What My Plants Are Up To

Too infrequently do I get a chance to really study my plants and evaluate their conditions and activities. But the other day, I was fortunate enough to observe lots of new changes.

 

 

First off: my purple shamrock is flowering! When I bought this plant, all its peers at the farm were flowering, but since I like these plants for their foliage, I chose the one with the nicest, biggest foliage. Maybe this one's just a late bloomer. The flowers are pretty (though blurry--my apologies), and a lot closer to lavender than they look here. 

 

Interestingly, all the flowers here are nestled underneath the leaves. I've never really seen a plant do that before. Usually they want their flowers as high up and visible as possible to encourage pollination. I wonder what advantage this flower placement confers to the purple shamrock.

The evening after I first saw these, I noticed that the blooms had closed up. I thought they might be one-day blooms, but I was mistaken. They just close up at night and open again the next morning.

In less joyful news, it seems that something is eating my Swiss chard. It looks a bit better now than it does in this picture, but some of these leaves look like they're really not doing too well. Do you know of any pests that really like chard? I hear they're fairly rabbit-proof (and I don't think we have rabbits around here anyway).

Also, we've had a lot of rain recently. As in, more rain than I expected to get all summer. This hasn't pleased my desert rose, but look at my sage go! It's huge, compared to when I got it! It's already started to form a woody stem, as you can see in the picture. I'm a proud mama.

The peppermint and lens flare are also enjoying the rain.

How has the weather affected your garden so far? Do you have anything that's struggling?

Next post: another exciting development.

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 Great Garden Planting of 2013: After

Yesterday we got Mom's garden plant, and I repotted nearly all of my plants. We accomplished a great deal, and I'm here to chronicle the seeds of our future success (somewhat literally!).

I'll start with my plants. I'm glad I repotted my spider plant; when I took it out of its pot, I could tell it was starting to get rootbound. There are lots of spider plants in the greenhouses that are so rootbound that they're pushing themselves out of their pots. I wouldn't ever want mine to get that desperate. It has lots of room to grow now.

Here's the wandering jew that I've decided to keep, as well as a succulent (the tag says it's Haworthia coarctata, but I highly doubt that because of the lack of "pearls") that I replanted. I'm taking two of these succulents.

My purple shamrock got the nicest pot. It's droopy from being out in the heat, but I think it will recover quickly.

Pictured here is the other succulent (of the same species) that I'm bringing home, as well as my jade plant. It seems like jade is a slow grower, so this pot should be suitable for a while.

Moving outside, here are my peppermint and thyme in their new homes. The peppermint might be able to take over a much larger pot, but I want to keep it manageable. I think I'm going to harvest pretty aggressively once it looks like its fitting the pot better.

The rosemary was also looking rootbound when I repotted it, so now it has deeper soil to probe into. Rosemary has a simple appearance, but I think it's a beautiful plant.

Now onto the grand finale: Mom's garden. This is what it looks like now. I think it's a perfectly sized plot for what Mom wants.

Here's the row of peppers and tomatoes, from the pepper side. No, the row isn't straight, but don't judge.

The same row, from the tomato side. I think Mom did a good job choosing her tomato plants. They're young and healthy, and I think they'll do great. She already got cages for them (and one for me, because she's sweet).

I had a lot of fun helping Mom transplant her vegetables and digging around in the soil. I'll make updates on the progress of the garden when I come home to visit.

Next post: tis' the season for my favorite flowers in the whole world.

A Brief Respite at Home

I am home for the weekend, and my plants are here with me. They're enjoying the sun. Thankfully, they'll remain outside once I move again next week.

These plants (spider plant, jade plant, lucky bamboo, and wandering jews) are hanging out inside since they're suited for such conditions.

I'm also wary of putting the wandering jews outside for fear they might grow too much. They already look eerily taller than they did just a few days ago. Another concern I have is that, because they grow so much, I really don't need four of them. I'm looking for good homes for three of them; if I can't find good homes, I might just pitch them.

My desert rose is ready to go outside. I don't have room in my car to take this one with me over the summer (though I may try anyway), but I'll get it eventually. Judging by the plentiful foliage, I'd bet this is going to be a great year for desert rose flowers.

Here's my purple shamrock, stealing the show as per usual. In the top right corner is a succulent that I'd like to take with me. I think the two plants are going to switch pots. Also, in the lower right corner are some basil seedlings that my mom is growing. Very exciting!

A better shot of the succulent. This is definitely multiple plants, so I might have to put them in multiple pots. Some might need good homes at some point as well...

In other basil news, remember my basil plant? As you can see, we're working on getting it to bush out a little. It's looking (and tasting) good, though.

Mints in general (I imagine peppermint is no exception) are tough, and my little specimen here is responding particularly well to the great outdoors. I suspect I'll have no trouble keeping this plant healthy and producing. Peppermint is one herb I've never used in cooking, but I love mint tea.

Though this isn't a great shot, you can see that the sage is doing okay too. I think it has some new leaves, but this pot will keep it happy for a long time.

The rosemary is also looking healthy as ever. All my plants (well, most) are getting repotted into permanent containers tomorrow, and I imagine the rosemary will benefit from that. Rosemary can turn into full-fledged bushes, so it needs room to grow.

Though blurry, the thyme seems to be taking off more than it has been. If this batch doesn't grow much, I can plant some more seeds and see if they perform better, as they would be outside from the beginning. We'll see.

The Swiss chard has definitely grown since coming home. It looks like it might just grow up nice and big after all. I mean, there's already half a side salad here! I could also probably get rid of the knife at this point, since the air will be well circulated. I thought these were goners on my way home because all the chard started to wilt from the heat when I was packing up my car. I gave them plenty of water, though, and they perked back up like nothing happened! I was truly impressed.

My tomato apparently got caught in a slight frost a week or two ago, but it appears to be recovering as well as can be expected.

It looks tiny in this pot, but remember, it's supposed to become 6-7' tall. I have a cage for it, but I'm going to wait until I move to put it in. You can also see the parsley pot in the background. I'm fairly certain the soil in it is good old clay garden soil, so the parsley may not have an easy time surfacing, but we will see. If it doesn't turn out, I can put something else in that pot.

How are your plants doing? Have you been moving some outside?

Next post: a garden overhaul.

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.

Strawberry Hill Farms, Part 2

Let's dive back into the action and see more of the illustrious Strawberry Hill Farms!

We left off in the building containing the purple shamrocks. As I was trying to choose between them, I happened to glance over and see this little jewel among the foliage.

In my experience, climbing plants turn into more of a problem than an ornament, but I could make an exception here.

Here's a random herb corner. I couldn't find any on this trip, but Strawberry Hill stocks a cultivar of sage that's variegated green and creamy white. It was ornamental and edible!





This is the smallest wandering jew I've seen at this place. Most of them are massive. (Sneak preview of an upcoming post: I may or may not have obtained one or more wandering jews.)

Here's a wall of wandering jews and other hanging plants. Also featuring geraniums!

I'm not a huge fan of these flowers, but I wonder how they produce different colors of flowers. Are there multiple plants in one container, or does the plant just make different pigments on different blooms?

A diverse array of geraniums, from white to dark red to lavender and everywhere in between.

Here's a special Scott cameo, pictured with my new purple shamrock. He was very patient with me, but you can see the "Can we go now?" in his eyes.

As you can see, it's very jungle-y in some of these greenhouses. I don't know how I'd ever navigate in here. The farm uses its space efficiently, though.

And we end up for today in a neverending field of tomatoes. Who knows how many varieties are in just this shot, let alone the whole building.

What jewels of the plant world have you seen lately? Have you ever been dumbfounded by the sheer volume of plants in a location?

Next post: the last of Strawberry Hill.