Can I tickle your Plant?

Have you ever seen one of these? It is a Tickle Me Plant, also known as Sensitive fern, and Mimosa pudica. When I was a child living in the tropics, we hunted for these roadside weeds, so we could touch their leaves.

Why? Because when touched, the leaves fold up right before your eyes, and the branches droop down. It's fascinating to watch, and a mystery of the plant world. Tickle Me plants can be grown easily from seed, and make great projects for kids.

I can testify that kids of ALL ages find these plants very entertaining. I have one on my office windowsill, and I never tire of "tickling" it to watch it fold up tight.
This is the same plant has after being touched. See how tight the leaves are, and how the stems droop instead of reaching up? In a few minutes, it will open up again.

They are slow growing, so don't get discouraged. Mine is happy on a sunny windowsill with moist soil. I bought it online at www.Seedlover.com.

Pics from Last Summer

These are my earth boxes from last year. I did not have a yard, just a very sunny deck, and this was my garden! They both stayed beautiful all summer, and the herb garden was great! This year, I have a yard, but it is morstly shady, so I'm going to use my earth boxes for veggies. Tomatoes for sure, and maybe some squash or melons in the second one. I have a 3rd one, which I may use for herbs again. The great thing is I can move them around because they are on casters, to take advantage of whatever sunlight my wooded lot will have.