More on bananas and other tropicals

I am starting to move my tropical plants to my front porch, preparing to bring them inside for the winter (see my pod cast, VirginiaOrganicGardener, on itunes or at http://virginiaorganicgardener.podbean.com/ this week and next for tips on dealing with unwanted critters coming in on these plants!) My banana plant, despite the cold, has put out another flower that I will get to enjoy indoors for the next few months..and maybe sketch too. This is one of the joys of many tropicals, like citrus and hibiscus: getting indoor blooms in the dead of winter. My set up to keep them going is simple: they are placed on a tarp, under long florescent fixtures in my insulated, and occasionally heated, attic.
Happy gardening!

Wildlife: Today's Visitor

This might not appear to be a garden entry, but it is. The photo is today's visitor to our yard and gardens, a lovely red-tailed hawk. What does this have to do with gardening? Though we live in the 'burbs, we have plenty of shrubs, evergreens, trees, a variety of plants and a brush pile, all encouraging places for wildlife to roost, hide and live. We have feeders, a water source and native host plants too. I will soon be writing a more detailed entry on encouraging critters in your yard and one on the VA Habitat at Home program.
In the meantime, I have started pod-casting! My pod cast is available thorough itunes, just search for VirginiaOrganicGardener!
Happy gardening!
Enjoy the coming snow!