I bought this endearing little plant about ten years ago. For me this is a truly charming terrarium plant. I adore Goeppertia micans leaves; their foliage may appear to be lovely, but fairly ordinary plain green, narrow leaves, but when you touch this foliage it’s a delightful surprise to discover that these leaves are sumptuously soft! The undersides of every leaf are smooth and silky, they feel like the softest velvet.
Goeppertia warscewiczii is a handsome tender plant that hails from the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. This Goeppertia produces absolutely fabulous, velvety, bottle-green coloured leaves, which are beautifully enhanced by their jade-green variegation, and nicely set off by the leaf’s contrasting claret-coloured undersides. With regular care, warm, even temperatures, high humidity levels, and bright, filtered lighting, this stunning plant will grow successfully inside our homes.
French beans (known by their botanical name, Phaseolus vulgaris) are such lovely vegetables to grow. These plants are both productive and decorative, with attractive flowers. French beans are super plants that will truly enhance your garden; the beans they produce taste delicious, too!
Firstly, take care to select the type of French bean you want to grow. There are two types of French beans: tall climbing French beans (often called ‘Pole Beans’) that grow up to 8ft (2.5m) tall (and taller!)
Callisia repens is a low growing, tender herbaceous perennial plant from Mexico, North, Central, and South America. Plants thrive in partially shaded conditions, in shallow, free draining, acid soils. This easy-to-grow plant readily adapts to a range of circumstances; tolerating both brighter and more shaded environments, as well as moist, humid, and drier conditions and neutral compost and soils; making Callisia repens a superb houseplant, thats hard to kill!
Courgettes, also known as Zucchini (and by the botanical name of Cucurbita pepo), are tender vegetables that are very productive and rewarding to grow. Courgettes vary from one variety to another; you’ll find seeds of yellow courgettes (like my plant in the photograph above), pale forms of courgette that are such a soft green they’re almost white, as well as light green, very dark green courgettes, and striped courgettes.
Masdevallia nidifica is a miniature epiphytic and lithophytic orchid species, which is widespread: this species originates from Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, where this plant can be found growing in areas of mountainous forest and cloud forests.
Given cool to intermediate temperatures, a shaded environment and a moist environment Masdevallia nidifica is a reliable and floriferous orchid species. This plant requires very high humidity and constant growing conditions all through the year to succeed, when it will grow into a rewarding plant that can flower at any time of year.
Runner beans, also known by their botanical name of Phaseolus coccineus, are tender perennials that originate from Mexico and South America. Runner beans are deservedly popular in the UK; these easy to grow vegetables are both decorative and productive.
Both dwarf runner bean varieties and tall climbing runner bean varieties are available – check the label before buying seeds or plants to determine how tall they will grow.
Psygmorchis pusilla is a miniature, epiphytic orchid species, which can be found growing in humid forests in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela, and other exotic locations, where the plant colonises the outer branches of trees.
Psygmorchis pusilla is a delightful, fan shaped, miniature orchid species, which has an attractive appearance even when it’s not in flower. This orchid produces very large, predominantly yellow inflorescences, which have red-maroon markings.
Dinema polybulbon is a miniature, epiphytic and lithophytic orchid species, which originates from Cuba, Mexico, and Nicaragua, where this orchid can be found growing on trees and rocks, in areas of humid forest.
Dinema polybulbon produces large, caramel and ivory coloured, fragrant flowers, which have a striking appearance and a rather elegant beauty.
I find that Dinema polybulbon is far easier to grow as a mounted specimen than as a pot grown plant.
