Not too many to count

Much of December through mid-March is spent wrangling bulbs and flowering houseplants: that is their big season. This is the first time I’ve attempted a count— I'm doing it because a count has been requested by Mr. McGregor’s Daughter. She has more than she thought, and wants to know if that's true for a lot of gardeners who don't think they have many houseplants.


I won’t leave anyone in suspense—I have 70, which really isn’t all that many. And quite a number of them are temporary. Indoor plants have come into my possession three different ways.


First there are the traditional houseplants, which are tropicals or warm zone perennials such as ficus, sanseviera, orchids, and so on. I have 28 of those, including a nice bonsai, a few zygocactus, a cyclamen, a couple of big foliage numbers, and others of various interest.


Then there are plants that I am really just keeping alive inside until I can bring them outside for the summer, where some of them will produce fragrant flowers. These include 3 gardenia, 2 jasmine, a big musa, a papyrus, and quite a few others. There are 20 of these.


Then there are bulbs, including tazettas, hyacinth, and hippeastrum. I count these by the pot, regardless of how many bulbs are in each pot. The tazettas and hyacinth will be composted after bloom, and the hippeastrums will be kept as houseplants in the hopes of rebloom. Many of them will move outside for the summer. I have 22 of these.

I actually photographed each plant, just for fun, but I’ll spare you all but a few of them. It was a good opportunity to make sure they were all alive.