cast iron plant hardy?

the cast iron plant (aspidistra elatior) is known as a houseplant for dark and shady places. it's a slow grower, available in a wide range of cultivars.

at the moment i'm testing if this plant is really hardy because some books are saying that. it's growing on a shady place in our garden. and after the first snow yesterday it's still alive.



i have a small collection of aspidistras with white stripped or spotted leaves. and they are really outgrowing my flat. so if it works, next year i'll put more of them in to the garden.

aspidistra houseplant care -->

the members of the genus aspidistra are native to china, japan or tawain. here in germany they are really hard to get.

rock garden rain protection

in my rock garden i have some south african exotics like ice plants (delosperma) or living rocks (aloinopsis). they are hardy if kept dry during the winter. so untill next march the rock garden ist protected.




delosperma sutherlandii (ice plant)


aloniopsis sphatulata (living rocks)

indoor gardening

encyclia cochleata is commonly known as cockleshell orchid. the easy to care for plant is suitable for bright to light shaded places. during summer some of my orchids are placed light shaded in the garden. this can be helpful for building up its flowers.

my cockleshell orchid is flowering two to three times a year.