Updates

My plants have been busy in the month since I started this blog.  There have been so happy discoveries and some sad revelations.  Ah, such is the life of a plant care taker.

Hibiscus

There are actually 5 flowers today!  It has bloomed almost every day for the last month.  It is just happy, all I have to do is remember to water!  I gave it a little more food today, we will see how it liked that.  There has been a hummingbird visiting for the breakfast buffet recently.  I am just not fast enough with the camera.  I would like to get a hummingbird feeder out there.  I know it is late in the season, but they are tiny and need their energy for the flight South soon.

Poinsettia

This guy has recovered quite nicely!  The few leaves I left after pruning have fallen off as the plant has put energy into new leaves and shoots.

Next season I will go in a little bit lower on the stalks so that they send out more shoots like these in the hopes of a bushier/denser plant.  Even the cuttings I attempted to root are doing ok.

Yes, I know they look like nearly dead twigs, but I promise there is life in them yet because there are little leaf buds barely emerging here and there.

Orchids

I have good news and bad news about these guys.  Two of them have moved on in the last few days.  The first two I got. I think they must have had a fungal/mold problem when I bought them.  If I had treated them before putting them in the new pots I think they may have stood a chance.  The good news though, is that the most recent orchid purchase has continued to open more flowers!

I was so excited,  I thought I could almost see it openign right before my eyes! I was wrong.  It got about this far in 2 days.

On the third day I checked on it after work and found that the other bud opened up as well.

What a wonderful surprise!  It was so cool to watch.  It looked like the other 3 blooms actually turned to watch the new faces emerge.  I guess it decided to let one of the faces fade in trade for 2 new ones because within a day the oldest flower stared to whither. Otherwise this plant seems to be happy.  I do not know what is going on under the moss though, but with this one I am going to let be until it is done blooming.  

Edibles (the herbs and veggies)

We had a big storm the other night that the tomatoes did not want to fight.

I have been fighting gravity to keep them growing up, and off the ground.  I gave up.  Since they are in pots on a 4 inch deep layer of dirt over limestone it is difficult to stake them properly.  I have done what I could and eventually decided that gravity can have this one as long as I still get some bounty!  

The smaller plants, like the peppers, were un-phased by the wind and hail.  I picked the 2 rather ripe sweet red peppers.

Don't be fooled by the photo, the pepper is only 4 inches long.

I don't know why, but one of the jalapenos turned purple on top.  It is pretty. 

Speaking of hail . . .

The elephant ears are now pierced. 

Even some of the plants with small leaves got mauled.  

                     

There is a crazy spider that has a huge web near the front door.  She has had to rebuild every couple days due to wind, and twigs falling through her web, but after the hail it is the nicest yet.  

She is the craziest looking spider I have seen in this area.  She seems quite happy where she is, and as long as that is where she stays catching flies I am okay with it!  Here is a profile so you can understand why she is so crazy looking.

Happy garding!