Keep Potted Geraniums Through the Winter

Geranium in Full Bloom

Geraniums are a popular and old fashioned container plant, decorating porches and front steps during the summer. They are not expensive, but if you want to be thrifty and save the plant for next year, geraniums can be overwintered in a cool spot. These cheerful plants are not annuals, though we treat them as such, but tender perennials that don't stand up to cold temperatures. The first frost will kill them. 




Native to South Africa, English botanists introduced them to Europe hundreds of years ago. The plant we usually call Geranium are actually Pelargoniums. They thrive in full sun to part shade and grow in tidy mounds reaching two feet tall and wide.

Here is a picture of my red geranium when I brought it in last Fall. The flowers look a bit skimpy as I had stopped feeding the plant as the weather cooled. Planning on winter storage, I did not want to encourage new growth by using any kind of fertilizer

Geranium in container

I brought the container indoors when the weather turned cold and a frost was predicted for the evening. Setting it in a sunny window to introduce it to the indoors, I soon decided to move it to a cooler location so the plant would go dormant for the winter. Though some of the following pictures show a pretty sad little plant, the geranium came back beautifully by the following May.

Here is how to overwinter your geraniums:

• Remove any flowers as well as flower buds. 

• Cut back one third.

• Set the plant on a basement window sill by an east facing window. The plant does need some light. Temperatures in our basement are quite cool in winter. When heat vents are closed, the temperature feels close to the mid 50s Fahrenheit.

• Water sparingly, maybe only once a month at best. 

• When Spring returns and evening temperatures rise to the mid fifties, return the geranium outdoors. 

The geranium looked pretty sad and I did not have a lot of confidence in its return. You can see that most of the leaves were brown and shriveled. A few healthy leaves reached toward the light.

Mostly dormant Geranium looks pretty sad.

    Cut back all the dead leaves.  Now it doesn't look so bad.

Geranium - cut back dead leaves

 Water thoroughly and place in a sunny location. Begin to lightly feed with your favorite fertilizer. I like to sprinkle some bone meal on the soil to encourage blooms. 

By June, the overwintered geranium had perked up quite nicely, producing leaves and beautiful red blossoms.

 There are other methods of keeping a geranium indoors 

over the winter months. Some people like to store it bare root. Lift the plant from the container and shake off soil. Trim off flowers and most of the foliage. Enclose in a paper bag and hand upside down in a cool, dark place. Once a month, remove from bag and mist lightly. 

I have not tried this as sometimes my basement feels a bit damp in winter. Dampness can cause the growth of mold or mildew. I have not been successful in storing tender plants bare root. But the method I have suggested worked very well, as you can see!

Though geraniums are not expensive and this will not save you a lot of money, it's nice to keep your old friend over the winter. Of course, if you have several, saving them over the cold months is a thrifty practice.

Baltimore's Biggest Salvage Warehouse - 2nd Chance

Second Chance is Baltimore's biggest salvage yard. Located at 1700 Ridgely St, Baltimore, Maryland 21230 near the Raven's Stadium, 2nd Chance is a series of warehouses filled with industrial salvage, antique furniture, used hotel furniture, antique hardware, used restaurant equipment, old appliances, office chairs, patio furniture, salvaged kitchen cabinets, and granite counter top material. 

Vintage Stoves

Look at these beautiful vintage stoves! Here is an old Chambers stove all polished up and ready to go. Many of the gas stoves feature an insert where you can place a pot of soup, an early slow cooker! There are some old electric stoves as well.

Old Tin Ceiling Tiles

2nd Chance is a great place to find flooring and other old building materials including tin ceiling panels. The wall above is covered with old tin ceiling squares - isn't it awesome? Several rooms have been set up to display just what you can do with salvaged materials.

Large sections of old flooring have been used to create this unique wall.  The old salvaged wood makes for a very modern look!

Visiting 2nd Chance is like going to a museum of cool stuff. I love to shop there and recently found an old wicker sofa for $10.00! I've bought ceiling tin which I used to create a wall hanging. Several years ago, I found a metal relief of Lenin's head from a building in the old Soviet Union for my husband's collection of the heads of famous men. (I started that collection for him)

Recently, I spotted a beautiful old religious statue. It had seen better days, all cracked and crumbling but somehow the deterioration added a time worn look that caught at my heart. 

Architectural Salvage in Baltimore - Housewerks

I love salvage shopping and Housewerks is one of my favorite spots in Baltimore. A visit to Housewerks is worth it even if you just want to look at the 1885 building. Here is architectural salvage at work; the owners have restored a 129 year old building, the old Gas Valve Building, once involved in the manufacture of coke gas, a fuel used before natural gas. In 1904, the Baltimore Gas Appliance Manufacturing Corporation used the space to produce the old Oriole Stove.

Vintage Commercial Coca Cola Cooler

Outside, the salvage yard is filled with old tubs used for candy making at Hershey's; vintage metal patio furniture; disassembled
fountains; pieces taken from the front of an old church, and interesting things you don't know what they are. I love this old commercial Coke cooler. It reminds me of stopping by a country grocery store on a hot summer day.

The steps that lead indoors are lined with buckets filled with chunks of colored glass from an old glass works. Inside, find religious statues; industrial lighting; old signs; beautiful antique saints' industrial clocks and much more.  I love the high ceiling with its white supports and huge windows. Head down to the wonderfully spooky basement for more odds and ends.


Housewerks is located at 1415 Bayard St. in Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

Make a Linen Pillow Case For Next to Nothing

Linen Pillow Case

Linen pillow cases are wonderful. With its, dare I say, magical properties, linen keeps you cool and promotes restful and peaceful sleep. I've wanted a linen pillow case for some time but prices run from $15.00 a piece on Etsy (one wonders if it is 100% linen) to $40.00 a piece at Restoration Hardware; $50.00 a piece on Amazon; and $25.00 a piece at Pottery Barn.

While shopping at a thrift store, I found a nice 100% white linen skirt with a nicely done hem. It looked to be a perfect size for a pillow case so I bought the $5.25 skirt. (If I'd gone on half price day, I could have had it for $2.63!)

Here is how I made the pillow case. It's an easy project.

• First, cut out the lining.

• Soak in hot water.

• Place in dryer. You want to shrink that fabric before you cut and sew.

• Next, use a standard pillow case as a template. Place the pillow case on top of the fabric. Measure and cut fabric 1/2 inch or so beyond the edge of the pillow case. 

• Place wrong sides together. That's right - you are sewing the seam up on the right side! This will create hidden seams.

• Iron

• Trim away excess fabric as close to the stitch line as possible.

• Turn your linen pillow case inside out and sew another seam making sure to enclose the already sewn seam. You don't want your luxurious linen pillow case to have raggedy seams. 

You can see in the picture below that the edging is embellished and oh so pretty. Thanks to the pretty skirt hem, the decorative edging was no work at all. I am so thrilled with my pillow case. Now I must look for a skirt for my husband! I'm sure that he would like a linen pillow case too!

Linen Pillow Case With Embellished Edge

Baltimore's Best Thrift Stores - 2nd Ave. Essex

Thrift Store Coat

Second Avenue located in the store formerly known as 
Village Thrift at 10 Stemmers Run Road in Baltimore, Maryland offers a huge selection of clothing, textiles, 
shoes, toys, and books. Although it is a chain, the size
of the place and their wide variety of goods, keep
me coming back. 

As in any thrift store, the best way to shop is by following 
sale days, which seem to change often. I like to stop in with an open mind; that seems to be the way to find the best as well as unique items. If something is dropped off and set out, if it is totally fabulous, it won't last long. 

My favorite purchase at 2nd Avenue is the coat pictured above. The long robe like coat has a label that says "Sofia New York." It is made of cotton with a beautiful vintage style lining. The black decorations are actually long zippers. There are no fasteners. It is so soft, I am wondering if it was originally a robe. I can find no information on it online. This was not picked up on a sale day, so the beautiful coat cost me a whopping $12.00. I have heard people complain about the prices here, but you can't beat finding something this special for that price. 

My husband always finds clothing here and I have found everything I need for my cheapo wardrobe.

Thrift store vintage silver plate flatware

Against my own best advice, I have found brand name shoes with no wear at all. I once found vintage plastic curtains, hideous yes, but they were like new.

Second Avenue displays flatware and kitchen utensils in baggies hung above the shelves. While I used to enjoy pawing through the boxes of mixed flatware in my search for vintage silver plate, the new display allows for a very quick search. Learning to master the art of the quick search is an essential here. The store is so big that it would take forever to look at everything. I scan the clothing racks with certain fabrics in mind. It's easy to spot linen, or a favorite pattern if you just skim along the tops of the hangers.


Second Avenue is located at 10 Stemmers Run Road, Essex Maryland 21211. There is a convenient drop-off truck stationed in the parking lot.

Low Light Flowering Houseplant - Clivea Miniata

Clivea in Bloom

I love houseplants but my house is not the best for the kind of muted bright light most houseplants need to thrive. There is nothing like an east facing window to keep most plants looking their best. My largest window faces north east and is quite dim in winter when the sun light moves south. So I am always on the lookout for plants that like low light conditions. 

Clivea Miniata is a beautiful flowering houseplant that fills the bill. In order to get Clivea to flower, decrease the light and lighten up on watering during the winter. Cool nights are a help as well. The combination of these environmental conditions create a rest period so that the plant can store up the energy it takes to bloom. 

After a 6 - 8 week rest period, allow the plant to get a bit more light. Of course if Clivea is in a north east facing window, this will happen naturally as the sun "moves" north in spring. Increase your watering schedule and feed lightly with a weak liquid fertilizer. (I say weak because most fertilizers tell you to use more than is necessary) 

When you water any houseplant, use water that has been allowed to set out for at least 24 hours so that it can off-gass chlorine. (Funny how it's okay to drink the stuff)

The beautiful luminous flowers of the Clivea  remain in bloom for several weeks. After the flowers have faded, cut the flower stem off close to the plant. Even after the flowers are gone, Clivea is a wonderful plant with beautiful foliage. Dust off those deep green strappy leaves every so often. 

Clivea produces small shoots from its (rather unattractive) roots. Cut off a shoot and plant it. You may have to wait a few years for the new plant to produce blooms. This easy reproduction will give you the opportunity to have a plant to trade. I love free houseplants and trading is the cheapest way to increase your little houseplant community. 

Fixing Up Some Trash - My Free Settee

Settee found in trash

 I found this ugly little settee set out by the curb one day and carried it home thinking it would make a nice piece of extra seating when we had guests instead of the folding metal chairs with someone else's name scrawled in sharpie across the back.

It needed a redo, sad as it was, and I thought that I'd just cover the seat and give it a quick paint job. All sorts of fanciful ideas floated - silver paint with blue and gray fabric, antique white or French gray with a piece of grain sacking. Of course I put if off, stuck it in the basement with the rest of the projects waiting to happen.

Then a party loomed and I was in the mood! The fast, emergency chair redo went like this:

• Rummage through the fabric scraps to find something big enough

• Clean off the wood and caning

• Glue loose parts with wood glue (I just tied it all up with rope for support til the glue was dry)

• Cover bench seat - wrap like a gift, tack, and staple (whoops, the bench seat was cracked so I just filled the crack with glue then taped over it)

Cover the seat with fabric

• Spray the fabric with Scotch Guard

• Screw the seat onto the frame (through the screw holes below)

Once I popped the covered seat onto the frame I realized that it looked just fine without a paint job. The wood that had looked so horrible was now perfectly acceptable paired with the attractive new fabric. I was so happy with the quick change!

My family likes it too! They want to keep it upstairs instead of relegating it to the basement to bring up for company. My son no longer accuses me of stealing chairs from the people whose names were on the backs of the old ones. 
Instead of sitting on cold metal, ugly folding chairs left behind (or purloined) my honored guests can sit on a cute little settee that I pulled out of my neighbor's garbage!