The merry year is born
Like the bright berry from the naked thorn.
~ Hartley Coleridge
No, they're not berries. They're buds!
The Christmas cactus is running a little late this year.
But the beautiful blossoms will be welcome when they arrive.
Like they always say, better late than never....
There's always time for a new beginning.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Not much of interest happening outside right now, but in the indoor garden room it's a very merry time of year!
The indoor succulent that had sent up a desperate
Re-potting SOS is settling nicely into its new home:
A stretch and a sigh: "Aaaahhhh...."
My students gave me some beautiful additions to my indoor garden at our annual piano recital last Sunday:
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING ORCHID
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AFRICAN VIOLET IN HANDCRAFTED POT
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GERBERA DAISY IN CONTEMPORARY PLANTER
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I've never been great with African violets -- usually the initial blooms dry up and no more flowers ever appear. And I've attempted one orchid in the past which died in about a week. I'd really like to keep this one flourishing, so I've searched out some instructions on orchid care at BeautifulOrchids.com and OrchidCare.com. If you have any helpful tips, please leave a comment!
This little guy is just crying out for a bigger pot, isn't he?
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Here's what the plant looked liked when I got it in July 2007:
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I can only hope I don't get reported to the SPCH
(Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Houseplants).
Emergency item added to gardening To Do list -- check!
The bulb for this amaryllis was given to me by a student family in early December as a Christmas gift. I followed the instructions carefully, but for months it just wouldn't grow beyond the few initial spikes of leaves. I thought perhaps I had over-watered it initially, or hadn't watered it enough. Maybe it was too cold in the indoor garden room. I felt like Charlie Brown and his little Christmas tree: "I've killed it."
As a last ditch effort before throwing it away, I put it in a window that receives intense morning light. And the rest, as they say, is history. It came into full bloom three days ago, with five flowers and another shorter stalk with a bud that will offer more blossoms soon.
Thank goodness I didn't give up on it too soon! I do believe there's a profound life lesson in there somewhere, isn't there?
This beautiful blossom is the first flower of spring for me, and it's in my indoor garden!
This is one of the containers that I had out all summer and brought inside for the winter.
OSTEOSPERMUM
Soon it'll be warm enough to take the containers back outside.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying this bright touch of purple in my indoor garden room,
announcing the arrival of spring and the long-awaited gardening season.
It's only been nine days.
But I do believe I've finally found the plant that can survive the low-light spot in my kitchen.
I planted the Bolivian Jew (Calissia repens) on 8/25:
And this is what it looks like today:
I'm about ready to declare that my Houseplant Predicament has been resolved. But I won't get overly confident quite yet. I'll just pinch back the long stems, keep turning the plants and rotating them through the line-up, and sneak a few satisfied smiles.
You might assume from my post admiring a coleus planter at a favorite shop or the one featuring the great variety of coleus at Longwood Gardens that I like this plant. And you'd be correct. In fact, I've got a trough-shaped coleus planter on my planning list for next year. But when I found some for $.50 each on sale, I decided to jump in this year and try something a little different -- an indoor coleus display:
The only one with an ID tag was the solid green one: 'Golda'. We'll see how they do here. They'll get plenty of morning sun, and I'll just have to do the watering over the sink or outdoors. I already love the splash of color in this corner of the living room!
[Note: An interesting article posted at Dave's Garden is Crazy for Coleus: History and Care.]
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The other new addition is (hopefully) a solution to my Houseplant Predicament. The Bolivian Jew (Calissia repens) only requires moderate light and it's just about the right shape for this spot. It will grow up in height and drape over the edges of the planters. I like the streamlined look of having the same plant in repetition here. This area is governed by design & decor considerations rather than horticultural creativity...!
I had identified the Bolivian Jew as a possibility for this location on a previous trip to Ken's Gardens, mentioned in this post about the newbies I got that day. After two failed tries at filling this spot, I really hope the third time's the charm!
These things always start innocently enough, don't they? I was at the feed store getting pet supplies. They also have an outdoor area with plants, but I wasn't intending to buy any -- I didn't even have my "30% off any shrub" coupon with me. But I casually asked if they had any boxwoods in the sale. (Boxwood has been on my wish list all season.) There was one left. I explained my coupon situation and they offered to give me the sale price anyway. Yes, I realize it's a bit unusual to have a single, but that didn't deter me. I added boxwood to my growing plant collection.
So yesterday I went to a favorite nursery to pick up a pot for the boxwood. Mission accomplished:
Green Mountain Upright Boxwood (Buxus x 'Green Mountain')
While I was there, I walked around a bit to enjoy the flowers and learn more plant names. I saw some sunflowers on sale for $.65 and selected one to counter the loss of my sunflower seedlings early in the season to some hungy critters.
'Sunspot'
I also took a few minutes to browse the houseplant section, looking for something suitable to solve my Houseplant Predicament (Bolivian Jew looks like a possibility). Along the way, I learned the name of this plant (Burro's Tail or sedum morganianum) and happened upon a wee succulent whose cuteness I nearly could not bear:
I know it's supposed to go into a cactus dish garden, and I know I'll probably have to water it every hour on the hour, and I know it may not live a long time no matter how carefully I tend it. But some gardening phenomena simply defy explanation.
I guess if you consider my sunflower a planned "purchase" going back to my earlier seed planting, and the boxwood a fulfillment of a planned addition, there was really only one impulse plant purchase this week and it cost $1.50. Which really, all things considered, isn't bad.
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