Comeback

I’m amazed at how well last year’s petunias are doing! I had cut them back to a bug-bitten nub and would normally have pulled the dead, brown crown out by now. But these, thanks in part to a mild winter, have come back strong and healthy--maybe even better than when I bought them (larger leaves, better branching). While the mild winter definitely benefited my garden in allowing several plants another round, the bugs may, unhappily, have a greater comeback as well. Some “visitor” has already been dining on the fuchsia delicacy of a petunia flower. I’m also hoping that a sweltering summer won’t wear down the plants—and us! Now that I’ve traveled and met an art deadline, I can concentrate on putting together this year’s garden. Today I’ll begin taking the wintered-over plants out so I can design the layout for sun needs, height and color flow.

Still Standing

Recently, I readied my plants for being home alone while we traveled. I watered them extra-well each day, three days before I left—to the point that they probably wanted to gag. Then I filled the water globes and stuck them in the pots of the plants most likely to dehydrate. This time I made sure to start a hole with a pencil before setting in the water globe—no more water-blocking soil up the tube. I had read about putting plastic bags around the pots to hold in water but I ran out of time before I got to that. I worried a little during the week I was away but asked the Lord to take care of my plants and knew I would just have to deal with whatever happened with them. When I returned, I found that all were still standing though the pentas were very dry, even shriveled but water soon revived them. I’m also concerned about the new orange hibiscus, which has dropped a number of buds though I furnished it with a water globe. It might need a larger, non-porous pot. All in all, the gardens fared well, the outdoor one getting a little rain on this rainy, gray day. I love my garden but when the Lord calls me to travel, I will do it and prepare the plants the best way I can. Blogger changed it's interface while I was away so I'm having to learn it's ways. Change can be good but sometimes the adage, "If it's not broken, don't fix it," is more appropriate.

Greater Backyard

From time to time I have the privilege of visiting large gardens that are either provided by the state or a private trust. I’m so thankful that these lands have been set aside and lovingly tended for our benefit. Those of us who live in “the treetops” especially need some gardeny terra firma to walk through and even sit in for awhile.

I don’t have time right now to look them up but I know there are studies concluding that when people spend more time outdoors, they’re happier and healthier. I know I am. Being in an outdoor garden setting, with some breathing room around, refreshes my soul. A mall just doesn’t do it.

Stay Awhile

My friend G. is always starting new plants—in the pots of her larger, older plants. With her in mind, as I’ve found severed spider plantlets, I’ve laid them on the soil in the large croton’s pot until I had a chance to pot them in their own home. They benefited from the croton’s watering and have stayed alive.

Then, closer to G.’s practice, I decided that they might actually look nice circling the pot and cascading their own babies down the side, so I dug little holes in the soil and tucked them in. One was so enterprising that its roots had already taken hold but I redirected it.

Night Watch

I finally remembered one night to photograph one of the prayer plants in its “prayer“ position. From its habit of folding its leaves upward at night came its name.


Lately I’ve noticed that the prayer plant’s news leaves are much larger and have darker markings than the older leaves. At first I couldn’t think of any conditions that were different, then I remembered that when I repotted it I used potting soil fortified with Miracle Gro. I normally opt for “plain” soil but only the fertilized kind was available at the big box store. So, I guess without trying, I’ve proved their claims. ;)

Begin Again

My oregano plants used to winter-over outdoors well and sprout new growth from the roots as long as I kept them watered. The last two years have been an exception; this year I found that the roots were as dead as the stems. So if I wanted fresh oregano (I enjoy it on open-faced avocado sandwiches and it’s my husband’s favorite herb for cooking), I’d have to buy a new one.


I enjoyed the yellow-green color of last year’s Golden Oregano so I bought another one this year. I brought it indoors during last week’s cold snap since it was newly planted and the garden center had it in a sheltered space. Oregano can dry out quickly indoors but it’s fine. I’m looking forward to lots of oregano-seasoned avocado sandwiches this summer!

Wrong Aroma

The honeysuckle is blooming! It certainly benefited from last night’s rain. Unfortunately, its alluring aroma has been overcome by acrid fumes that pervade the outer air and have taken over my indoor air as well. I don’t know if rubber is burning somewhere or if the light industry behind us is emitting chemical fumes.

Sadly, too many people don’t consider that we all (in a particular area) have to breathe the same air. And generally speaking, they are either in denial about the effects of their actions or they simply don’t care—or both. I’ve had too many encounters with dangerous fumes and the lack of caring on the fume-makers’ part to wave it off. It’s time for everyone to inform themselves of the dangers of chemical and mold fumes in order to protect themselves and the environment—and keep from harming others. How do you get informed? Put dangers of chemical fumes, into an internet search engine and many links will appear (the same for mold).

Our air could use a stiff breeze--but not too stiff.
I'm told that storms are coming.

It Worked!

I read or heard somewhere that if you plant the root end of a green onion, it would grow. I’m delighted to find that something I would normally throw away can grow food—even in a small garden (No I don’t compost, though I’ve read about putting earthworms in a plastic sweater box with holes drilled in it, to put under the kitchen sink. Nope, I’m not bringing worms into our home)! It's growing edible green leaves but I don't know if the white part below is growing. I'll likely keep cutting off the greens for cooking and let the plant stay to produce more.

It seems our cold snap is over; the common saying according to the weatherman is that you can’t plant anything until after tax day. Well hallelujah, today is our extended tax day and I’m glad to be done with it; now I have one more reason! Soon, I’ll be planting the outdoor garden in earnest. Stay tuned.

Four!

On Saturday, every time I caught a glimpse of the red hibiscus bush, I exclaimed in amazement, “Four!” Four blossoms opened on one day! I’ve never seen so many on this bush at one time—perhaps there’s some beauty queen competition now that there’s a new hibiscus in the garden. I know, I know, plants don’t think. I exclaimed in wonderment so many times that my husband was beginning to think I was losing my memory since each time it sounded like I hadn’t seen them before.☺ Wonder shouldn’t expire with familiarity.

From the Roots

A plant such as this ruellia and the pineapple sage below can look as dead as can be if you look solely at their branches. However, new growth springs often up from the roots.


In his “Parable of the Sower,” Jesus emphasized the necessity of good roots for plants and for people,

“As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.”

“The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away ( Matthew 13:4-6; 20-21).”

In order to withstand the harassments of this life that can scorch you dry,
go deep into reading the Bible (especially the New Testament) and obeying Jesus’ teachings

Season’s First

These long-stemmed Sweet Williams make up my first garden bouquet of the season with flat-leaved parsley leaves for a fresh fern-like backdrop.

After weeks of record-high temperatures—even into the eighties, it’s suddenly cold again. Though the heat is switched off for the season, it’s warmer inside at night than it is outside so I’ve hauled the newer plants back in. Hopefully the frosty nights won’t last.

Gardener’s Friend

Look what I found! Can you see it? It’s an earthworm, one of a gardener’s greatest friends—in a pot on a second floor balcony! I found it when turning up the soil for planting (yes, even potting soil can benefit from loosening up) and was glad I didn’t damage it in the process, though they can grow back missing parts—given the right conditions. I hope it hides well so the birds don’t make lunch of it.

I found some interesting facts about earthworms on this site:http://urbanext.illinois.edu/worms/facts/index.html , such as, they eat their weight everyday—I hate to think about the 22 foot long earthworm found in South Africa! Earthworms have to have the right conditions, this site says, or “they’ll go somewhere else” so my garden must measure up. But what do they eat? If they live near the surface they eat fallen leaves and dead grass, especially the bacteria that live on such organic matter but when they live in deeper dirt—they eat dirt! http://www.professorshouse.com/Your-Home/Gardening-Plants/General/Articles/What-Do-Worms-Eat/


Yesterday’s orange hibiscus finally opened—here’s a picture of the colorful orange beauty with it's magenta throat. It’s still open today in the early afternoon though the edges of the petals are curling. Even fleeting beauty is still beauty.

Another Beauty Queen

Yesterday was yet another Red Hibiscus Day but now that beauty has competition—or perhaps a companion in beauty. I finally found an orange hibiscus I liked (size, price, color). The orange flowers are smaller than the red and seem to be slower to open but they have an unusual deep pink throat; when I saw the color combination, I knew it was the one.

The red flowers would have been open at dawn while these are only half-opened at mid-day. It’s possible that the orange ones will stay open longer. We’ll see. The bush is full of buds so I’ll be posting plenty of pictures in weeks to come.


I put it in the sun to see if it would open faster and keep checking in hope that I can show you how it looks fully open. Alas, that will have to be for another post but it did make a little progress—here’s a picture of a half-opened orange hibiscus.

It’s Good to be Planting Again

When my orange Asiatic lilies stopped blooming, even quit putting out green shoots (I was ever hopeful), I knew I had just the pot for a hydrangea. Unfortunately, my attempts at growing a plant from stem cuttings didn’t work—at all, so I determined that I would have to buy one. As I searched the garden centers this spring, I found huge, expensive ones—even topiaries. I don’t need all that, nor do I want to pay for all that. Then I saw a good deal on this small-potted one in the mid-range of colors—a mix of pink and blue and knew I couldn’t pass it up.


While its clay pot is too big for it now, it will quickly grow into it (Lord willing). Meanwhile I’ve added a Cherry Super Bells plant to keep it company. The pink petunia-like flowers (it turns out that they only resemble petunias) with yellow stars are new in our garden centers this year. It will add some pizzazz.

Though my current tastes in color and garden style are more tropical, I still have a fondness for English garden plants but I do have to make an effort to keep my combinations from being too “sweet”. There’s nothing at all wrong with soft colors; I just have to have bright color! I’ll be adding a bit of Creeping Jenny in a bit later and maybe something tall and spiky.

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Resurrection!

What a dead-looking plant! Maybe you think that your life is like that—all shriveled up and dead-looking. Jesus was literally dead after he was crucified; as they put his body in the tomb his disciples still didn’t understand that he had to die and rise from the dead. I can imagine that they thought it was over—nice while it lasted but now done. Now what?

But no, God didn’t send his only Son just to end up dead in a sealed cave! The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus described as "living water" (John 7:37-39) “poured” into Jesus’ dead body (Romans 8:11) and raised it (him!) from the dead!


As I have poured water on this plant, it has come to back to life—that’s why it’s often called the Resurrection Plant. I enjoyed watching these plants so much as a child, I was excited to see them again in the science hobby section of a large craft store.


The instructions that came with it say that it prefers hot water, which will revive it the fastest. Hmmm, the Holy Spirit is often related to fire (Acts 2). It should be fully revived in three hours… The instructions also say that if you watch closely enough you might see it move—I did! That if you listen closely you might hear the sound of the branches expanding—not yet.


Just as the power of the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, the Holy Spirit can resurrect your life--even if it seems as good as dead. Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins, so we don't have to. But the rest of the story is that Jesus was gloriously raised--he didn't stay dead (I Corinthians 15:14-19)! When you become a follower of Jesus--obedient to his teachings (John 8:31), you gain access not only to Jesus’ payment for your sins through his death--in your place, but to the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit for a new life!

Do you want to know more? Write to me at leafyjounal@yahoo.com

Every Day

Ever since I got this lovely magenta/fuchsia (with an unusual green cast) phalaenopsis orchid plant in February, a week or so before Valentine’s Day, every day has been an Orchid Day! All of the flowers except one have lasted for at least two months and more have opened along the way!

Even if you think you can’t grow orchids, at today’s low prices (resulting from newer propagation methods); you can enjoy the flowers for longer than any bouquet of cut flowers. Then when the flowers are finished you can give the plant to someone who has the ability to coax them into reblooming, or you or they can enjoy the low maintenance green plant.

And yes, today is another Red Hibiscus Day!

Ever Faithful

I can always count on Sweet William’s brilliant color to be the first to brighten my garden—year after year. I do have to cut back the stragglers and replace some of the plants from time to time but they grow well in my large pot. Their bloom surge is in the spring with another in the fall though they bloom here and there throughout the summer. They make fairly good cut flowers in small vases.

Today is yet another Red Hibiscus Day! I could get spoiled.

Back Out

The “mother” spider plant, along with its companion geranium, is enjoying freedom outdoors back on its hook again. The spider plant did fine indoors—when I didn’t trip on its branches, but the geranium will do much better outdoors. When we lived in New England, I knew a woman who kept her geraniums blooming indoors through the harsh, snowy winters but I’ve never been able to pull that off.


Today is also another Red Hibiscus Day! The gorgeous red blossoms are opening nearly every day now.

Eureka!

I finally found a place that has miniature pomegranate bushes! These have the intense orange flowers and even the fruit of the larger tree (I’m told that the fruit is essentially inedible, that it’s very sour)—except that all the parts are sized to fit my small balcony garden! Pomegranates often turn up in my art, so it’s natural that I would grow them.

Better yet is the “discovery” of the wonderful garden center that had the miniature pomegranate. To my sorrow, though it’s been there twenty-five years I have never before heard of it--but now I know. The large open areas surrounded by trees reminded me of my grandparents’ backyard. I was so blessed to find an interesting variety of healthy plants, helpful staff and a gift shop that looks like (at hurried glance since they were closing) it yields many treasures that I was almost overwhelmed—in a good way. The ground up grey surface underfoot even felt good to walk on. I’ll be back! http://kingsgreenhouse.com/retail

*Eureka means “I found it!”