Let Indoor Gardening Beautify Your Life

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Modern living cuts us off from nature . . . especially in the winter. Snow, sleet, freezing rain and biting winds make a warm fireplace look more attractive.

But we all enjoy a special sense of joy when a bud sprouts into a blossom, new leaves extend themselves and we smell the rich, humid aroma of humus. If you live in a place where winter cuts you off from those joys, I suggest that you purchase some plants and spend more time caring for the plants you already have.

Indoor living is mostly the process of slow dying for plants. But they help us live. If we treat them well, they will survive through the winter until we can put them outdoors again for the beautiful, natural environment that they really need.

If you aren't much of a gardener, start simple. Christmas cacti can be particularly rewarding and require little care. They bloom twice a year (although rarely exactly at Christmas except when you first purchase them because some clever plant wholesaler has forced them to meet that season). Their delicate papery blossoms will remind you of Japanese wood cuts, and provide a wonderful contrast to the cold weather outside and the cactus stem from which they burst.

I am particularly fond of having fuchsias to hand outdoors in the spring. These delicate plants provide beautiful steady blooms through spring and summer if kept in the shade and from getting too hot. During the winter, they regress. But it gives me great joy to be able to watch them burst forth with energy when they can go outdoors again. And it's so much nicer than throwing them away!

Some people enjoy hanging plants full of greenery. You can drape their growths everywhere and make a jungle-like area.

Plants need different levels of temperature. A house is usually too hot for the more delicate ones. Consider having a room or two where you restrict the heat. You can also place some plants next to windows to provide even cooler temperatures.

Feel free to trim and prune your plants regularly. You'll enjoy a sense of accomplishment and benefit from being in closer contact with your plants.

You also need to water and feed on the right schedule. There are too many differences among plants for me to generalize here. But do look up the answers on the Internet or ask someone in the greenhouse at your garden center for the answers. A particularly effective approach is to mix some Miracle Grow into your watering can so that you water and feed at the same time. If you spill though, there's a blue-green stain from the fertilizer. A popular alternative is to use little sticks of fertilizer that you can push into the soil. These sticks gradually dissolve when you water. When they disappear, it's time to put another set of sticks in. The Home Depot has very inexpensive choices.

Once in awhile, you also need to put your plants into a larger pot. It can be messy, so spread out some newspapers and do your repotting in the garage. It's very rewarding to see how much happier your plant looks after you do this though.

For more adventuresome indoor gardeners, consider upgrading into bonsai plants. These stunted, exquisite plants will outlive you with care . . . and can be a great gift to the next generation.

When you aren't gardening though, be sure to look at and smell your plants. Get closer. Its' good for you!

Could a billionaire do better? Possibly.

Billionaires can afford to have acres of greenhouses, staffs to tend their plants, and any sort of plant they want. But unless they take the time to be with their plants and so some of their own gardening, you'll have the edge. It will be hard for many billionaires to justify the time. They are often into having more billions than they are into beautiful living.

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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Here are some upcoming subjects:

Tomorrow, you will read about how to forgive your enemies to live a more beautiful spiritual life.

On Monday, we'll travel to Jolly Old England to plan your visit to dozens of mansions.

Tuesday, let's travel to Scotland to visit even more mansions.

Wednesday, let's head for Wales for further mansion viewing.

On Thursday, we'll look at how to handle your e-mail to live better than a billionaire.

Friday, you and I will explore how to pick an exciting new area to learn in 2006!

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that I posted on November 30. The table of contents will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.

August 31 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Check out the latest index at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005/11/latest-table-of-contents-to-this-blogs_30.html to pick out your choice.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Create Your Own 2,000 Percent Solutions at
http://2000percentsolutions.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell