Getting Rid of Excess

When Creeping Jenny creeps it can get leggy and leafless, so I cut out the excess at a node (place where leaves emerge) at each end—so it can either branch or sprout roots.


I pushed a pencil (we always seem to have plenty) into the soil to make a space for the cuttings to grow. I’m trying these cuttings in an indoor pot for the first time to see if they’ll grow inside. If not, I’ll take them outdoors. My friend G. often puts cuttings of this and that in her big pots along with the big plants—she would probably say that they keep each other company.


Creeping Jenny roots easily so these two cuttings should make a nice cascade down the side of the Hawaiian Ti plant’s home in no time.

Yesterday and today are the kinds of days, sunny and warm, when it’s a pleasure to do almost anything though it got to 82 degrees yesterday! And it’s only mid-March. But it’s good. ☺

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.

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!”)

Trial Run

The new miniature hybrid petunias—Million Bells, have been the latest thing at garden centers for the last couple of years. The colors of red, deep magenta and orange are enticing. And can you believe it; they bloom all summer without deadheading! More orange flowers—I finally bought a plant this year. At $3.99 for a small plant it was an investment.

The flowers turn several colors of orange as they develop and they do bloom all summer; they’re still blooming—sparsely. It’s nice to not have to deadhead them in order to keep them blooming though the sepals turn brown so I remove them anyway.

The reason Million Bells don’t have to be deadheaded is that they don’t reproduce from seeds; they’re a hybrid reproduced by cuttings—both aspects contribute to the high price (being a hybrid and reproduction by cutting taking longer). Usually, when a plant has spent flowers it will go to the next step in its development—making seeds. Then when the seeds are mature the plant dies; if it’s an annual or dies back until the next season if a perennial. Deadheading turns back the clock on this process, causing the plant to continue blooming.

Will I buy Million Bells again? Since they bloom, for me—even with fertilizer, only sparsely and the small-sized flowers are best appreciated at eye-level, probably not. But it’s good to try new things. Perhaps next year there will be something else new or rediscovered.

Today is forecast to be another gorgeous day--sunny and in the 70's! It's still too cool to be out very long yet but the sun is warming up.

When Life Breaks Things

When life gives you broken stems—make a flower arrangement! Two of the Angel Face Angelonia stems were hanging at an angle, broken by the weight of the sheet that kept them warm.

I snipped the flowerful branches and put them in a vase with a tall, narrow neck. I added the smallest branch of Persian Shield and the straightest Parrot Leaf I could find. When I take cuttings, I always try to leave at least one set of nodes (growth joints) behind so the remaining stem will branch out (grow again or “revive”).

I needed a third flower to complete the arrangement since design, whether floral or art calls for an uneven number. The deep pink Penta’s color seems to be made for the Parrot Leaf’s beautifully “painted” leaves (a member of the Joseph’s Coat family), so I gave the star clusters the starring role. I stripped the Penta’s leaves before adding it to the arrangement, or they would have hidden the more colorful ones.

Much of art these days is made of things not often thought of as art, broken things, cast aside things. But this isn’t just modern art; in past centuries--even millennia as they are today, many artists’ pigments are made from soil/dirt. Pigments such as burnt sienna and burnt umber are made from baked dirt. We artists use what’s around us--granted, we have to pay a lot for art materials companies to process them, but we make something beautiful out of the ordinary, even the broken. God, the ultimate Artist does the same with people giving us—when we turn to him through Jesus, the most wondrous beauty, a reflection of his glory.

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!

Too Soon to Quit

While my friends’ vegetable gardens are “pretty much over” by now, my garden is at its height in September. The plants that have survived the summer heat are gloriously full of colorful flowers or foliage.

Two coleuses came potted together. Once again, the one I planted in the larger pot has flourished the best—though they both have to share the pot with other plants. This one gets morning light while the other gets afternoon sun.

I’ve long enjoyed coleus for their wide range of beautiful patterns and colors, from yellow-green to magenta. Though they root readily in water I’ve not succeeded in overwintering fully-grown plants or cuttings—yet. My friend C. has however, kept her grandmother’s coleus growing for over twenty years!

Today is a slow day for me. I’d planned to fertilize but it will have to wait yet another day. In my highly caffeinated, hyper society I often feel that I’m supposed to accomplish a zillion projects each day at warp speed. I’m reminded though, that Jesus never seemed to be in a rush though he clearly had a limited time in which to accomplish. He took naps, sometimes left the crowds for hours to pray but he always stayed on course, knowing why he was here and what he was to do. He stood firm when people tried to get him off course. So while I may not “leap tall buildings”, I can stay on course and keep on doing what I’m here for.

Late Bloomers

“Four o’clocks” remind me my first apartment. The old house, which had been divided into apartments still had a little strip of “yard” beyond the
parking lot, filled with the afternoon and evening-blooming flowers.

A few years ago, I bought a seed packet to grow my first ones but they’re such heavy seed producers and ready volunteers (though I often direct a few of the seeds into the soil to make sure)that I haven’t needed to buy any more.


My four o’clocks tend to get leggy and “cascade” (the “in” word), down the balcony. At first I thought that was a good thing so that they could be enjoyed from below until the night I remembered to go out to see them. I discovered they were in total darkness where no one can see them; so I pulled them in and propped them up on a rail where I can see them.
Now I can readily see their pink and peppermint-spotted white night blooms. Unlike morning glories, the flowers can reopen for a second performance.

I’m sad to say that my hydrangea rooting experiment didn’t work. Though the tops of the cuttings kept turning black, I held out hope that the tiny sprouts of new growth would prevail. Unfortunately, the heavy heat and humidity prevailed; the cuttings are now entirely black.

The good news is that my Mexican Petunia has budded! Okay, so I did fertilize it. Apparently even weeds need nutrients.

A Change in the Air

Today is one of those “golden” days when the temperature is cooler and a light breeze stirs. The slant of the sun has changed ever so slightly and sunset paints its colors half an hour earlier. I could stay in the garden all day in this weather, especially if I had a computer that could operate outdoors!

And it’s a good thing since Monday always calls for extra attention to the garden after a weekend of only hurried watering. There are dead leaves to trim and spent flowers to deadhead, vines to reroute. Often, as today, I have weekend plant purchases to repot; the garden centers’ small flimsy plastic pots cause the plants to dry out too quickly in my setting.

Happily, I finally found one of my all-time favorites, peppermint. I’ve been searching all season but all were either gangly or too expensive or both. Now, I finally have a nicely branching plant at a good price but after its sojourn in the dimly-lit parking garage entrance to Trader Joe’s, it’s stretching for every bit of sun it can get. To keep it branching, I think I need to make some tea. I grew up in “ice-tea” country and often enjoyed a sprig of mint in a tall glass but a brief trip to North Africa intrigued me with hot mint tea. Either way, I enjoy it’s fragrance as I brush against it so I put it within easy reach My iced tea sprigs often do double duty; when the tea is gone I often put the mint in a flower arrangement where it then roots and can later be planted—the ultimate “reuse”.

This particular peppermint plant doesn’t have a variety name but last year’s Kentucky Colonel Mint of “mint julep” fame proved too strong a flavor for my tastes, so I passed that one by.

I’ve seen no sign of the “giant” grasshopper since I last sent him flying. The birds like the weather too!

New Clothes

A sign that it’s getting (slightly) cooler is that I had no trouble staying out in the garden for hours. My other work sometimes gets jealous but it’s good and healthy to get outdoors for awhile. After all, the first work that God assigned to people was gardening. The Garden of Eden was also the first home for them. Sometime, I’d like to explore the possibilities of what the garden needed from them.

Today, in my garden, I found the tall, spindly Mexican Petunia (Ruella) toppling over so I knew it was time to give it a bigger pot. My sister, who lives in a hotter climate talks about her purple-flowered ones all the time; they’ve been the trendy new thing in our garden centers the last couple of years, so I decided to try one. When I bought it, it had flowers on it. They were shriveled from the heat by the time we got it home. I haven’t seen a flower on it since (2 months!). Nothing seems to have helped. It gets plenty sun and water; I even fertilized it. “Don’t fertilize it,” she exhorted, “it’s a weed!” Maybe it needs a bigger pot or “new clothes”… Definitely. As you can see in the picture, a large root ball had grown outside the pot. I gingerly cut the plastic pot away (recyclable)—had it been a clay pot I would have carefully worked as many of the roots (without soil) as I could back through the hole and lost the rest.

An orchid cactus cutting I was given and hurriedly stuck in the “corner” of a pot of airplane plants also got its own pot. It will likely stay in the indoor part of my garden since it prefers indirect sun. Angel Face Angelonia also has its own pot now to encourage as much growth as possible before it winters indoors.

Time for a Haircut

My yellow-green sweet potato vine is thriving—all over the place. I’ve taken cuttings before to root in clear vases of water indoors but it’s time for more. I’ve enjoyed the beauty of the cuttings indoors so much that I’ve been reluctant to pot them outdoors. Encouraged by new cuttings on the way, I finally moved one to a large pot out front. By the look of the long loop of roots, I waited longer than is ideal. (The roots are pink!) It takes a little while for a plant with water roots to adapt to soil but with care, a plant this vigorous has no problem. In fact they’re so vigorous that they need a big pot since they grow a good-sized tuber or sweet potato (non-edible) underground. The pot therefore gets heavier as the tuber and its vine grows.

The best time to see the hummingbird, I’ve discovered, is morning but today as the temperature climbed I came face to face with him or her over the geranium.

Last night our gullies were again washed—this time with a bang!

Plan B

What a humid day! Last evening a blanket of gray clouds pressed down the oppressive heat. They were so heavy with moisture that I knew they’d have give it up. They did.

And that’s the problem—not the rain, we’re glad for it. It’s just that our gullies have been washed several times lately and uncharacteristically, the rain has inundated my garden. Usually welcome, the rain waterlogged my pot of hydrangea stem cuttings, causing several of them to rot—even though they were in a terra cotta pot.

So today I was able to rescue three cuttings and followed the rules more closely, putting them in a small plastic pot with a lighter “sterile” seed-starting medium. They’re now out of the way of downpours but I’ll have to watch closely that they don’t dry out. Many plant cuttings can be “just stuck in the dirt” and they will grow but apparently not these. I did add more rooting powder.

If you look closely at the picture on the right you can see tiny bits of new growth! We’ll see how it goes.

It’s yet another two-red-hibiscus-day and yes, the grasshopper was back. But not for long, I sent him flying--further this time.

A Possible First

What a pleasant surprise to find not one or even two red hibiscus flowers this morning—but three! I’m not sure my bush has ever had that many flowers at once! It's tending toward being leggy though I’ve wanted the height in order to block some of the intense sun. However, I read in a houseplant book I found at the library that they can be pruned in the spring—maybe I’ll do that next year and make more blossoms possible. Maybe I can even grow some new ones with the stem cuttings.

A week ago, I saw some small hibiscus plants for an unheard of $4.99. But, I thought, I’m not sure if some are orange so I’ll wait ‘til they’ve bloomed out a bit by next Saturday when we’re here again. Too late, they were gone. The store plant lady said, “Oh but they were an opportunity buy so they’re all gone!” Well, I missed that opportunity but surely there will be another one…somewhere.

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.

Multiplying a Gift

Recently I received from my friend R’s garden, a gift of gorgeous deeply hued hydrangeas. They lasted, in one form or another, for nearly three weeks but there’s no need to let it stop there. In all my years of poring over garden books I’ve seen a lot of articles about starting new plants from stem cuttings; I’ve tried it from time to time with mixed results so I decided to try it with the hydrangeas. I had a pot and remembered an old package of rooting powder. Though the powder is very old, it’s been zip sealed so it has possibilities. I made holes in the soil with an old pencil, dipped the stem cutting ends in the rooting powder and stuck them in the soil pressing it down, then watered. I stripped most of them of their leaves—we’ll see whether it makes a difference. This is regular potting soil but I may have to change to something with sand in it. I think I have some. I may do two sets. It seems that I have nothing to lose but I surely would enjoy my own beautiful hydrangeas.