I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a very good plant parent. All the plants at our house, indoor and out, have to be pretty sturdy and forgiving. It’s a good thing babies holler when they need
Oh, dear
something. If plants came with a similar alert system, many more of them would survive around here. Some plants are stoic, hanging on, day after arid day, until one day, I’ll walk through the living room/dining room/bathroom, and discover them dry, brown, and dead. Brave little soldiers to the end.
Several outdoor plants in pots have had to come in periodically. Last week the geranium, the cyclamen, the Blue Daze, and some interesting ground cover that we got from David’s aunt had to come in because it was supposed to be 16°, and I think it was. They had to come in for a couple of days last month, too. But they don’t get enough light indoors to spend the whole winter, so they have to go back and forth.
After the weather warmed up again, I took them back out, and while I was out there (in what was actually very nice, warm sunshine), I took stock of everything else.
The hanging bougainvilleas got thrown away. One I’ve wintered over in the garage for two winters, and last year and this past spring, it didn’t bloom AT ALL until September. The other I bought in bloom last April, then it quit and didn’t bloom again UNTIL OCTOBER!! Maybe I need to re-evaluate the sun in the back yard. The bougainvilleas in the front, where there’s bright, bright sun all afternoon, bloom much better. They are sitting in the garage right now, waiting for spring.
The firecracker plant might should have come in. I’ve cut it ‘way back. When I first bought it, last spring, I put it out in the garden, where I thought the sprinkler system would get it, but, alas, while we were gone for a week, it did not get water. It was all brown when we returned. I cut it completely back, and tah-dah!!! It returned. So I think we’re good for a resurgence.
I used to bring in the airplane plants, but they are pretty heavy. Last year they got too cold, and all the leaves withered. I pulled the ruined leaves off, to find nothing left but dirt. But, they came back really nicely. So, I think they’ll recover this coming spring, too.
I trimmed back the blackened mint stems and found some healthy leaves.
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- The Firecracker Plant-which looks amazing, when it’s all full of cascading green vines and tiny red flowers. I hope it’s not done in.
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- The airplant plants, one with the frozen, dead leaves removed, one still waiting for its shearing
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- Two pots of mint, good to 16°!
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- I love this hardy thing. It’s a mint that’s growing out of the bottom of a pot that just has spare dirt in it. Life finds a way!
Kevin and April, last summer, bought me a huge, lush, stupendous variety of Wandering Jew. It sat on the patio all summer and fall, very impressive. When cold weather approached, I took some cuttings, just in case. The first frost killed off most of it. But there were a few stems, still living, that had been somewhat protected by fallen leaves that had collected around it. So, when the next cold weather came, I piled leaves on it, but the leaves were no match for 16°.
Last week, I trimmed off all the dead, limp, stems and leaves, and discovered a tiny green living leaf. I think it will come back. Meanwhile, the cuttings I took are making roots and growing. This is the kind of hardy plant I love.
I bought a sedum, in bloom, years ago, when, I think, Sarah was visiting our house for the first time, maybe. It lived through the fall, but froze down to the dirt in the winter. That spring, Kevin and April were doing some yard work for me, and I asked them to transplant something into the sedum pot. They went to do it and came back, wondering why I wanted to kill the thing that was growing in the pot. And, there it was, the sedum, making a return. The same thing happens every year. It shrivels away with the first freeze and is one of the first things to start growing, when the weather warms up just the slightest bit. Again, I LOVE that in a plant.
I know it’s hard to see. This just looks like dead plant stuff. But some of the little pieces are actually buds. New little sedum plants. Darling things.
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- The lovely purple and green Wandering Jew, rooting nicely
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- New buds of sedum, just waiting for a little warmer weather
In the herb garden:
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- Sage-Sturdy through the frost
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- Parsley-Not affected by winter
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- Rosemary-Loves winter
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- Nutmeg geranium-Does NOT like winter
In the big garden:
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- Bat-face heather-comes back every year
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- Pineapple sage (is here instead of the herb garden, because it gets so big)-freezes down but always comes back
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- Thyme garden-all happy and thriving
And
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- Ferns-One year, the winter was so mild that the ferns didn’t die back. But this is what they usually do, reliably, each year. Then they grow back. I’m grateful to my dad for planting them, years ago, in this northern, well-shaded exposure. Fuss-free gardening!
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- This is where the tapioca was, and I really liked that plant. Apparently, not at all hardy. So now the decision—should I get another one this spring, knowing that I’ll have to lug it in and out all winter. Or just chalk it up to experience and try to find something else that can make it through.
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- This is where the nice ground-cover from Aunt Frances was. It was much more tender than other things, and a dip in the temperature would take out a few leaves, every time. By time I would bring it in, a few leaves would have started to brown. The last ones went a couple of weeks ago. I hope she’ll give me more this spring.
Meanwhile
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- Daisies–Sixteen degress? Bring it on!!!
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- And the little pansies are loving the chilly weather!
Each year, I make some mistakes (re: nutmeg geranium). But I’m getting better at making good choices and being a better care-giver.
The heavens are telling the glory of God; they are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship.
Psalm 19:1 (TLB)
I see God in the heavens. I see God in my garden. I see His constancy in the small leaves underneath a frost-bitten plant, all ready to burst forth into green growth again.