Artificial Plants - Pros and Cons

You might think that artificial plants and flowers are just dust traps. They probably are but, then again everything in the home and office collects dust if it’s stationary for long enough.

Fake flowers are widely used in cemeteries on graves and you can often see a faded bunch of roses in windows of empty houses so they looked lived in. Older and cheaper types don’t have any UV protection so will fade quickly in a sunny window. 

Ignoring the stigma put on artificial plants and flowers there is a place for them in some houses and offices that either don’t have enough light or for people who don’t pay any attention to real plants to keep them alive. 

Like the natural world, artificial foliage comes in all shapes, colours and sizes – and quality. 

Replicating something that nature does so effortlessly is no mean feat as plants and trees are complex structures perfectly designed to carry out their purpose. It takes patience, planning and raw skill to create and when it’s done correctly; it is indistinguishable from the real thing unless you feel the leaves and petals.  I’m not favouring real or artificial here as there’s a place for both in some buildings (and gardens) it’s hard to say if a real plant stimulates the senses any more than an imitation one when you are walking through a shopping precinct or you catch a glimpse of one of the lovely range of artificial centrepiece orchids for sale. 

Pro’s and Con’s list for Artificial Plants

I’ve compiled a list of pros and cons regarding artificial plants. It’s proved to be quite a challenge as what one person will see as a bonus another could see as a negative. For example you now can't take real flowers into the hospital when visiting, so artificial ones can be used. That’s great for allergy sufferers but no so good for people who like to see a bit of nature.

Pro’s

They won't attract insects and if one does land on a flower they won’t stay long (Could also be in the con’s list)

They are non-toxic to pets

You can put them anywhere and are great for dark rooms or rooms with no windows.

Low/no maintenance

Great for allergy sufferers

Good for your pocket – yes they may cost more at the start that a real plant, but they will last a long time.

They won’t die from neglect. There is the common dilemma that everybody experiences when keeping living plants alive – when does it need to be watered? And how many times? Do I buy plant food? The only thing you need to think of is a duster, the only maintenance they will need in order to keep them looking fresh is the occasional wipe over with a soft damp cloth. An artificial plant will only start to look a little worse for wear with the accumulation of dust; looking after them means they retain their colour and overall look of freshness forever.

Maintenance is very easy .  They’re cleaner, artificial plants will not shed leaves or petals and there won’t be any water spillages that often occur when watering living plants. If an artificial plant is accidentally knocked over, there isn’t the issue of having to clean up any soil.

Temperature will not have any effect on artificial plants, and so they can be placed anywhere in any environment – in direct sunlight or cool areas – without the risk of them wilting.

 

Con’s

Some of the plants and flowers are made with plastic which can’t be recycled.

Just don’t have that “real” feel

Unlike real plants these don’t raise humidity in rooms (Could be in the Pro’s list)

They don’t reduce Co2 in the atmosphere (You’d need around 300 real plants in one room to make a lot of difference though)

Don’t prevent bacteria and mold

The con’s list is a lot shorter but a lot of people will probably find these a lot more important in the home and office.

Recycling

Plastic is popular which has its issues especially when it comes time to replace as not all of them biodegrade. Other materials like silk, wire, hemp, bamboo and papier-mâché are available and you can check the labels to see how well they can be recycled.

Feng Shui designers don’t really go with artificial plants and flowers and are seen as dust-catchers that represent dead, stale energy wouldn’t sit well with their designs in general, but I have seen the occasional artificial flower in a vase.

Checking CO2 Levels in the Home - and a bit at the end about hedging...

It’s getting cold.  January to early February is usually seen as the depth of winter and this year is no exception. Yes, the daylight is getting longer by a minute or two a day but that doesn’t make spring seem any closer. I’ve no complaints though as a nice cold spell works wonders on the garden, clearing up a lot of the old foliage after it’s turned to mush.

Checking CO2 Levels in the Home

There’s a tendency to keep the doors and windows tightly shut in this cold weather. A lot of houses are now really well insulated and with the addition of double glazing there’s very little chance for a good stream of fresh air to come into the house.  We recently bought a carbon dioxide (Co2) tester for the home as assess the parts per million in the rooms (ppm). Even with houseplants photosynthesising absorbing the Co2 and pumping out oxygen in the night time we saw the read out reach quite unacceptable levels in rooms where we spent a lot of time. 

Exposure to high levels of carbon dioxide can produce a variety of health effects. These may include headaches, dizziness, restlessness, a tingling or pins or needles feeling, difficulty breathing, sweating, tiredness, and increased heart rate and it’s very rarely tested for in homes unlike carbon monoxide. 

The levels weren’t high enough for concern though (up to 1700ppm) but the recommended healthy amount is but it is enough to get a bit drowsy or complain of stale air. 250/300 ppm is the usual outdoor range and the polytunnel confirmed this when the doors were open. Rotting vegetation can produces a lot of Co2 but as this is outside it soon dissipates into the air. Open fires can increase the levels though even with a through draft. 5000ppm is the maximum amount for a work environment but it wouldn’t be very safe, making you lose cognitive abilities such as reason and reflexes and that’s alarmingly the amount that can build up inside a motorbike helmet.

That’s shown me that forcing myself outside to do some work warms me up so when it’s time to go back indoors I don’t mind so much that I have had the windows opened for an hour or two a day.  I used to think the stale air feeling came from condensation but the “Sick Building Syndrome” a lot of us face in winter is a bit more complex than that. Open those windows folks.

Hedges

Many mixed hedges are pulled down to make way for fences and walls.  Hard barriers that are often made with treated wood or plastic. Building solid structures like these can also divide wildlife habitats and impede the flow of traffic for animals that may have traditionally crossed in the area. Freedom of movement is very important in nature.

There are two main hedging styles we can adopt for our own garden dividers that will offer privacy but allow for free movement. Formal hedging and mixed wildlife hedging are available, both of which absorb Co2.

Wildlife hedges

Not only will a mixed wildlife hedge provide habitat for birds, pollinators and others, but it also assumes the services that a regular fence would, like creating privacy, noise reduction, and defining the edge of a property. And for the lazy gardeners out there, it doesn't take much work once it's up and running. There are plenty of lists to choose from when it comes to deciding what’s best for a particular location. You’ll always be adding hawthorn though as that does well everywhere and the bees will thank you for it.

Planting Time

Plants sold without any soil on their roots, known as bare-rooted, could be planted during the dormant season only (November to March). These are my favourite option because of the low price and the success rate is far higher than container plants.

Container-grown hedging plants can be planted at any time of the year, except when the soil is frozen or waterlogged, but autumn is the ideal time for deciduous hedges because the soil is still warm enough to encourage some root growth before the onset of winter. This helps the hedging plants establish quickly so that they are more able to withstand any hot, dry spells the following summer. They can be very costly though and the bare root plants will soon catch up.

Formal hedge

There are a lot of formal hedge plants to choose from. I like the box hedge as its slow growing but I also have a soft spot for privet. Lavender, photinia, eleagnus, laurel and escallonia are all great choices depending on the location.

Ideally position boundary hedges so they are set back a little way (e.g. 90cm/3ft) from the boundary line. This will allow the hedge to fill out before it becomes an issue with overhanging the pavement or a neighbour's property.

Pickling Vegetables

Dill pickles go well with a cheese sarnie

January and February are seen to be the favourite time for us gardeners to browse the seed catalogues for this year’s crops. There is something very satisfying looking at the pretty pictures of healthy vegetables, then ordering far too many varieties to be able to grow without totally ignoring the spacing recommendations. Or is that just me?

There is an element of wishful thinking and forward planning though when ordering seeds and what better time to think about ordering a few vegetables that you will be able to use for pickling so you can enjoy the fruits of your labour all year around from the convenience of a glass jar. So not only could you look for particular pickle friendly varieties of your favourite veg, you can also start saving any glass jars with sealable lids that you find – You will need them.

Pickles

You can pickle most vegetables. Someone gave me a lovely jar of home grown pickled beetroot this week which got my thinking I should do my own again. I did make pickled onions and beetroot for a long time but eventually took to buying the mass produced ones from the shops as they were more convenient. They aren’t the same as your own home made ones though. Cheaper to buy than make maybe but you can’t put a price on the smug satisfaction you get knowing there are no artificial preservatives or added chemicals in the mix of your own produce.  So this year I’ll be doing at least a jar or two of onions.

Excellent pickles rely on high-quality, fresh ingredients. Producing your own means you can choose the very best produce and opens the door to exploring many different flavours and effects that can be achieved through spicing and fermentation.  Some say you can pickle almost any veg providing it is fresh and unblemished and others generally make their pickles from the oddments, mishapes and damaged crops  that won’t store well as they can be cleaned and chopped up so no-one is any the wiser.

Good pickling is about suspending veg at its peak in clear animation: to preserve and even boost its nutritional content. 

How long to keep your pickles before eating

Recipes vary enormously with some refrigerator or quick pickles being ready to eat within a day or two. Others, such as raw pickled onions, need six months or more to mature and delicacies like lime pickle can improve with years.

As a rough guide, veg sliced thinly or with a high water and sugar content requires less pickling time than those with more starch and larger proportions. Pickles matured for less time will generally be crunchier and punchier than those that have been left to mature, so a good rule is to go with what you like. Provided the pickles have been prepared and sealed carefully they will keep for a long time

You might only need around four or five cups so of cut vegetables to make enough jars to last the year.

Making the Pickles. An introduction

Salt Soak

The first step in making pickled vegetables is to soak them in salt or a strong saltwater solution for at least 3 hours, or sometimes overnight. Some moisture is drawn from the tissues, which helps to preserve crisp texture through the pickling process. Sea salt is preferred, then rinse the vegetables in cold water several times to remove excess salt when the soaking time is up. 

Vinegar Brine

The liquid in pickles is comprised of vinegar, sugar and sometimes water, along with subtle spicy flavours that give pickles their tanginess. You can use either clear distilled vinegar or amber-coloured malt or cider vinegar, depending on the results you want. 

Pickling Jars

After washing and removing the sticky label place the jars in an oven, you can get the herbs and spices ready for seasoning the pickles as the jars sterilize. There are all sorts of things you can use depending on your taste, garlic, dill, coriander, anything goes.

Sealing

There are methods to process the jars by placing them in hot water to seal them up. I’ve never done this so if you feel the need I would do a bit of research first.

Some Vegetables to Pickle

• Radishes- any will do
• Cucumbers - Small, firm-fleshed Kirby cucumbers work best here.
• Carrots – Cut them up into ribbons so the vinegar soaks through them.
• Red and white onions
• Red Cabbage
• Cauliflower – guaranteed to be crunchy
• Green beans -pickled for an irresistible snack
• Aubergine- Sliced thinly

As I mentioned, you could pickle almost anything so it’s a great opportunity to have a play when you have abundance.

Plants for Cats - Catnip and more

 Catmint Seeds

Houseplants are growing in popularity. Research has found (me asking around) that it’s millennials setting the new trend of rekindling the 1970’s popularity for spider plants, cheese plants and aspidistras. The common aspidistra has been a favourite of hallways since the Victorian era as they are shade, draft and neglect tolerant but since the 1980’s over 100 new varieties have emerged to tempt the new homeowners.

The range of indoor plants also caters for our feline friends. Not all cats manage to get outside where they can avail of the delights of ingesting grass, which is said to improve their digestion. Cats also seem to have a huge attraction to certain mint plants too and will happily sit in/on them all summer.  For this reason I’ve decided to grow some plants in pots especially for cats that live in the house and don’t get out much.

Plants for Cats

Catnip is the best known plant for a cats pleasure, many a toy has been stuffed with the dried leaves which in turn sends the cat into a frenzy. It affects cats in various ways, from a soft nuzzle to a fully blown euphoric meltdown.  Only about 80% of cats are effected but they might be partial to some other type of plant that contains Nepetalactone,  an organic compound that is the active ingredient. Nepetalactone also repels cockroaches and mosquitos so it’s a win win for you and the cat.

Here are the most popular types of plants to get kitty in a tizzy. I have just received the Catnip, Cat’s Grass, Catmint and Catmint Lemon and will be sowing the seeds now to give them an early start for spring. I’ll be testing them out of my mother in laws usually sedate moggie to see if it works. I’ll keep you posted.

Catnip (Nepata cataria) is a perennial. Cat's find it hard resist the intoxicating scent of this plant. The leaves have a mint-like smell.  Catnip can be grown in pots or the garden. Like most herbs in the mint family, catnip can easily spread and take over outside if allowed to. Responsive cats enjoy a psychosexual reaction that lasts up to 15 minutes, after which cats lose interest in the herb for at least an hour. The stems are as easy to dry as any other mint, and dried catnip retains is psychoactive powers for many months when stored in a cool, dry, dark place. Catnip flowers attract pollinators and other beneficial insects in droves so maybe I won’t let them flower in the house.

Cat grass -(Dactylis glomerata) is more commonly known as orchard grass, and it is also attractive to cats. It apparently helps to remove fur balls and maintain their good health and great for the indoor cat.  Cat Grass is a good aid to help add missing vitamins and minerals  so might be the favourite to grow indoors. Seeds of wheat, oats and rye also can be grown as cat grass.  

Catnip Lemon - (Nepata cataria Citriodora) is a perennial, that is very similar to catnip but with a more delicate hint of lemon aroma. Its natural habitat is on roadside banks but will hopefully do well in a pot on a sunny table in the porch.

Catmint mussinii – The last of my choice experiment plants. This Catmint produces attractive grey-green foliage topped with spikes of lavender flowers. Cats may flatten the plants so I’ll be careful with this one as it might have to be put outside. 

Other Plants to Delight Cats

Here are a few more plants which cats seem to enjoy in the garden - not in pots. I would have loved to have known about these a few years ago when I rescued a stray cat. I put it in the boot of my car and somehow it found its way into the chassis through the side panel. I had to drive around with it in the interior lining of the car for three days until it decided to show its face and have some food. If I had these plants I could have lured it out much sooner. It was non the worse for the ordeal and after a good meal it disappeared into the wild again.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)  Cats become excited when they encounter valerian roots, which contain a compound called actinidine that is thought to work as a semi-psychotic stimulant for cats.

Cat thyme (Teucrium marum) is not a thyme but a germander, a group of fragrant herbs that grows best when given fertile soil, full sun, and great drainage. Cat thyme can grow to two feet (60 cm) when protected from cats, which is nearly impossible.

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is surprisingly attractive to cats, plus you can use the leaves in cooking.