Rest in Peace

When your plants make you frown instead of smile, you know it's time to "recycle" them.  This hanging basket of double Impatiens was gorgeous when I brought it home around the first of April ... and it made me smile a lot. 

It bloomed profusely, and seemed to be very happy in its shady new home.

But "fast forward" a couple of months later ...

and this is what it looked like this sultry June morning.

Pretty sad, isn't it.  Our Mississippi heat took its toll on it ... and, bless its heart, I wasn't smiling anymore when I looked at it.

This morning, I put both of us out of our misery and tossed it in the trash. I know that sounds harsh and cruel, but before I tossed it, I cut a few of the surviving blooms and made a little bouquet for our porch table ...

And, you know what ...

it made me smile one more time, so all was not lost.

Rest in Peace, little Impatiens plant.

A Gardener at Heart

I love puttering and piddling and playing with plants and flowers, but I have to confess that I'm not much of a gardener.  I truly love plants and flowers and enjoy digging in the dirt and planting them, but I don't have the patience it takes to fertilize, or re-pot, or prune, or spray for insects and diseases, and all the other things that separate the dedicated gardeners from people like me.  I guess my little "Grow dammit" sign pretty much sums up my philosophy of gardening.

I just want my flowers to grow and be happy and make pretty blooms and not lose their leaves or turn yellow or brown or wilt.  Is that too much to ask?

  

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a pretty pink Knockout Rose, and it bloomed beautifully ... for about a week. 

When I noticed it wasn't blooming as profusely, I moved it out into the courtyard where it would get more sun.  But it has been steadily going down hill, and looks as if it has been literally "knocked out" and is down for the count.

I'll give it a couple of weeks and if it doesn't perk up, I'm afraid it's going to end up on "death row," which is where I put the plants that don't survive my "tender loving care."

On a brighter note ... I'm pleased to say that I actually have quite a few survivors. Like this ivy plant ...

It sits on a table on our porch and makes me smile every time I see it and its little bird friend.  

This primitive little wooden birdhouse planter was the container for a Mother's Day bouquet from my sweet husband ...

I added a clump of ferns in a clay pot and, I ask you ...

does it get any cuter (or simpler) than that!

Fortunately, considering my lack of gardening skills and gardener virtues, I've discovered that you don't have to spend a lot of money on exotic plants to add interest to your landscaping.  

This "grocery store" palm plant is nestled amongst a couple of stone birds on a table beside our porch door, and seems to be quite content with just a drink of water every now and then ...

My daughter gave me the pretty copper and aqua planter shown below for Mother's Day, and I love the way the coleus plants perfectly complement the colors of the planter ...

So far, so good ... 

Red Impatiens make a pretty contrast with the verdigris armillary on this little garden cart.  I have to water them every day or they will wilt (not a good prognosis of things to come?).

Lantana is a great cascading plant for large urns and is practically maintenance-free.

I am "into" lime green this spring, for some reason, and spray painted an old urn that had red Sunpatiens planted in it (I kindly covered the flowers with a plastic bag, in case you're wondering).  I like the combination of lime and red ... 

I also added Sunpatiens to this planter beside the path leading from the courtyard to our backyard ...

I can see the planter from our bedroom window, and I love opening the blinds in the morning and being greeted by those pretty red blooms.   I just hope they survive the long, hot summer that's fast approaching.

Simple ornamental grass plants in urns or pots are easy to take care of and can fill a space where you need a little something extra.  Variegated liriope looks elegant in this footed urn with a small iron trellis.

This urn is beside our pond and  holds a variegated Asiatic Jasmine plant, which has "weathered" several winters and faithfully comes back in the Spring (my kind of plant!).  

I'm terrible about throwing away the tags that come on plants (something a true gardener would never do!), and I don't know what kind of plant this is ... I know it's some kind of lily grass, but can't remember the name.

I bought it last winter and was so pleased that it survived.  Another one that just needs water to be happy. 

I hope I haven't given the impression that I don't love gardening ... because I do enjoy it, very much.  I am in my glory when I'm digging in the dirt and "tending" my flowers ... it's like therapy and one of my most favorite things to do when I'm not out taking pictures.  In fact, I've tried to instill a love of gardening in our granddaughter Avery Grace, since she was old enough to know what a flower is.  Here she is helping her great-granddaddy plant tomatoes when she was four ...

And planting Morning Glory seeds when she was five ... 

I have a very special gardening project that I'm looking forward to doing with Avery this coming weekend. So, perhaps, I am a gardener, after all ...  at heart, if not in the most literal sense.  And isn't that even better?

  

Just a Little Lagniappe

Storm clouds moved into Vicksburg late yesterday afternoon, and I took advantage of the "calm before the storm" to capture some pictures around our yard. 

The rose vine on the arbor leading from our front courtyard to

the backyard is covered with pastel pink roses ...

I think I'll cut these buds today and make a bouquet for Mother's Day ...

  

I bought some flowers at Home Depot this week and they

seem to be happy in their new home ... so far.

Red Impatiens

Pink "Knock Out" Roses ...

  My "hand-me-down" garden cart holds red "Sunpatiens" (Impatiens that will tolerate sun),

a yellow Primrose, and a pot of pink English Daisies ...

I hope the flowers will do well.  I think it's going to be a long, hot summer here in Mississippi.

The focal point of our courtyard is a small waterfall.  I love the sound of the water running over the rocks, and it is home to several little night creatures that serenade us all night.

Our "Midnight Black Elephant Ears" are coming back nicely.  They will stand two to three feet tall by the end of the summer.  

Midnight Elephant Ears love very moist soil, and are perfect plants for ponds and water features.  They prefer sun to partial shade.

I love armillary spheres and found this one several years ago at a Mexican Pottery market in West Monroe, Louisiana (home of the Duck Dynasty guys, if you're a fan).  

Harry the Heron, is looking a little faded around the edges these days, but I think it just gives him character ... and he seems to be quite happy and content in his home amongst the pond grasses.

Best wishes to you for a memorable and peaceful Mother's Day weekend filled

with love and lots of sweet memories-in-the-making with your loved ones.

We're going to have our family all "under one roof" (ours!) to celebrate our granddaughter Avery's 8th birthday Saturday, and Mother's Day on Sunday.

Happy Mother's Day, Mama ...

I love you and Daddy more than words can ever say.

November 2010

Flower Talk

I visited our local Home Depot Garden Center one day last week and, as I strolled the aisles, I thought I heard someone -- or something -- calling my name. As I walked by this beautiful hanging basket of double Impatiens, I plainly heard it say, "Oh, please ... won't you take me home with you? I'll be so pretty hanging from your Bay Magnolia tree, and I won't be any trouble at all.  Just keep me in the shade and give me a drink every day, and I'll be happy and make lots of pretty flowers for you." Well, I've heard of people talking to their plants (and have done it myself occasionally ... usually to tell them that if they don't perk up, they're going to end up on my version of "death row" for plants!) ... but I have never actually heard any of my plants talk back to me.     But that basket of Impatiens was not only talking to me, it was begging me to take it home with me.  Being the sucker kind, softhearted person I am, there is no way I could leave without taking the basket with me, and, as I put it in my shopping cart, I do declare that I heard a sigh of relief coming from somewhere deep amongst its blooms, and what sounded like a sweet little "Ohhh, thank you, thank you!" When I got home, I hung the basket on a shepherd's hook under the branches of the Bay Magnolia, and every time I look at it makes me smile.  I haven't heard it say anything else, but sometimes I do think it might be smiling back at me!   Doesn't this look like a smile to you! I love my little basket of Impatiens, and I'm so glad it chose me to take it home that day.   If you go to a garden center near you this weekend, I hope you will remember this story and take the time to listen for any flowers that might be calling your name.