Archives for June 2019

I’m always looking for natural ways to fight seasonal allergies. This eucalyptus shower bouquet combines the benefits of eucalyptus essential oils with steam from a hot shower to help relieve nasal and chest congestion. Seeing fresh eucalyptus branches also provide the calming quality that green plants are known to give us. A good way to start the day!

Commitment: Setup takes about 3 minutes then it’s maintenance free.

Investment: $2 – $3 per branch

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The variety I bought is “baby blue” but any type works.

If you’re in the Cleveland area, I got mine at Blossom Cleveland, a make-your-own-bouquet shop in Lakewood.

Florists, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods often carry them too.

To buy online, try Larolf on Amazon. I haven’t tried their eucalyptus, but I bought my dried lavender from this seller and had a good experience.

Prep

You’ll need:

• Fresh eucalyptus branches (I used 5)
• String (I used kitchen twine)
• Scissors

Arrange the branches so the ends are about even. Cut a piece of string about 8 inches long. Tie the branches together a couple inches from the bottom.

Cut another piece of string, and thread it through where you tied the branches together. Tie the bouquet onto your shower head with the branches hanging behind the water flow. Cut off any extra string.

The steam from the shower releases the essential oils from the leaves.

Maintain

No maintenance needed. The bouquet should last a couple weeks.

Benefits

Potential health benefits:

• Relieves nasal and chest congestion from allergies and colds
• Energizes with its mood-boosting, fresh scent
• Seeing green plants has a calming effect

The bouquet gives off a light scent and looks pretty as fresh decor. To up the eucalyptus scent in the whole room, I added a eucalyptus-spearmint hand soap and hand lotion from a local natural soap shop. All of this makes for a naturally fragranced, fresh bathroom. No green thumb required 🙂

–Karen

I’m guessing you don’t think about bees very often, and neither do I. But things like coffee, chocolate, and flowers do cross my mind a fair amount. What I never fully realized though is that these things are only possible because of bees and other pollinators.

Hear me out on this. A cup of coffee is made from coffee beans, which come from the coffee plant. The coffee plant exists because of pollinators. If pollinators weren’t around, we’d live in a world without things like coffee, blueberries, avocados, chocolate, sugarcane, and many, many other foods.

Bees & Other Pollinators

Bees are the largest group of pollinators, but other pollinators include animals like hummingbirds, butterflies, ants, and flies. Most flowering plants need help getting their pollen transported to and from other plants for fertilization to occur, and pollinators handle this not-so-insignificant task.

Pollinators are responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat, and, sadly, pollinator populations are in decline due to habitat loss, climate change, and disease.

What We Can Do

• Buy local honey and beeswax products like lip balm and candles to support local beekeepers.
• Plant something. Some good ones that you and the bees will like are lavender, rosemary, sage, sunflower, and verbena.
• Keep doing your part to reduce climate change.

This week is National Pollinator Week (June 17-23, 2019). A great excuse to take a little time out of the day to help the bees!

–Karen

Resources: The Honey Bee Conservancy and Pollinator Partnership.

I brought home a couple Boston Fern hanging baskets last week. I’m really liking them. They add interest, texture, and a solid pop of color without being overwhelming. They’re good for filling in blank vertical space on a porch or against a wall, and their visual messiness contrasts against a modern, minimalistic outdoor area.

Commitment: Water every couple days but monitor daily

Investment: $35 – $40 for a 10” basket

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Buy them as big as you realistically can for your space. Big, lush hanging baskets > small, dinky ones. Try to get a 10” or larger. A 10” means the top of the pot is 10” wide and the fern itself should be about 24” wide.

I got mine at a local nursery, but here are some similar online options:

Amazon: Costa Farms

Garden Goods

Prep

Leave it in the plastic pot it came in. Hanging baskets dry out quickly, but a plastic pot helps retain more water.

You’ll need to install a ceiling hook to hang the basket onto. I bought these, which are 6” long and hold up to 25 pounds. We already had holes drilled from the previous homeowners, but if you don’t, Google how to drill a pilot hole. Once the hole is made, screw in the ceiling hook, hang the basket, and you’re done!

Maintain

Monitor the soil daily since hanging baskets can dry out quickly especially in the heat. The soil should be damp but not soggy. Set the basket on the ground and use a water bottle or watering can to water it until water starts draining out the bottom of the pot.

In the Fall, bring them inside, or toss them and get new ones next year.

I’d love to see what you do with these! Show me a photo on Instagram @deadplantclub or email me at deadplantclub@gmail.com.

–Karen