Such as it is, the garden inside

You see above the freshly stocked plant room: 2 large gardenias, a banana, an alocasia, a colocasia (Thai giant), 2 jasmines, 3 orchids, 2 hippeastrum, a big croton, a sansevieria, a cactus assortment, a Christmas cactus, and 2 common houseplants that probably have long unpronounceable names. I can’t recall them and I don’t think I have the tags. (You can't see all of these, but believe me, they're there.)

It looks great now, but we’ll see how things progress as we get into the winter months. Probably one or two will get strange ailments that cause all their leaves to drop off, and I’m sure I’ll have to deal with some infestations. The lights still aren’t right; maybe the local hydroponic place will have some better bulbs that can screw into regular sockets. If not, why not? This really burns me up (ha). Seriously, it should be easier for the average gardener to install acceptable grow lights. There should be something other than those awkward fixtures.

In early January, it will be time for the hyacinths to come in here. That will be a trick. Maybe I should hope for some casualties. For the next five months or so, this room, the houseplants elsewhere in the house, and the bulbs in the root cellar will combine to form my indoor garden. It’s not quite the same, but I’ll be supplementing with trips to the botanical gardens, garden books, and, of course, reading and writing blogs.