My Fairy Garden!!

I first got to know about fairy gardens when I accidentaly saw some figurines in a plant nursery. The plan of having a my own fairy garden was intriguing. I began fixing a broken terracota pot but my efforts to glue the pieces went vain. So ditched the idea of re-using! I picked a wide mouthed terracotta pot that was shallow with a drain hole, filled it up with a potting mix and decided on what miniature plants to have.

My last year's fairy garden was pretty bare without any miniature plants but few yard moss, pebbles, insense burner house(souvenier from my trip) and few figurines(fairy and dog). I made a fence and bench out of mini popsicle sticks.

Last year's Fairy Garden

This year I was determined to do more so went looking for miniature plants. They are bit expensive but a right amount of care can keep them long in your garden. Our local nursery store H.J. Benken carries varieties of these plants. I did have them last year for my indoor terrariums and they are still alive. I re-used the potting mix, and planted 4 miniature plants(ferns, mini elephant ears, baby tears and spider plant).

I have seen buntings at nursery costing lot of money so an idea to make fabric bunding came out of desparation. Took 4 different kinds of fabric from my scraps, cut them into triangles using pinking shears so the edges won't fray. I joined the top edge of triangle with a fabric glue and ensured there was enough room for the wire to pass through. I now had a wire with fabric triangles. I used chopsticks as my poles and wound the two ends of wire at the top. To blend with the surroundings, taped the chopstick with brown floral tape. Used black and white pebbles to make a road that lead to the incese burner house. I used the moss to make it look like a lawn. Finally decked up my fairy garden with a dog, mushroom, bench and a fairy!!

I will eventually replace fake flower pot with a miniauture Begonias, incense burner house with a miniature house!! 

Tip: The miniature plants can't tolerate cold weather, so in winter the fairy garden should be got indoors.

Kiddie Garden Bed!!

My soon to be turning 9 year old daughter was asking for a garden bed since last year. I was very busy setting mine, so did not heed to her request. This year it was more like a demand rather than a request. She wanted few herbs with lot of flowers.

I headed to a dollar store to get garden fence. Got 4 of them for $1 each. They can be connected with each other and hence we came up with a garden bed for her. We cleaned up the weeds first, added my half done compost from last year and topped it up with a bag of top soil.

Mint is a perinneal herb that comes each year so that was her first option. I got few Pansy flowers which can sustain Ohio's spring weather.The only problem is that deer love them too! I will have to figure out to protect them. Need to try with blood meal or bone meal.

I had to salvage my perennial herb garden as the wooden crate planter that I made last year did not do well in cold weather. I moved my Lavendar, Winter Savory, Lemon Balm, Sage, Bronze Fennel and Chives onto her garden. All I need to get her are the flowers as per seasons. She shouldn't have any complaints!!

My hunt for 'Paan' plant.....

My quest for 'Paan' plant ends today!! Arrival of my new plant from Hirt's garden made my day!! I have been long hunting for this plant....Last year I ordered Piper Sarmentosum thinking it as Betel plant on eBay.com. It is used in Vietnamese cooking!! Don't they look similar!! It is no where close to Paan leaf in taste!!

Piper Sarmentosum

My hunt got serious when I saw a 'Paan' Ladoo' recipe on Euphoric Delight Facebook page. I did find few websites that carried this plant but was apprehensive to place order - once bitten, twice shy. I happened to visit Florida a month back in December and asked my cousin to find a plant for me. She said a local Indian grocery store owner gave away free plant to anyone interested. Since they can be propagated by cuttings, she had one pot ready for me. By the time I was there, the plant died because of excessive sunshine. My cousin got few more stems from the same shop and I really tried to get it home. Sad it could not handle the transportion shock of 3 days during transit, it died. I was so focused on getting one plant and was lucky enough to find a online garden which shipped this for a nominal price. The entire plant coated me $18 includes shipping. 

Betel Plant

I will make sure not to re-pot it for 2 weeks! Hopefully they stay alive and make it through this winter!!

Cotton vs Synthetic - Who's is the Winner??

All my life I have been a very big fan of cotton. I guess most of us are!! As a child, I have seen my mom grow her own cotton plant in backyard. My ultra sensitive skin wants cotton, even during those uncomfortable days of the month. Never thought that I would blog about this unpleasant phase which is imminent in every women's life. In the early 90's, homemade Cloth menstrual pad is what I was introduced into like many others. Gradually a product called "Stayfree" came in and we switched to that during college days. Never had any issues till then but gradually when other products like Kotex, Whisper were introduced in mid 90's, rashes surfaced. I always lived with those rashes during my cycles. Couple years back when I tried Seventh Generation Pads, my rashes never showed up.

After moving from CA, it wasn't easy to find them here in Cincy. I found out that CVS carried their own brand called "pure cotton pads". They are really good form me.

Is this better for environment? Yes, it does eventually end up in landfill but will decompose faster  than the Rayon base pads!! Since CVS pads are made in Italy, where GMO is still in experimental stage, that gives me a relief. I will keep an eye for Organic Cotton Pads. I have never used Tampons and will probably never use.

There are more environmentally sustainable options for those who are concerned about the use of sanitary pads be it cotton or synthetic. I am still not there yet!! For now, Cotton pads are winner according to me!!

Inexpensive Homemade Wreath

 I am always fascinated with Wreaths! As the holiday seasons are ahead, I had an urge to make wreath using stuff available at home. I used up a dead Grape Ivy vine to form a big circle. The vines are so strong and flexible that bending them doesn't break. I had Chinese grass growing at one corner of my yard, so cut few of them and placed them on one side of ivy vine. Had few burlap pieces and made a bow out of that.

Grape Ivy

Chinese grass


The end results was amazing!! I plan to give this a make-over according to seasons!! I could glue some preserved fall leaves during Autumn, red fake flowers during Christmas and fake green vine during spring.

My Newest Obsession with Air Plants

First glimpse of Air Plants bring smile on my face. Tillandsia are easy to grow and care. Air Plant jellyfish are one of the amazing decor ideas. These small hairy plants with minimal roots are bit expensive but they last long. Recently I found few of them with blooms in a local fair. The crucial factors in keeping Air Plants alive are Light, Water and Air Circulation. They don't need any soil to survive!! Isn't it neat?

Top: Blooms fell off, awaiting PUPS
Bottom: Currently with blooms

Sep 25th, 2016

Sep 28th, 2016

Light: These can be grown in the house directly in front of a window. They basically need bright filtered light. Make sure there are no drafts during winter months.

Water: In summer months water them more often like every other day. In winter twice/thrice a week should be good. You could spray water by inverting the whole plant and ensure no water gets collected at the base. Over-watering is the main cause for them to die. Alternatively you could dip the entire plant in a bowl of water and gently shake to get excess water out. If they are placed or glued inside a shell, ensure all water gets drained out.

Air Circulation: Plants should be given plenty of light and air circulation to dry in 4 hours after watering.

Fertilizer: Orchid Plant food can be used on Air Plants as fertilizer.

Life Cycle: Every plant blooms at one point in time. After blooms, they reproduce 2-8 PUPS. You could separate PUPS when they are half the size of mother plant.

Are you ready for a toxic free Pantry?

Grocery shopping to me is a time consuming task as I go through ingredient lists of each new product that I buy. Any product with unfamiliar ingredient doesn't make it in my pantry. I have a habit of reading nutritional chart. Here is the list...

Rennet: Used in cheese making to curdle the milk. Few years ago my sister mentioned about this Rennet in cheese and their extraction from young calves stomach. After having found the source, I never felt like eating them. For few years I stopped eating Pizza as I was not aware of alternatives. Thanks to Whole Foods who carry Rice cheese and Almond cheese for vegans. Trader Joe's have mozzarella cheese made using microbial/vegetable rennet   and so does Costco in kosher section. Better to avoid if you are a vegetarian.

Carrageenan: These are used in food industry for gelling and thickening. I found this ingredient in Trader Joe's Almond milk. I use Almond Beverage from TJ's. Carrageenan has no nutritional value and some people can't digest them. Better to avoid this addictive.

Sulfites: These are used as preservatives as they inhibit growth of bacteria. I have seen Balsamic vinegar brands and some dried fruits often mentioning sulfites as their ingredient. Some people often experience side effects like face swelling, asthma attacks after consuming food with sulfites. Fermentation naturally causes sulfites. So vinegar has natural sulfites in them. I avoid products where sulfites were "added".

MSG - Mono Sodium Glutamate: This is used as flavor enhancer in Chinese food, canned vegetables and soups. It has long list of side effects so better avoid.

Artificial Food Dyes: Although they make any boring dish look more fancy and colorful, they never make it in my pantry. They pose great risks to kids and sadly all colorful food stuffs are consumed by kids. Natural food Dyes are some options. Found this article for few enthusiast to try. http://nourishingjoy.com/homemade-natural-food-dyes/

High Fructose Corn Syrup: This is found in sodas, baked items like cakes/bread and fruit flavored drinks. It contributes to unwanted calorie hence leading to weight gain. Better to avoid.

Artificial Sweeteners: I remember those days when seeing/trying "sugar free" products never felt guilty. But studies have proved that it does more harm than normal sugar. They never make it in my pantry!!

Trans fat: As kid I loved eating a bag of Potato chips. When the side effects of trans fat surfaced, I had to let go this favorite snack from entering my kitchen. Occasionally I do munch them as they say old habits die hard!!. It shoots up cholesterol levels.

Table Salt: I met a lady few years back who had a son recovered from an unknown illeness. She adviced me start a healthy life by replacing simple stuff like salt and sugar from my pantry. Table salt are mined from salt deposits and are heavily processed to give fine texture there by loosing all trace minerals. They also have additives added to prevent clumping. Use Sea salt/Kosher salt or Himalayan Pink salt as an alternative. I buy Himalayan Pink salt from https://www.seasalt.com and shipping is free in the USA.

Table Sugar: I detest the idea of consuming highly processed food, so normal sugar is one among them!! Like table salt white sugar is stripped off all nutrients and animal bone char added to bleach them. I use a combination of sweeteners in my pantry like Jaggery, Brown sugar, Agave never and Stevie plant. I am finding my way to get hold of palm sugar which is next best natural sweetner.