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.

Sun Effects

My arrangement of water globes definitely catches the sunlight—even if I did have to get on my hands and knees to photograph it (I learned to do this from a professional photographer). One of my favorite aspects of colored or stained glass is the way the sun lights it; it can be beautiful on its own but there’s nothing like the combination of light and color!

The arrangement of sunlight has definitely changed with clocks turned back to Standard Time; I think the plants in the morning windows will benefit most since we open the curtains early. Even outdoors, the east-facing pots have held up to the cold weather better since the rising sun dispels some of the chill.

However, over the weekend the combination of sun, furnace and our busy comings and goings left some of the recently migrated indoor plants in need of dried leaf removal. Oops! I checked and watered them before I went out but they apparently dried out before I knew it. Remember, they’re still in terra cotta pots. But thankfully, they’re not too much worse for the wear.

Leaves that droop or wither can often be revived as with the spider plantlet “Lazarus” but if they’re yellow or brown--they’re gone. Go ahead and cut them off since the plant will put its energy into trying to revive the leaves instead of making new ones—it simply can’t bring that kind back. (While this can be a parable for some parts of life, it does not apply to marriage or necessarily physical health because God is able to revive that which was dead!)

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.

Mini Water Towers

A few years ago, I was given some glass water globes for my garden. They’re advertised as able to water your garden for up to two weeks while you’re away. Everyone who sees my garden asks me if they work. “Kinda sorta.” Somehow, they work better on some plants than others but I’ve never seen one dispense water for two weeks.

It’s really important to make a hole in the soil with a pencil or small diameter dowel first before sticking the tube end in the soil though or the sharp-ended tube will take in a dirt clod that will block the water flow. A skewer will dislodge the dirt but as soon as you turn the tube down to push it into the soil; the dirt blocks the flow again. Experience is not the best teacher.

A few months ago, I bought several more glass globes of various sizes when I needed to be away for a bit. After a week, some still had water and some were empty. I had saturated all the plants before situating the globes and leaving; a few plants were worse for the wear but most did fine.

The globes help a bit with plant watering but the real reason I like them is the beauty of sunlight shining through their colorful blown glass. I have lots of blue ones, a couple green and some with blue, white and orange or magenta—all on one globe. They’re sturdy enough to hold up to the ravages of summer and winter in the Piedmont and will add some color to my otherwise barren winter garden (though I’m dreaming up what seeds I can grow for winter color—stay tuned).

Lots of rain today. I’m told that the new neighbors are moving in today; moving is difficult anytime but heavy rain definitely makes it worse!