Okay. Here's a pic of silly plants but they make me happy! Thanks to a quick trip to Home Depot over the weekend I've added sweet alyssum, marigolds (yes, marigolds in winter!) to go along with my violas and my Osmanthus fragans 'Fudingzhu' which has been blooming for months now. It doesn't look much like winter today. Laugh. It's sunny and in the forties. Tomorrow we're supposed to get snow and sleet so of course the marigolds will be kept inside. :) Mike, It's been too long for me to remember the intensity of scent from the chloranthus (though I do have buds on it as well as on my Chinese Perfume Plant). If I ever get blooms at the same time I'll try to compare them for you. :) -Robert

So an update of sorts - I think I'm in LOVE with the Michela Alba scent. I had the chance to sit close and personal with Mike Meyer's Alba on Sunday - I sat on the carpet and the Alba was at my shoulder and the blossoms just wafted at me... it was such a delightful experience ... I kept sniffing - not knowing the Alba was there - because I'd been in a deep conversation with his mom. And when I realized where it was coming from... WOW! such a shame that those plants are so big. I know Mike cuts his down a LOT - but it's still to big of a plant for my tiny apartment. I know I can't fit one ... but doesn't stop me from wanting one. I wish they'd bottle that scent. I worked on my yard on sunday and my fragrent roses are finally in resting in my front yard. I'm ready for some blooms any time. My older roses are all in bud. I must have 20 buds getting ready to open. I may not have many pictures for May - but June will be a challenge to keep up with them. :)

The west window will work. If you have a gloomy winter then supplemental lighting might be necessary. The one plant that i currently have, it was a 4-5" little plant last Fall. Now a year later it's around 1 foot tall and much fuller looking, so yes very slow growing but always in buds. i think it would bloom every 2 months for me if i haven't been neglecting it. I did attempt to grow datura (the dwarf kind) two times, but had to throw them out before they could bloom. Its cousin, the Brugmasia is also very fragrant, so many cultivars to choose from too though i haven't sniffed one yet to comment on the scent. I think Sampaguita is the jasminum sambac? (I'm obsessed with sambac ;) ) AAh, try lavender too! I had some dwarf lavender growing from a Walmart seed pack earlier this year, they smelled very nice. Great for tea! :)

Update on the dying chloranthus. The stem broke in half and turned black, but there are now two sprouts coming up from the base, and they are a very healthy green. I think it will be happy where it is. The stem probably broke because it was already dead. The geckos are tiny (4" long) so they shouldn't cause any trouble with the new growth. The temps in the terrarium go from 75f at night to 90f in the daytime. Everything gets heavily misted with distilled water every morning. Bromeliads and begonias are already doing well in there.