Try these tips for tending to orchids - Garden - IslandPacket.com

My grandmother tended a Boston fern, my mother a philodendron that she called "parlor ivy." Both house plants were labeled "easy care," with forgiving ways as to their watering, feeding and light requirements.

The houseplants of yesterday are still to be found but not always in the house. Boston ferns in the Lowcountry might be seen carpeting our shady gardens or hanging in baskets outdoors. Philodendron will survive mild winters if grown outdoors in a protected space.