Morning Had Broken

It’s another rainy morning stirred by a cool breeze yet the first sunlight slides through a crack in the clouds. The growing light shimmers golden on rain puddles. The forecast says it will rain all day but the sun doesn’t seem to agree.

Alas, the clouds have won—for now, but the birds are still singing.

As I’ve chosen this morning to focus on the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8)—rather than the radio’s bad news, I’m feeling better and singing. Like the sun vs. clouds struggle, it takes perseverance.

Indoors where it’s dry with plenty of light, the deep pink pentas are still in full bloom as are the Angelonias.

Outdoors, not only are the ‘Million Bells’ still blooming as I mentioned yesterday, but the UGO (unidentified growing object)—“the bronze-leafed plant”, is full of rosy new growth. Even the purple sweet potato vine sprouts miniature purple leaves. The purple sweet potato vine has held up to the cold better than the yellow green one; my guess is that the yellow green vine’s larger, softer leaves—perhaps even its lighter color make it more vulnerable. Darker colors absorb light and heat and don’t reflect it (as much), which is why we wear dark-colored clothing in the winter.

Red Trio

Yesterday morning, I was thrilled to spot not one, not two but three red hibiscus blossoms! On my bush at least, it’s not only unusual to have three blooms at a time but unheard of to have three blooms indoors—and on a cloudy day! The red beauties brightened the cloudy morning and gave me a smile.


What wondrous autumn colors we have in the countryside! We also had wonderful weather over the weekend to explore some new-to-us areas. I wanted to inhale the beauty into my soul so that I would have it over though winter’s colorless days. I love taking photos of God’s glorious creation but pictures don’t quite have the impact of walking in sunshine, feeling a cool breeze blowing across your face, looking out at a mountain vista, marveling at the reds, oranges and golden yellows of the backlit autumn leaves, crunching fallen leaves underfoot.

Autumn has also fallen indoors as I’m still picking up various plants’ leaves as they adjust to their new drier environment. It’s nothing to be concerned about though, since they’re still pushing forth new leaves.

The pear tree outside our window is finally turning red, orange and yellow. Our area foliage is at its peak of color. There’s a particular stately ginkgo tree in town that’s one of the last trees to turn. We saw it Friday in its full golden glory; what a crescendo!

Double Blessing

On the rare occasion that I find one of my favorite herbs--Pineapple Sage, I buy it quick; what a treat! The leaves really do smell like pineapple and give a hint of pineapple flavor to fish and chicken. The pointed leaves also add flair to salads.

I also enjoy their magenta stems but their red flowers are what I seek. Though small, these bright red jewels are rare among herbs and stand out. Red flowers aren’t usually my favorites, though you can probably tell that I’m smitten by red hibiscus (the attraction to those is a special memory), but Pineapple Sage flowers make my favorites list. The plant was blooming when I bought it but not since; I missed photographing it then and hoped it would bloom again so I could share it here. I was delighted to discover that it had indeed bloomed again.

Sometimes the herb can last two seasons outdoors, dying back and sprouting again in the spring, if you keep it watered but that can vary with how severe the winter is.

It’s a very cool and cloudy morning in the 50’s with temperatures expected to drop throughout the day as the clouds drop rain. Tonight’s temperatures in the 30’s may be the turning point of bringing in the more fragile plants that can be overwintered. The window areas are beginning to get crowded but once the pear leaves outside drop I can place plants farther away from the windows since there will be more sunlight.

Amazingly, the pear leaves are still green; they usually turn red and yellow but I only see a tinge of red. The autumn foliage in the mountains is reported to be the best in years; hopefully our hills will be dressed in similar finery!

Call & Response

A crow sits atop a pine sentinel. Instead of the usual cawing sound, its whole body jolts forward with each high “ack ack ack.” A call to a missing mate or will any crow do? A response comes from a distance—twice, but the crow continues for a few minutes, “Stay there; don’t move! I’ll be there in a minute!”, then flies in the direction of the response.

I can hear the breeze whooshing through the treetops before it stirs my hanging vines. It’s cool in the garden this morning but when I retrieved my sweater from the east window where I shed it, I found it toasty warm.

The nights are still cool but everything seems hardy to temperatures in the 40’s so I haven’t had to tuck the garden in lately.

Here in the Southern Piedmont, the maples and oaks are turning gorgeous reds and yellows. Sometimes my eyes believe that they’re back in New England, where we lived for two winters! Beautiful.

Another New Thing

At the farmer’s market my attention was caught as I overheard a plant vendor telling a couple about a plant with bronze-colored leaves. It would eventually cascade, she said—two good reasons to grow it in my hanging basket. When she added that it would produce magenta blooms, I was sold. “Of course, it has to be really, really hot for it to bloom.” This summer was really, really hot—no blooms. But it did cascade and have bronze leaves. That was good but since my space is at a premium, I’m unlikely to grow these small trailers again; I didn’t catch its name.As I’ve often said, it’s good to try new things but there’s not enough room to keep all of them forever.

Reason to Smile

The return of the sun isn’t the only reason I’m smiling—even laughing today. I’m moving quickly through my gardening and other activities today because I want to spend the bulk of the day reading the Bible and praying about the next step or layer in the revival the Lord has sent me. The fire hasn’t gone out—the embers are still glowing and sparking back into flame. Now that I know deep down in my spirit how marvelous and complete Jesus’ payment of the penalty for my (and your) sins is, I want to get the same level of understanding of how God wants his people to live here on earth. Salvation absolutely affects life on earth but is more about getting to heaven. I need to fully grasp the here and now as a follower of Jesus. Since love is the major command of Jesus and the reason he came, the next step is to really learn about God’s love and have it overflow to others.

Today in my gardening, I replaced ragged-looking cuttings of sweet potato vines with fresh yellow green ones and purple ones, planting the worn ones in a pot where they can cascade over the front landing. In the process of transplanting the cuttings, a purple mum branch (not blooming) and a yellow, green and red coleus branch broke off; I’m not sure why the branches are so brittle. It was however, time to refresh my flower arrangement. I added the broken branches, trimmed the other stems and poured fresh water. Since mums have woody stems, I had to lightly pound the end of the stem with a hammer so it can take in water. I was pleased to find that the Parrot Leaf had rooted, though nothing else had; it now has a new home in a front planter where its roaming tendencies can be admired. I had been looking for something colorful in that spot—I love it when I can fill a “need” with something I already have. (I also have a site on stretching money: http://www.stretchednotbroken.blogspot.com ).

See you later, I have more “blooming again” (reviving) to do! (I’d love to hear from you at leafyjournal@yahoo.com if you’re starting to “bloom again!”)

True Colors

It’s another rainy day though the sun shone for about five minutes—I’m grateful for every ray. We seem to have been in a pattern for a while now of two weeks of rain, a week and a half of sun, a week of rain.

On my walk yesterday, I noticed that more of the local leaves are showing their true colors. The reds, oranges and golds that autumn leaves display are the color they really are. The wonderful greens we see in the spring and summer are chlorophyll, the trees’ food; my botany instructor was adamant—“fertilizer is not plant food, chlorophyll is!” Since it’s produced by the sun, as the days shorten the chlorophyll recedes, displaying the leaves' gorgeous true colors.

The Tropicana Canna’s red and green stripes are especially gorgeous today. Though it hasn’t bloomed its anticipated orange flower, the colorfully striped leaves are a beautiful addition to my garden. If all goes well, it will survive the winter outdoors to grow again in the spring. The key to overwintering such plants outdoors is to keep watering them.

Raining, Cats, Dogs, Bees

Though it’s been raining again, the giant “bee” is back doing some loud and serious cutting. Its handlers are chopping bushes that obscure the view between our homes and their business. Hello goldfish bowl.

Something has agitated some unseen dogs—“Good Sam” cats perhaps (cats that make their home on the grounds and are fed by “Good Samaritans”)?

The rain has thankfully washed the ragweed pollen from the air. Even when it isn’t raining, the garden needs much less water since the sun isn’t as harsh and the days are shorter.

A nearby maple is painting a few of its leaves red.

Fall Foliage of a Different Sort

When I first bought my compact croton, the leaves were small, upright red spears. Now in their home in my garden they get full sun half of the day and the new leaves are larger and spreading. They’re also more green than anything else, which can be a sign of a lack of light. However, since they get lots of sun, it may be a sign of immaturity. ☺ Apparently, at least in the croton clan, "the older and wiser" you are, the more colorful!

I’ve long been fond of the multi-colored, spotted gems. This is a painting I made in art college. What a challenge to paint all the colors and spots; I often lost my place! But I persevered in “capturing” the beauty.

I saw the little lizard again the other day--with a beautiful long, intact tail.

Leafy “Flowers”

Flowers, in all their color, are my favorite things to grow. I’ve also painted them for years (I’ve actually been asked, in all innocence, if it would hurt the flowers!) Even these days as I paint pictures of buildings I’m still painting, in effect, flowers.

However, I’ve become quite a fan of plants with colorful foliage. These plants, such as the purple Persian Shield and magenta streaked Parrot Leaf pictured, are still colorful all summer and fall even when the flowers aren’t blooming, looking like stained glass when the sun shines through. They also root from cuttings. In my Piedmont climate, they’re annuals but they last a little while indoors when I bring them in before frost.