Debra Varvaro recycled the sink in her potting table from a kitchen remodeling project.
(GEORGE GARDNER / Staff)

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090204/CITYPEOPLE/902040306/1062

Tropical treasure-hunting
Greenhouse nurtures Varvaro's favorite plants

By Eliza Holcombe • CONTRIBUTING WRITER • February 4, 2009

Debra Varvaro is as passionate about collecting as she is about gardening. Her home of two years boasts established fruit trees and blueberry shrubs mixed with an assortment of unique landscape ornamentals.

This past November saw the addition of a cozy greenhouse that allows her to gather a spectrum of frost-tender plants.

"My goal for the greenhouse is to have happy, healthy citrus, and I really want to learn how to propagate plants well," says Varvaro. "I also want to keep growing unusual things like pitcher plant and alligator fern."

Varvaro eagerly exhibits the tiny new vessels forming on her pitcher plant and the scaly texture of an alligator fern. She relishes each plant's individuality.

One of her favorites greets visitors as they walk in the door, Holmskiodia sanguinea (Chinese bougainvillea). Sunlight glows through the papery orange blooms.

"The nursery called it a Chinese bougainvillea, and my brother gave it to me when I was visiting for Thanksgiving. The cool thing is that I hadn't had Thanksgiving with my brother since I was 11 years old because he used to live in Hawaii and Washington. It's a special gift."

Varvaro also cherishes the air plant (Tillandsia sp.) hanging from a soil-less perch in the window. It was a Christmas gift from her son-in-law.

"He went in the store and asked for the weirdest thing they had."

Watered rarely and provided with bright light, it is one of the easiest houseplants to grow.

An abundance of ferns are scattered in between blooming plants, each described by Varvaro with intimacy.

"This is a rabbit or squirrel's foot fern, which I got at the farmer's market on Rutherford Road. I think that it's neat because of the fuzzy roots; it really does look like a rabbit's foot."

Her flowering plants are equally loved, especially the bougainvillea which has thrived in its new home.

"If you came in the greenhouse next year you would see bougainvillea all over the place."

The most fragrant flowers in Varvaro's collection belong to her citrus trees. Lemons, limes, grapefruit, oranges and even kumquats grow in pots and in a raised wooden bed along one wall. The plants currently require hand pollination, though Varvaro speculates about getting some bees to do the work for her.

Other fruit trees keeping warm indoors include a patio peach, loquat and an olive tree sapling.

"The olive is doing great. You can see the new growth at the tips of all the stems."

Clear baggies, flat lids, and cardboard cartons display her seed collecting experiments. She has tried purchasing seeds, gathering them outdoors and even saving the pits from her grocery store produce.

"The other day I planted some papaya. My husband is from Sicily and he likes tropical things. I also planted a mango seed and an avocado seed. I don't know if it will work."

Varvaro hopes to gather a seed pod from a passionflower she spied in her neighborhood. She laughs, "Sometimes I just pick stuff and hope no one sees me."

Her seed-starting efforts include celery, tarragon, lupine, broccoli and foxglove.

"I seed heavily because they are so tiny. I can thin them later. It's kind of a mish-mash but I have a lot of places to put stuff. I also want to give to the Master Gardener plant sale."

Varvaro's assembly is not exclusive to plants. She is proud that the sink came from her remodeled kitchen and that important air circulation is provided by a recycled electric fan. She fondly points to a variety of colored bottles lining the greenhouse walls.

"When the sun hits them, the greenhouse looks like a little jewelry box with the colored glass and the plants."

"There is a lot of turmoil in the world and I find peace here. I love nature, it just calms me down and makes me feel good."