Our Blog

Tips for Decorating your Home with Lovely, Large Foliage!

orders.ravennagardens@gmail.com — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 22:24:00 -0600

One of the easiest ways to soften a room and enhance your interior space is to add large foliage.

About Water..

orders.ravennagardens@gmail.com — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 00:42:00 -0500

This year has been rough for gardeners in the Pacific Northwest. In Seattle alone, we have had several weeks on end with record-setting temperatures and lack of rain. Long range forecasts predict another drier than normal winter here in the Pacific Northwest, so correct watering techniques become especially important during these times. Here are some Watering 101 strategies we have found to work for our gardens.

Design Tips for Container Gardens

Mon, 23 Feb 2015 13:28:00 -0600

Want to learn how-to design a container like a pro? Read this great blog post written by our in-house designer to get the scoop.

Beat the Winter Blues with Houseplants!

Wed, 04 Feb 2015 17:21:00 -0600

Curing the winter blues is as easy as adding houseplants to your interior design. It is scientifically proven that houseplants can add to your health as well as brighten your day.

6 Tips To Get the Most out of the NW Flower & Garden Show!

orders.ravennagardens@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 14:57:00 -0600

The Northwest Flower & Garden Show is the second largest show of its kind in the country. If you live in the area and never have been - you are really missing out on an opportunity to celebrate the coming of Spring in all its glory. Check out these tips written by Courtney Goetz, the show's Social Media Manager, on how to get the most out of the show!

Top Plants for Indoor Gardening

orders.ravennagardens@gmail.com — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 16:58:00 -0500

Written by Stacy Lyon

Why do I love indoor plants so much?

They clean the interior air of my home, they are pleasing to all of my senses and they allow me to bring a little bit of outdoors into my living space.

And…wait for it …they are easy-to-care for!

Three factors contribute to indoor plant success.Correct light, just the right amount of watering and room temperature.To make it easy, light requirements for plants usually fall into three categories: low, medium and high.

Two plants that I love to grow in low light, which is an interior of a room or northern

light, are the Neanthe Bella Palm (Chamaedorea elegans) and the Neon Pothos (Scindapsus aures). Both are hardy, usually thrive by watering thoroughly once a week and one grows upright and the other one trails.

Moving on to medium light requirements, which is usually an eastern or southern exposure without being in direct sunlight. I favor two plants that that are structurally beautiful and super easy-to-grow because they take very little watering.The snake plant (Sansevieria) and the ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamifolia) are upright structurally and only need to be watered once a month.

Plants that require high light or direct southern or western exposure are sun loving succulents of any kind. My favorites here are the Haworthia and the String of Pearls (Senecio rowleyanus). Both require very little water and high light.

Five must-have plants for the young and green at heart:

Succulents. Why? They are small, they fit perfectly on a window sill. The only need to be watered twice a month. They are a great way to make a statement on a small budget.
The Snake plant (Sansevieria). It's structurally beautiful. Grows in a variety of light conditions and needs to be watered only once a month.
The Homalomena plant. Beautiful and green with heart shaped leaves. This plant will live in low and medium light and the leaves always stay nice and green with no browning at the tips.
The Bird’s Nest fern (Asplenium nidus). One of the easiest ferns to grow in medium light. Watering once a week and you have this tropical beauty thriving in your living space.
The Neon Pothos (Scindapsus aures). Lime green adds a pop to any dark corner.This low light plant likes to stay on the drier side and will trail wherever you want it to.

Indoor plants are a great way to bring the outdoors inside. Stop by Ravenna Gardens and we would be happy to talk more about the beauty and ease of indoor gardening.

Growing and Caring for your Air Plants

orders.ravennagardens@gmail.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 14:29:00 -0500

Tillandsias, or air plants, are easy to grow. Why? These bromeliads are epiphytes and get all of the water and nutrients they need from the air through their leaves. They use their roots only for attaching themselves to rocks, trees, shrubs and the ground. Native to the southern United States, Mexico, Central & South America, air plants are warm-weather lovers that can thrive on neglect. Here are our suggestions for keeping your Air Plants happy and thriving.

- Tillandsias need bright, indirect light.

- Constant air circulation is paramount to keeping your plant happy.

-Water your tillandsia by misting it two to three timers per week, andby submerging it in room temperature water for 15-20 minutes every week. Watering is one of the most important keys to succeeding with Tillandsias, and one of the most misunderstood. People tend to think that because the common name is Air Plant these plants need little or no water (as living on air). This is the biggest mistake you can make. They need water, although they can survive for long periods of drought, they are not growing or thriving in these conditions, they are going dormant.

- Fertilize monthly in spring and summer, using a low-nitrogen liquid fertilizer mixed at one-quarter strength.

-In summer, most air plants need protection from full sun.

- Don't let an air plant sit somewhere colder than 45 degrees, it will die at those temperatures. If you live in Zone 9 or warmer, you can grow an air plant outdoors all year if you keep it dry during the winter (In the Pacific Northwest, you can give your air plant a treat and put it outside in the summer, but be sure to bring back inside when night time temperatures are below 50 degrees).

Air plants make a great architectural element in your home and also work well in a terrarium. At Ravenna Gardens, we have a great assortment of glass (hanging and not) and also decorative rocks, perfect for making your own air plant garden.

Caring for Your Fermob Furniture

orders.ravennagardens@gmail.com — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 19:12:00 -0500

Have you ever wondered the best way to care for you beloved Fermob furniture? Fermob has added a section to their website that gives their advice on the best way to clean and maintain Fermob furniture. Scroll down to read some excerpts of their advice...

Cleaning Your Furniture:

Metal furniture can be cleaned using either clean water or water containing a non-detergent soap.
The furniture should then be wiped dry to remove any smears or traces of limescale.
Abrasive sponges should not be used to scrub the furniture, and no abrasive powders or other types of detergent should be used.
For dirt that is more heavily ingrained, you should use either a window-cleaning product that contains alcohol, or a specific product such as Star brite® Multi-Purpose Cleaner.
For furniture incorporating both metal and outdoor technical fabric, the fabric should be cleaned with soapy water. For ingrained dirt, you should use a brush and a specific product such as Star brite® Multi-Purpose Cleaner.

Maintaining Fermob Furniture

All our products are delivered with pads that protect the furniture feet as well as floor surfaces. These pads prevent any degradation or damage to the feet resulting from contact with the ground, which can sometimes be damp or harsh. We recommend that you replace any lost pads by ordering a new set from your Fermob dealer.

You should not allow water to accumulate on or around your furniture, especially around the feet and pads.

Any scratches should be quickly treated using the available Fermob after-sales tools (such as touch-up pens and sprays in the colour of your furniture). If rust begins to appear as a result of a scratch or bump, you should not sand it, but instead, repaint as quickly as possible the area using the appropriate Fermob retouch pen or aerosol spray. If rust develops on stainless-steel parts, then a polish (liquid or paste only) should be applied as soon as the first traces appear. The sooner action is taken, the less the rust will spread.

Some Fermob furniture includes wood treated with Textrol® to protect it from the weather. By its very nature, wood requires special care: a wood seal such as Textrol® should be regularly applied, with the prior application of a wood cleaner such as Net-Trol® if necessary.

Table tops should not be covered with plastic sheeting: the chemical components in this type of material can, over time, alter the appearance of the paint as well as its protective anti-corrosion and anti-UV propertie

Furniture that features OTF (outdoor technical fabric) should be protected from potential damage from contact with sharp objects or sources of heat such as cigarettes.

Due to the nature of the material used, iron furniture does not react well to highly saline environments. For coastal environments, we recommend our aluminium products.

The lifespan of your furniture will vary in relation to the conditions and type of use. To maximise the lifespan of your product, we recommend that you store it in a dry, well-ventilated place during the winter, and ensure it is protected from any knocks and bumps.

To prevent scratches and water retention, we recommend that you do not place decorative objects or flower pots on tables. Please avoid stocking your chairs upside down on tables.

We recommend that you clean off any traces of bird droppings as quickly as possible, as these can be particularly damaging and may lead to the permanent corrosion or staining of your furniture.

Republished from Fermob website