tons of these. (photo courtesy: Breck’s)

It goes without saying that most flower gardening enthusiasts love to have a beautiful and colorful garden but tend to overspend when buying plants, trees and shrubs. For example, I have a friend who loves irises and she always has to have the latest type of iris that is available. Recently she confided in me by saying that she was spending a fortune on her iris garden. My reply to her was that if she loves her iris garden and has the money to spend, she should just sit back and enjoy every minute of it. I also suggested to her to shop online for irises and she could spend less money than going to her local gardening place. (photo courtesy: Breck’s)

When redoing my gardens, I am tempted to just buy everything on site when I visit my local garden stores or even when I buy from online places like Breck’s. Knowing that this is not a good idea, what I normally do is to design the garden area first. If you design your garden area before shopping for plants, you can basically count how many plants you will need for your garden. Believe me this will save you lots of money. You will be tempted when you visit your local gardening place but just make a decision to buy the plants you need and nothing more.

So yes, flower gardening can be addictive but this is one addiction that is easy to combat and it is a positive one. Don’t be tempted when you see a two for one sale at your local gardening place and just buy what you need to redo your flower garden. Be sure to take you garden design plan with you when buying your plants and this will help you to control your spending. Whatever you decide to spend on your flower garden will be money well spent. Remember that a beautiful flower garden adds value to your home and your heart and soul. There is nothing more satisfying than stepping outside and seeing a flower garden in full bloom. (photo courtesy: Breck’s)

I just love African Violets and growing up my mother always had them all over the house. Saintpaulia, commonly known as African Violets are in the Gesneriaceae family and it is native to Tanzania and southeastern Kenya in Africa. The history behind this beautiful flower is fascinating.

The African Violet genus is named after Baron Walter von Saint Paul-Illaire dating back to 1860 who was a district commissioner of the Tanga province and discovered the plant in Tanganyika now called Tanzania in Africa in 1892. It is said that the Baron then sent seeds of the plant to his father who was an amateur botanist in Germany.

In 1884 and 1887, Sir John Kirk and Reverend W.E. Taylor who were British plant enthusiasts, had collected and submitted specimens to Royal Botanic Gardens Kew but the quality of the specimens was not good enough to permit scientific description of the plant at that time. The genus Saintpaulia was scientifically described by J.C. Wendland in 1893.

African Violets are cultivated as house plants and usually kept in the house. I remember mother buying very pretty pots for her African Violets and placing them in window sills all over the house.  These come in different colors such as white, pink, violet and hard to find dark red and yellow. The flowers can be either single with five petals or double which has more than five petals. (photo courtesy of Park Seed Co.)

African Violets prefer temperatures between 65-75 Fahrenheit and thrive best if planted in well drained rich soil. Compost is also good as it promotes good drainage. You can plant them in hanging baskets, containers or flower pots but it is best to keep them in the house in colder regions. (photo courtesy of Park Seed Co.)

Although you can start African Violets from seeds, my recommendation is to get already established plants at your local nursery. These are easy to care for and all you need to do is keep them moist and give them indirect sun light. Be careful not to over water African Violets as they do not like to be swimming in water and excess water may damage the roots.

To your gardening success,
Diana