The Staghorn Fern – Platycerium

The Staghorn Fern – Platycerium

 

This unique fern is found wildly in tropical areas such as Southeast Asia, Australia and South America. It is a lithophyte. This means it is mainly an air plant, feeding on rain water and the decaying tissue of other plants, or its own decaying tissue. The plants can attach themselves to rocks, trees, or even wooden poles or fences.

At the greenhouse we sell them mounted to wooden plaques. In the wild, like in this picture, it is attached to a tree.

A mature plant in the right spot, with the right care, can grow up to 1 metre wide. The leaves of the Staghorn fern are very distinctive. The main leaves are somewhat antler shaped, hence the common name, and the base of the plant has leaves that grow to protect the roots. The defensive leaves are infertile and are grown only to seal themselves to the base for protection. The fronds that grow outwards will produce runners which are fertile and can be used for propagation.

There are a also few of these in the butterfly house if you want to take come in and take a look!

 

 

 

Everyone Should Have a Cactus

Cactus – any of numerous succulent plants of the family Cactaceae, of warm, arid regions of the New World, having fleshy, leafless, usually spiny stems, and typically having solitary, showy flowers.

 

These pointy little plants can have a happy life without water as long as the sun is shining on them. The way they photosynthesize is unique in that they do most of the work when the sun is down. The plants keep their stomas, or pores, closed during the day as not to lose water. Because of the dry condition that most cacti live in, this is very important. Instead they open up at night to “inhale” the carbon dioxide and use that throughout the next day for photosynthesis. This process if you would like to know is called crassulacean acid metabolism.

All of the photosynthesis is done in the cactus stem, where as most plants use their leaves. They also hold the water in their stems, which are usually larger with shallow root systems so they can react quickly to catch water.

If you are planting a cactus at home, make sure you have a good spot for it in a sunny window. When picking your pot, you don’t need to go big. Remember these guys have shallow roots so they do not need that much room. Come in and check out our selection, and remember you can mix and match with cacti and succulents to make a beautiful planter.

 

Call 403-526-3447 for questions!

 

The pictures of cacti and succulents are from a Thailand flower market, but many are available at the Windmill Garden Centre . Enjoy!

An Outdoor Garden in Thailand

 

The next few posts will be made from Thailand. If you have questions about things pertaining to the greenhouse call them directly at 1-403-526-3447.

Traveling around Thailand you will start to feel a little bit jealous about the amount of plants they can grow outside here. It truly is unreal coming from the crisp cold of Canada. The plants that grow like weeds here are plants we struggle with to keep alive in our cool dry homes. One plant that I have noticed is absolutely everywhere is the bougainvillea. It grows all over, almost like our own Virginia Creepers.

There are also Crotons growing out of cracks in the cement of otherwise seeming dirt wastelands. Dracaenas grow instead of maples, and orchids grow as an everyday shrub. In one neighborhood there is papaya, mango, and starfruit trees. More pictures to come. Today I will be visiting a flower festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand where flowers are celebrated once a year with a parade.

 

Enjoy!!

Fall Sweaters, Tulips… and coffee??

 

Well, the weather is still pretty nice (knock on wood), but there is that crispness in the evening and the morning that is nagging us to get our sweaters out. This means that some preparation is in order to get ready for fall. We have just recieved our fall bulbs, and we have our fall lawn fertilizer out. Our mulch is on sale right now for $1.00 off/bag! Other than that, some fall pruning and then let those perennials, trees and shrubs go dormant, and put the annuals in the compost bin.

Once you have your bulbs planted and you’ve tucked those plants in for their winter nap, what better way to kick back than with a hot beverage. What would you think if the Windmill Garden Centre could serve you up a tasty London Fog, or a yummy mocha? We hope to be able to do that for you very soon, so when you come down to look at our Christmas trees you can have a hot tasty coffee treat! If you are excited about this leave a comment or like this post on facebook. We would love to hear your thoughts!

We do still have perennials, trees, and shrubs which are still alright to plant as long as you water, water, water! Anywho, make sure to leave a comment, and have a happy weekend.

Love the Windmill Garden Centre

Bumble Bees and Buterflies

I recently went camping to Elkwater in the Cypress Hills and on a hike saw some beautiful wild butterflies and bees! Plant a butterfly garden and a few bee attracting plants and you too could have some nature photography to do. Let’s stay green so we don’t lose any more bees!!

Here is a local woman who makes delightful treats with the help of bees! Click Here!

And here is some nature photos! Enjoy!

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Blue Morpho Madness

The butterfly house is stocked full of Blue morphos these days, and they aren’t afraid to land on you!

Come down for a beautiful experience with some beautiful butterflies!

We also have some great summer sales on right now. All bedding plants and flowering hanging baskets are on for half price, and our perennials are all 30% off! Come visit this weekend!

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