A Touch of China for My Indoor Garden

Before my husband went back to China to visit his parents recently, he asked me what I wanted him to bring from China.  Well, can you guess what I asked for?  No, not plants, not seeds, since it is illegal to bring those back to United States from foreign countries.  What else could be close to what a gardener wants?  Yes, some containers!

No, I was not asking him to carry those big heavy pots all the way across Pacific. I wanted something beautiful, reasonable sized, and of course in Chinese Style.

He brought me back five beautiful pots for indoor plants.  They are all hand made by pottery craftsmen.  Each one has those traditional Chinese pottery design elements, such as poems, or poetic Chinese phrases inscription, mountain/water drawing, bamboo, orchid, lotus flower, or Plum flower drawings.  To show you the detail of those elements, I made one collage for each pot. You also can click each picture to enlarge it.

My original intent was explaining to you what are those Chinese words mean by translation, but only found they just lost its poetic rhythm after translation.  So I only can point you out that those words have something to do with "Breeze", "Moon", "Fragrance", "Charm", and etc.  Now, use your imagination to make up some poetic words in your mind when you look the pictures :)

The plant in the first pot is Fern "Green Fantasy" (Nephrolepis exaltata), a gift from my friend.  I have been looking for this fern for quite a while because it is a very popular indoor plant in China.  Now it just looks perfect in this Chinese style pot, bringing me so many nostalgic feelings...

Update:  FlowerLady found the picture of Fern "Green Fantasy" does not match the plant.  I looked it up over the Internet, and I think the correct name for this fern is: Asparagus setaceus. The original tag that came with the plant was obviously mislabeled.   Thanks, FlowerLady!

The plant in the second pot is my newest purchase, Paphiopedilum orchid, or Lady's Slipper Orchid (yes, my orchid collection is growing!).

The following two pots had Phalaenopsis orchids.

This one not only has drainage holes at the bottom, but also on the sides.   Would be perfect for orchids growing.

This one has most unique shape, curved triangle.  I have not found a suitable plant to put in yet.  It looks beautiful enough even just by its own.

All pots except the third one (the lighter color) are all made of famous ZiSha (purple) clay, although the color is not really purple.   You probably also see the Chinese Tea pots made of the same material.

I am so thankful that DH brought all these beautiful pots for me.  You can imagine how hard to carry on and protect these fragile pots on a total 24 hour long journey.

Now finally I am having a touch of China for my indoor garden.

Another Lily from My Favorite Nursery!

In one of my recent posts I mentioned that I bought an unknown lily from a local nursery.  Floridagirl at http://gardeninpeace.blogspot.com/ helped me to identify that lily is one of Griffinia cordata, Griffinia aracensis or G. liboniana.  I think the best match is Griffinia liboniana since my plant has spotted leaves.  Thank you, Floridagirl!  Its origin is Brazilian rainforest.  Even it is small, but what a cute beauty it is! 

Griffinia liboniana
Family:Amaryllidaceae
Chinese Common name: 蓝晶花 (blue crystal flower)

I visited the same nursery again a couple of weeks ago, and discovered another lily like plant in blooming.  The flower is orange color with long yellow stamens.  The one that is flowering doesn't have leaves, but I can see leaves on other non-flowering plants.  The leaves are similar to the one that Griffinia liboniana has, without spots though.  I asked the owner Sherry what its name is, and she said:  "Orange lily, go find the name and bring back to me, and I will write down."  She is such a pleasant lady with a good sense of humor, and every time I visit her nursery, we always chat a little bit about plants.  

Eucrosia Bicolor
Family:Amaryllidaceae

I used the google image to match this lily. After going through a couple of hundreds of pictures, I found the match!

It is called Peruvian Lily or the scientific name Eucrosia Bicolor, from Amaryllidaceae family. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. I am so glad to find another bulb will thrive in South Florida.

Now you know why Sherry's nursery becomes my favorite nursery.  Every time I go there, I feel like going treasure hunt.  With no disappointment, I almost always can find something new and worth bringing home.  This lily is another treasure I discovered!

For readers living in Broward County Florida, if you are interested in this nursery, you might not be able to find it from the Internet.  Its name is "Bah's Nursery", and it is located on the south side of Griffin Rd, East of I-75.  If you drive on Griffin Rd from West to East, you can find "Bah's Nursery" sign on the right side of the road after you pass I-75 not far away.  No, Sherry did not ask me to write this for her,and she even does not know I have a blog.  For a nursery like this, I am happy to use my little public space to promote this hidden treasure. Happy Hunting :)