A Good Start

Spring is burgeoning in my garden too! Fooled by the extra-warm days the plants are growing like it’s early summer! A couple Sweet William flowers are blooming and the Creeping Jenny is eagerly running but I haven’t yet seen any purple Victoria Blue Salvia buds.

I’m very pleased that I won’t have to purchase any new plants in these varieties. Nor pentas or Angelonias. Nor Tropicana Cannas. Of course, the red hibiscus will go out too. I’ll have quite a garden already as soon as I can be sure it won’t get cold at night any more (it has been known to snow here in the spring); then I can fill in the color gaps.

Started from a cutting of a bedding plant last year, this Creeping Jenny (rounded yellow-green leaves) is already on its way; it won’t be long until it’s growing down the side of the pot. All I had to do is stick the cutting in the dirt and water it—the kind of propagation I like best.

I began growing Jenny for its color; the yellow-green gave a bit of relief from all the green-green leaves. I’ve also found that its cascading habit gives green on a new level and I like to vary the size and shapes of leaves among the plants. The picture shows Jenny’s rounded leaf shape contrasting with the more pointed leaves of Sweet William and Victoria Blue Salvia. Hmmm, I hadn’t thought of that before; we have Jenny, William and Victoria.

Making Way for the New

Though today’s high temperature is forecast to be 66 degrees, it’s chilly out in the garden. The sun has withdrawn and a wind remains; the wind rarely stirs the large wind chimes so I know it’s strong when they’re ringing—and it’s not because I bumped into them.

Still, it felt good to be outdoors again doing some pruning and cleaning up. It’s easy to fall into considering gardening tasks to be a chore when I’m involved in getting other work accomplished or in a hurry to get out the door but today I’m reminded of why I enjoy gardening. In addition to continually discovering new things, I find that I can pray and think as I garden.

Today, I pruned away more of the leggy, Victoria Blue salvia stems with their sometimes shriveled leaves in order to make way for the new growth pushing up from the roots*.


*When I write about clearing out the old to make way for the new, I sometimes worry that someone will apply such principles to people—those who are “old” or otherwise considered to be “unproductive” but I never mean such things. Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matthew 7:12). The other day a person who has traveled the world told me, “Nowhere but in America--and maybe Europe, are ‘old’ people looked down upon—everywhere else in the world they are honored for their wisdom.”

Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness. Proverbs 16:21

Cut Backs

The hard freezes the last couple of nights have taken a toll on my outdoor garden; plants that have withstood temperatures as low as the upper 20’s have frozen in this front’s icy grip of 18 degrees. So it’s time to cut away the things that can’t come back*.

How can you tell which leaves will revive as the weather warms? If it’s limp but still green there’s a strong possibility that it will spring back and grow again but limp and brown, black or gray has virtually no chance. However, if the dead parts are cut off some plants will put up new sprouts from the roots—this is where continuous watering benefits; the root ball is often protected from the cold by the soil and water keeps it from drying out i.e. freezing (freezing is essentially dehydration).

In case you’re thinking, “Oh the poor things!” realize that the sweet potato vines are usually gone with the first freeze; the various plants that froze have lived far beyond their normal range. Besides, I did take some cuttings that are still doing well. The Sweet Williams always hold up as they are biennials. Victoria Blue salvia also comes back (sometimes) for a second round but usually only after dying back but this time the leaves have bounced back. The plants that really amaze me though are the petunias! The ordinary white ones are still blooming and growing; I’ve never seen petunias survive this kind of weather! The orange Million Bells look straggly but they’re still blooming as well. Maybe I won’t give up on petunias after all (most of the ones I grew this year had some sort of plague and didn’t do well).

*Wearing garden gloves is a good idea when cutting frozen branches since they can be gooey.

A New Home for Oskar

It’s time to put the pieces of the puzzle together and settle Oskar into a home so that it can grow properly.

The directions say to put the “planting disc” in the pot—what an improvement over the usual bag of light soil that easily goes airborne, and add approximately two cups of warm water. It’s bubbling and popping; this is fun.


“Fluff with fork.” Hmm…dig might be a better word. “Add more if needed.” Yes, more water is definitely needed unless I want a solid bottom layer. Another cup; more digging. It needs still more but how much more? A little more, more—stop. It takes three and three-quarter cups of water. The gold-colored pot is heavy and warm, with no drainage holes.

I’m to set the bulb in the soil with one or two inches of bulb showing above the soil. This will take newspaper on the floor and a trowel.

Now that Oskar is settled in, I’m to put it pot and all, in a warm place. I certainly have that in the morning windows.


We’ll have to see if Oskar will bloom by Christmas or not—the box says “8-10 weeks.” I may have started too late but then again, maybe not. I’ll keep you posted.

The weatherman’s thermometer read 29 degrees this morning when we got up. White frost covered everything but I covered nothing. And everything from the purple sweet potato vine to ‘Victoria Blue’ salvia to the peppermint is fine (though the yellow-green sweet potato vine is definitely waning). It’s time to put away the sheets.

The Last Flowers of Summer?

Perhaps this is the last arrangement of my garden “flowers” for the season. The Victoria Blue Salvia is more intensely blue violet with the cold weather and the Parrot Leaf is as bright as ever, not seeming to mind the cold one bit (yet). When I uncovered them this morning I was struck by the intensity of their colors and knew that a cobalt blue “vase” would magnify that intensity. Why not bring some in before they were gone since both “flowers” were plentiful? (When I was younger, it seemed that all the “older” women referred to everything in a garden that wasn’t vegetable or tree as “flowers”).

I spent several years in the floral industry but I still like my grandmother’s flower arranging style, “They need to look natural like they do when they’re growing.” She was ahead of her time. ☺

In the garden I saw two bright red male cardinals vying for territory and, probably, a mate. I can’t remember when I last saw cardinals around here.

Hardy Sorts—Sort of

My remaining outdoor garden plants have much more space around them now that I’ve brought many indoors for the winter. However, I have a little more room to arrange them; I enjoy decorating.

Where rearranging is less of an option, I’ve grouped some water globes in a vacant pot. I’ll watch to see how the sun shines through them in the afternoon to see if I need to move or spread them.

I love colored glass and got to see the Dale Chihuly exhibit twice when it came to town. The exhibit featured a walkway with a strong Plexiglas ceiling covered with a kaleidoscope of lighted colored glass. Walking through the color wonderland thrilled me! I’m excited to share a link to a picture of a similar installation! http://www.chihuly.com/ceilings-persian-pergola-ceiling-2002_detail.aspx

It was so cold last night that it was only 33 degrees at 9am! Yet these are plants that survived it, covered with a sheet: Tropicana Canna, Sweet Potato Vine, Hyacinth Bean Vine, Parrot Leaf, Daylily, Basil, Pineapple Sage, Peppermint, Victoria Blue Salvia, Mexican Petunia. Remember, watering is vital to plant survival in the cold; dehydration is what kills plants in the cold.

The sickening sound of three beautiful shade trees being chopped down to prevent future problems with the continually problematic community water pipes has begun.

To Bloom Again

Yesterday I discovered to my delight that in the Greek language, a word that many English translations of the Bible translate as “revived” means “to grow again” or “to bloom again.” It literally applies to plants but the word “revival” has, throughout the last two or three centuries, been used to describe “a renewed passion for Christ”* that sweeps through churches, communities, even countries.

A revival began in me two and a half weeks ago as the Lord “restored the joy of my salvation.” I am definitely “blooming again!” These revivals often begin with one or two people and are spread through testimony or people telling other people what God has done; so I’m telling everyone I can! There is a feature at the bottom of each post that allows you to share the posts on facebook or twitter so that you can pass it on too.

Today it’s a bit warmer. I’m glad I didn’t have to cover the plants last night. The Victoria Blue Salvia actually seem to have liked the cold, the flowers are a deeper purple. The Angel Face Angelonia has perked up a bit but still has limp leaves. I’m not quite sure yet where to put it, though I’ll likely have to rearrange the plants in the front window to make room.

*Firefall; Malcolm McDow & Alvin L. Reid

The Garden Watered by God

It must have rained again last night, then again this morning so the garden didn’t need much watering.

Since it didn’t need much tending otherwise, I cut some flowers and brought them in. I’ve not used pentas as cut flowers before; I’ll see how they do. Maybe they’ll even root (though clear glass containers are better for rooting). I’m enjoying their star shapes. I added some Victoria Blue Salvia, some Parrot Leaf, and peppermint to smell good.

I had time to do another kind of planting today. In day 4 of revival, the angels are rejoicing because another person is added to the family of God. And so am I!

Mystery Fragrance

This morning as I rearranged a couple of my plants to their better advantage—and mine, a lovely fragrance attracted me. Where was it coming from? Not the scant honeysuckle on the back fence; I know that scent. It was right there in front of me, under my nose—literally; the Angelonia Angel Face exuded a new dimension of beauty. I don’t know why I haven’t noticed it before; were the purple flowers making this perfume before now? Or did I have to get down on my knees for it to reach me?

The hummingbird flitted in mid-morning to sip from the orange Million Bells. Two Red Hibiscus are blooming today as are hyacinth bean vines, Angelonia, the Victoria Blue’s, pentas, and earlier—a few four O’clocks.

Though the temperatures have been in the upper 80’s and low to mid-90’s, the drier air makes being outdoors delightful, especially when there’s a warm gentle breeze. I could have stayed…

An Automatic Choice

I always look for Victoria Blue Salvia for my garden. Some years I don’t have to buy it since it is a biennial and returns the next season. Its small spiked purple flowers consistently bloom once it gets started. Though it’s called “blue”, there are very few truly blue flowers in nature.

This year, I planted the Victoria Blue’s in several pots—I got stuck once again with buying a whole pack (of 6) that I didn’t need. (The two big home improvement stores sold only 9-packs and large single pots. I don’t want or need that many. I’d rather buy one or two smaller plants that will grow into their places. With the return to downtown/center city living and the increase in multi-family communities, small gardens are the “in thing”—garden centers take note.) Location mattered. The ones in my long Italian terra cotta pots languish while the ones in the larger, deeper pot are flourishing to the point of overcoming their neighbors.


While the salvias’ arching lean is artistic, they were mashing and shading the heliotrope next to them. This heliotrope (the first one I bought) had enough trouble getting started, having severely dehydrated while riding home from the farmer’s market in the heat of the back window. Over the weekend I got a green plastic-coated heavy wire stake with a partial ring to prop up the Victoria Blue. (You can barely see it in the lower left of the picture) Though it now has an unnatural lean away from the sun, it will straighten its course when the sun returns.

Whenever that will be… We’re forecast to have heavy rain all week from Tropical Storm/Depression Lee. The humidity is bathtub high; the plants love humidity and they’ve got it. I’m not as big a fan though the birds don’t seem to mind. I could barely see the brown birds down the electric line loudly chirping their “call and response” but they looked like thrashers. A distant response answered their call.