Finally...

...I can keep plants outside. Today is my third day in my new apartment. Remember how I had half a salad's worth of Swiss chard before I left home? I have at least twice that today. One of my professors told our class that plants don't grow because of us--they grow in spite of us. The fact that the chard stayed alive for three months indoors and is now growing prolifically testifies to the truth in that statement.

So, here are the pictures of my plants' new homes. Maybe at the end of the summer I can do a before-and-after post. I'm sure there would be lots of improvement.

These are the three wandering jews that I've decided not to keep. I'm still looking for good homes for these little guys. They're really easy to care for. Thankfully they're recent cuttings, so they haven't developed much of a root system, so they can stay in this four pack for a while without becoming rootbound.

My spider plant and bromeliad aren't really near a window, but light from three windows reaches them, so they might be okay there.

My lucky bamboo also isn't in a window, but from what I understand, these plants actually benefit from staying out of direct sunlight. It works out very well.

This table contains the two succulents I brought, my wandering jew, and my purple shamrock. They've got some of the best seats in the house.

My jade plant (unfortunately not pictured) is near a window in the bedroom. The rest of my plants are outside. My tomato is looking happier by the day. The parsley pot (behind the tomato) was flooded by rain a couple of times, but I poured out the excess. We'll see how that does.

There's a noticeable difference between the Swiss chard in this shot and what it looks like now, a day later. I have high hopes for this crop.

My basil's still a bit raggedy, but I'm working on it. The peppermint, however, doesn't need any help.

I'm already excited to see my desert rose bloom, though the plant already looks very dramatic against this brick wall.

Here are the rest of the herbs. My thyme looks small, still, but if I can keep it out of heavy rains, it should be fine. I'm going to be cooking pizzas with rosemary soon, and I think I'm going to harvest a few leaves from my rosemary for it. Think of it: my first true harvest (eating doomed plant matter doesn't count) of the year. Miraculous.

What miracles are transpiring in your garden or containers?

Next post: more from the dawn of summer.

The Last Windowsill Shots of the School Year

I'm now at home, and all my plants are here. But "all my plants" includes a lot more than it did last time I posted on the subject. I'm here today to get you all caught up on the updates.

First, here's my purple shamrock in its very temporary home on my dresser.

This is a rosemary plant I was given on my last day of work. I recently found a couple of recipes that call for rosemary, so hopefully this can fill those needs and keep growing. My mom and I grew rosemary at home once several years ago, but it didn't do well. We'll see if I can do a better job this time.

These are four wandering jew cuttings, also from work. They seem to grow significantly every day.

I also got a peppermint plant from work. I look forward to making tea from this (or maybe just making tea from the unwanted peppermint that will inevitably pop up in other containers than this one).

So here's the last windowsill shot of my stay in the dormitory. The lineup of plants has changed substantially, and I'm fine with that. I'm also glad to be out of the dorm because now I can satisfy the light requirements of the plants that need to be outside. (More on that in a future post.)

This shot encompasses all of my new and new-ish plants, as well as some carnations that belong to my roommate.

All my plants made it home safely, though they endured a fair amount of heat stress waiting in my car while I checked out of my room. Also, when I moved out, my dad came to help me pack up, and he brought me some potted parsley seeds! I love having fresh herbs.

Next post: my plants at home.