My niece Elizabeth gave me a cute little Venus Flytrap as a gift last year. I thought at one point I'd killed the poor thing. I didn't realize it wasn't getting enough water and all the catchers turned black and shriveled up! My mom, who has a knack of raising plants from the dead, assured me there was no point in trying to save it. I watered it anyway and left it on the window shelf.

Not only did the little guy pull through, he decided his near death experience was enough to procreate! Last winter it shot up a long stem. The stem had 5 buds on it. I waited and waited to see what would happen...

When the blossoms finally opened, the flytrap made sweet, albeit plain, little flowers. It was a nice reminder that the winter wasn't going to last forever - even if it felt that way many, many times! I liked how the flowers have snow behind them outside.

I would also like to say how much I miss the shelves Mr. O'Banion made for me! They were wonderful, perfect kitchen window shelves. I grew so many herbs, tomatoes, and other plants on those South facing shelves through the winter. I hope whoever buys the house appreciates them.

Do you see the rosemary in the far pot? Rosemary is hard to grow from seed, but if you find a kind you like in the store, it's easy enough to root. Just clip the end of a healthy looking stem of fresh rosemary from the store and place it in a small glass of water. Put it in the window (it doesn't matter what season) and make sure the jar always has water in it. It will take some time, but that stem will grow little roots. As soon as it roots, place it in a pot of dirt in the window and keep it well watered. By spring that one stem will have enough roots to transplant successfully outside.

I would always take a cutting of my rosemary before the first frost to bring inside to root. I got my first plant from a package of fresh rosemary in the store, though. That way you can be sure to grow a type of rosemary you really like. Just my gardening tip of the day! :)