Despite the beautiful weather we have been having lately, gardening outside will be rapidly coming to an end for this season, but there is always inside. Houseplants can be a big stress reliever during those long cold nights of winter. Plus there are many benefits for keeping houseplants, first of which is fresher air, as houseplants are natural air filters. Tending to houseplants helps our well-being by the cathartic effect of just getting your hands in the dirt. Ever since we were kids, most of us liked to play in the dirt and that is a feeling you never outgrow. The simple act of repotting a plant can make you feel happier. So maybe you don’t like to get your hands dirty, the art of bonsai has been taught for centuries both as a way to improve concentration but also to connect to nature and natural surroundings. If you’re still not sold, how about a fairy garden or terrarium. There are so many ways to enjoy nature indoors and these days it is even easier than ever before. Long gone are the days when you had to rely on a neighbor, family or friends to water your plants when you are away as there are many choices of long term plant watering options. Even artificial light has come a long way with new LED plant bulbs that can illuminate your plants at a fraction of the cost. I have plants in my house that are older than my, now adult, children. I inherited this year, a Christmas cactus that belonged to my great-grandmother. Apparently my great-grandmother had it when she still had a boarding house in Callicoon Center and now that cactus is somewhere around 75 years old. Some plants need lots of care and some thrive on neglect, like cactus and aloe. A few years ago I brought home an aloe plant that was only about six inches tall and now it is over two feet tall in a fourteen inch clay pot. And this past spring it had sprouted a dozen babies from the roots that I potted up and next spring I’ll sell them at the store. Sometimes your plants will need your time and attention, especially when they get bugs and they will get bugs. Your houseplants don’t produce bugs, but they do provide a lovely shelter and tasty snack for them. There are plenty of insects that will just love to suck the life out of your houseplants if left untreated. If you have patio plants that you are bringing in for the winter, make sure you treat them before you bring them in to prevent giving the bugs a free ride into your living room. Most bugs are easy to kill like aphids, spider mites and whiteflies, by using insecticidal soaps, oil sprays and Spinosad (Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew). Spray your plants the day before you bring them in. If you have already brought them in and they can be moved easily, then place your plants into the bathtub and spray them there. The reason for this that some sprays could stain your carpet, upholstery and drapes, and if the bugs jump off your plant like rats on a sinking ship, they can be easily washed down the drain. One insect that is a little tougher to tame is fungus gnats. Those little black flies that look like fruit flies but live in the soil of your houseplants. Well they really don’t live there, but they do lay their eggs there and when the larvae hatch out they eat the roots of your houseplants. Beside spraying to kill the adult flies, your need to let the soil dry out between waterings to kill the larvae. The toughest insect to kill is scale. An insect that has a strong outer shell that will protect it from any spray as it makes a suction cup seal against your plant. The only way to kill them is with a systemic insecticide that you put in the soil and the plant sucks it up into the stems and leaves. When the scale sucks the sap from your plant, they ingest the insecticide. This works well for most houseplants, but you cannot use this remedy for any plants you might eat, like herbs growing in the kitchen window or plants that your cats might eat. Move your plant to a room that can be closed off if you have a cat that likes to chew on leaves. Enjoy the nice weather while you can, we both know it won’t last much longer.