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!

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

Well Enough?

A couple months ago, a neighbor gave me some of her plant multiplications. When I brought them home my goal was to get them in soil or water as quickly as possible. This once-broken lavender bowl seemed to suit the prayer plant well; the plant has even sprouted a baby of its own. It’s been very happy here in its sunny window but today was the day for re-potting. Why mess with a good thing? The leaves overcome the shallow bowl, brushing against the shelf. Plants—and people, do better when given space for deeper roots.



I had recently gotten a good deal on a red-violet pot at the large blue and yellow box store that turned out to be just right for the prayer plant. When I removed the plant from its shallow bowl to repot it, I discovered that the root ball was also shallow. Now, in its new pot, not only can the roots go deep, it can hold its leaves up high and they’re less likely to get damaged.

When pots, such as this one, don’t have holes always put some broken pottery, gravel, etc. at the bottom of the pot (before you put the plant and soil in) for drainage.

After two weeks we finally got some rain last night with more to come today; it had been forecast for every single day this week. And I’m still in revival.

Resistance Can Be a Good Thing

I checked to see if my hydrangea cuttings were taking root by gently tugging on each stem (probably not the ideal way but far better than digging them up!) and was pleased to discover that I met with firm resistance, a sure sign that roots are taking hold! I had experimented to see if it mattered whether I stripped all the leaves off or not, so I left the leaves on two of the hydrangea stem cuttings. Apparently it does matter since the two-leaved ones gave no resistance but pulled easily—no roots. So I stripped their (now black-edged) leaves as well and am expecting rooted resistance from them soon.