Indoor Gardening

Indoor gardening can be a challenge if you don’t have a natural green thumb. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Anyone can grow indoor plants with a little patience, knowledge, and maybe a bit of luck. Here are some general indoor gardening tips. Remember, though, that each type of flower and plant may have its own particular needs.

Light, of course, is very important to plants. If the intensity of light coming through a window is lower than what a plant actually needs, the plant will start to look pale and lose its luster. To fix this, move the plant closer to the window or to a different location where the lighting is better. Just be careful, however, not to change the lighting on a plant dramatically. This can cause sunburn. While it might sound funny to think of a plant getting sun burnt, they can.

Be careful not to over-water your plants and flowers. While it’s important to make certain your houseplants have enough to drink, don’t water them if the soil is still moist. Many people water their plants on a set schedule whether the plants need it or not. This can lead to over-watering, which can cause plants to die.

Remember that city water is treated and usually has different chemicals like fluoride added to it. Plants and flowers don’t always like these chemicals, so it’s best to either use bottled water or to let your water sit out in an open container 24 hours before adding it the soil. This gives the chemicals enough time to evaporate.

Finally, be careful of freezing or drying out your plants. Temperatures that are too hot or too cold can cause indoor plants to lose a bit of their luster, too. Don’t let it get below 50 degrees or you may find your plants start to suffer. Likewise, anything above 85 might be too warm for your plants, especially if they are near a vent.

Live in Houston? It’s a Happy Place!

Do you live in Houston? If you do, you know what a happy place it is. In fact, Kiplinger magazine has listed Houston as one of its Best Cities to Live, Work, and Play. The city didn’t just make it to their top ten places to live, it ranked number one! Kiplinger worked with the research director of the Martin Prosperity Institute to create the list using a formula that looks at past events in the city plus the type of people who live there. People in creative fields like writing, the arts, entertainment, engineers, scientists, and educators help create a vital, happy city. Houston is full of these people!

Think about all the things you do in Houston that make you happy. Maybe it’s going to a sporting event. Houston has a lot to offer for the sports enthusiast, including the Houston Rockets basketball team, a hockey team, a soccer team, and a number of different college teams. No matter what season, you’re sure to find some sports events going on.

Shopping is also something that makes people happy, and there are many different shopping opportunities in Houston. There are some large malls if you’re they type who loves browsing through many different stores at once, or you can search out some of the smaller boutiques and shops that are spread throughout the city.

Houston has a good number of parks and recreational activities, too. Moody Gardens, The Reef water park, and the Kemah Boardwalk in nearby Kemah are all great day outings for a family. You can also relax in any of the parks around the city or play golf at Hermann Park.

These are just a few of the things that people love about Houston. When you take these attractions and combine them with the great people in the Houston area, it’s no wonder that the city is such a happy place.

The History of St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up! There are some traditions we all know about—wearing green, going to parades, and having a tall glass of green beer. But where did these traditions come from, and when did St. Patrick’s Day begin? Here’s a short history of the holiday and some of the traditions that go with it.

The holiday is named after Saint Patrick, but there’s not a whole lot known about the man the stories are based on. He was born in the fourth century in Britain, which was under the control of the Roman Empire at that time. His family was quite wealthy, and his father and grandfather were both deacons in the church. He was kidnapped at sixteen and sold into slavery in Ireland. No one is certain where he was held, but during that time, he had a dream in which God told him to escape and head to the coast. There, he found a ship that took him home, where he joined the church and began studying to be a priest.

Later, Patrick returned to Ireland to bring Christianity to the Irish. It was said that he used the shamrock as an example of the Christian trinity, which is how that flower became associated with the holiday. Because of his work with the Irish, he was later made a saint in the church.

Originally, Saint Patrick was associated with the color blue, but because of his use of the shamrock, people began wearing it and green ribbons on Saint Patrick’s Day. Eventually, green became the main color of this holiday.

Oddly enough, the first recorded Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was not held in Ireland. Instead, the Irish Society of Boston held the first parade in March of 1737. A parade for the holiday wouldn’t be held in Ireland until 1931.

How will you celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day this year? Have a green beer? Eat some green eggs and ham? Or go around pinching everyone who isn’t wearing green?

Facebook is Fun AND Can Save You Money – Learn How!

Facebook has become incredibly popular in the last few years, and just about everyone knows what it is, even if they don’t have a profile. In case you’re one of the few who hasn’t heard of this social media phenomenon, Facebook is a website that connects you with others. It started out as a way for college students to keep in touch. In fact colleges actually had to sign up for their students to join, and you had to have a valid college email address. Today, Facebook is open to everyone, and it’s huge.

There’s more to Facebook than just posting on someone’s wall (kind of a like a message board where others can respond to what you say or post their own message). You can send private messages, post photos for others to see, and even send online invitations to your friends. Heck, some people have even used Facebook to send out their wedding invitations instead of mailing hard copies!

Then there are the Facebook games. These can be very addictive and a lot of fun. Some of them involve becoming a mayor of a virtual town and trying to grow it into a city, while others involve slaying dragons and battling wizards. Some even require you to get your friends involved and build up a team, like the popular Mafia Wars game.

But what about that “save money” part of the title? Well, you may not see hundreds of dollars suddenly appear in your budget after you create your free (yes, free) Facebook account, but you can save. There are different fan pages for products, services, and even entire companies. We at WildFlower, for example, have our own Facebook fan page. All you need to do is visit it and click on “like.” You’ll start seeing our posts in your news feed. Sometimes, we post links to sites that we thing flower-lovers and gardeners will enjoy. Other times, we post our store specials. Sometimes, that includes discount or promotional codes. That’s where the savings come in! Just watch for these special codes and use them on our website or when you order, and you can save a bundle. It’s not just WildFlower, either—many companies offer their Facebook fans discounts on their products.

Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/VillageGardens?sk=wall#!/pages/Wildflower-Florist/110690087658

Ways to Make Your Relationship Grow

When we start a new relationship, be it romantic or platonic, we always go into with the idea that the relationship will grow. After all, we don’t want our relationships to be stuck in that first, somewhat awkward stage where we are getting to know each other. So how can you make your relationship with others grow? Here are a few ideas.

Listen to each other. It may seem like something that needs no repeating, but listening to each other is one of the fundamentals of establishing and cultivating a relationship. You have to really pay attention to what the other person is saying and respond to them. This interaction is the cornerstone of any relationship.

Compromise. You can’t always get your way. Between friends, the compromises are usually small, like letting the other person decide where you go out to eat. Between significant others, it might be something bigger like each of you giving up a vice or learning to do housework.

Every now and then, show them you care. Send flowers, give them a little gift, or just compliment them. Everyone likes to be reminded that they matter to another person, and just a little thing like buying someone lunch or bringing them a breakfast snack can go a long way.

Be kind. This is the best way to really make a relationship grow. Simply help out when someone needs a hand. You don’t always have to buy someone something. Often, just giving of your time (something that has become a very precious resource) is enough.