TheMondayGarden.com

Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
Issue 8, May 19.2002

“In My Garden”, late Spring is cactus blooming time. Here’s a tiny cactus in a one inch terra cotta saki cup from Jade Garden, a bonsai pot importer in New York City’s China Town.

Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
#20 August 13, 2002

“In My Garden” this week is this “mighty mite”, a 3 ¼” tall Ming Aralia. Yes, inches, not feet.

Sometimes, the most ordinary plant is the most beautiful. Aralias are easy-care, graceful plants for the home and office. They have no special needs: medium light, ordinary humidity, water when near-dry, fertilize and repot infrequently, watch for spider mites in the winter, dust as needed. Indoors, they grow fairly slowly but can easily reach 3’ or more, if desired. Starter plants are readily available at retail plant outlets (florists, groceries, etc.) in the $4 range. Cuttings root easily in water.

The Ming Aralia in the photo was started in 1999 from a plant purchased in a 3” pot for $3.99 at a Downtown Brooklyn florist and cut up for bonsai. The top is cut back when it reaches 3 to 5 leaves above the last cut. The roots are trimmed every other year. The Aralia lives in a clear plastic box on my kitchen windowsill and is taken out once a week for watering. The 1 ½”-wide pot is from Shanti Bithi (see www.shantibithi.com for awesome bonsai pictures)

PS the plant finally died in 2004.

Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
September 7, 2003, issue 76

Here's a miniature bonsai spider in a 1" sake cup .

This bonsai was started in 1998 from 3 baby spider plants, then too tiny to see much over the edge of the 1" sake cup.

Two of the plants have survived. The cup is filled with water once a week; the roots and leaves are pruned as needed.

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Adapted from "In My Garden" issue 2, April 8, 2002

special edition re-issued July 19, 2004

picture: my balcony Easter 2002

This little tree, called Braveness, which is a full 18" tall, marks the seasons on my balcony with bright red leaves in the spring, green in the summer, and orange in the fall. In winter, it's covered with tiny red buds. As you can see, it has declared Spring.

picture: Braveness in fall

An outdoor bonsai is good company. And they aren't that hard to maintain.