I have always had a smug sense of satisfaction about my houseplants. They are not so much potted plants as mini-ecosystems. Complete with mulch, detritivores, and fungi, my containers serve as islands of flora in an artificial matrix. Each one perfectly suited to my indoor gardening style: NEGLECT!

I bring them indoors before frost in October. Place them near and along my sunny windows. And leave them be.

Those that need some help better call for it. Moth orchids, pregnant onions, and African violets scream for attention with beautiful blossoms that spur me to tend (mostly water) them more often. All the others have to deal with sporadic (at best) watering. Some plants even go completely dormant. But that's okay, because the containers themselves are ornamental.

Inside the containers the soils are tailored to the plants and the pots. Whether the container has drainage holes or not, Better-Than-Rocks, activated charcoal, and/or lava rocks fill the bottom third. The top two/thirds ranges from a rich, organic mix for heavy feeding tropicals to a lean, sandy mix for the desert plants. And all are decoratively top-dressed with sphagnum moss, pea gravel, or sand depending on the plants' requirements.

Years of trial & error, failure & success, senescence and inflorescence, etc have enacted natural selection upon my houseplants, ensuring that they are adapted to the conditions.   There are no pansies (literally and figuratively) in the group. It is an eclectic mix of succulents, bulbous plants, and tough tropicals. They include Agave , Aloe , Gasteria , Haworthias , Pachyphytum , Haemanthus , Crinum , Hippeastrum , Clivia , Crassula , Dracaena , Phalaenopsis , Ludisia , Paphiopedilum , climbing onion, pregnant onion, string-of-pearls, Cuban oregano, Mrs. Ruth's sweet potato, and others.

They originate from various habitats across five continents. The one thing they all have in common: tough constitution. They are adaptable, drought tolerant, and pest resistant.   These plants may bend, but they don't break. They may go dormant, but they don't die. During the winter months, they are not so much beautiful and lush as interesting and alive.   And that along with a few spectacular blooms provided by the dracaena, hippeastrums, and orchids tides me over until spring.

I could not understand why other gardeners would try to grow difficult, pest prone houseplants in winter. Why deal with a temperamental hibiscus and its whiteflies? Why struggle with a needy poinsettia or a rangy purple passion? Why not grow some of the tough plants in my collection and spend your free time reading in front of the fireplace or hiking in the snow? I felt like Oprah: if only everyone would do it MY WAY the world would be a better place.   Everything was cool.

The system had worked flawlessly for years. But, in February 2008, I noticed that after blooming and sprouting leaves, a hippeastrum was going dormant again. Sticking with a minimalist approach, I figured it was just a lack of water and ignored it. Then the Crinum moorei (from Mrs. Sarah) turned yellow and went dormant. Then the Anthurium shriveled and died.   Once the Ludisia began to lose its dark, velvety leaves the panic button went off.   A quick check of the stricken plants revealed the ugly truth.

#!@*GARRRRTACKKKKK%^#!!!!!!

I'VE GOT THE THRIPS!