It’s time for another Saturday, and that means another Six. I’m really enjoying these journalistic posts. My garden hadn’t been getting enough love, and needed a journal of its own to keep track of things. My phone alone wasn’t doing the job.
Winter always seems like a slower time, but then nature has to go and remind us that things still happen. All my plants were settled in and had survived the usual early-winter heatwave… then windstorms picked up. In the past few days, we’ve had 2 windstorms here with speeds of 25-50mph. I’m still inspecting the damage as time goes on (and as the breeze continues), but I’m already down quite a few basil leaves. Most of the outdoors plants can withstand the fury (the cacti barely even move…), but the heady weight of the chrysanthemums are starting to worry me.
Check out where the SixOnSaturday posts started
1
Grow lights
Finally upgraded the lights my office plants have been living under. Had lights with a daylight setting (5600K), but didn’t do the research to learn that didn’t include the actual solar ray mix. Learned about full spectrum LEDs, and went through the online order and contactless pickup via locker at home depot. They’re not as colorful as you see in some photos (where the room seems to be a wash of purple and red), but they have some tinge of purplish red. I’ll see how the plants are responding in the future… but they didn’t die right away!
Some had been living alright (getting by…) under the previous bulbs and the office fluorescents. Hopefully leaf production will jump up and the roots can drink some water. Right now the soil is extremely touchy and easy to overwater / leave damp.
2
The olive tree has grown immensely in the last few months.
When I first put this olive tree in its corner roughly 2 years ago, I was afraid it wouldn’t get enough light. The guardrail was just at the height of the tree, and it would only get light during the highest points of the sun. Sometimes between then and now, it’s apparently grown taller. I hadn’t realized it until just the other day, when all the leaves were bending over the handrail under the same intense wind. That’s when it really hit me – the leaves are over the handrail. It grew up without me even noticing. Maybe this is nature’s equivalent for compounding interest – gets taller, gets more light to grow faster, gets taller, etc. (comparison slider photo?)
3
LA finally got some rain after high winds.
After (and somewhat during) the first big wind storm, LA finally got some rain. It came down steadily for a few hours, then got bored and dumped all the remainder in the span of a few minutes. It was possible to drive just a few blocks and come to an area with almost completely dissimilar weather – except the ever-present wind. Maybe there’s been enough of us taking notice of the air quality that nature decided a reset was in order.
4
The air plant baby is doing fine
It looks so small, and I worry for it. I’ll mist it and the parent plant a bit more often during the winter to deal with the low humidity. We’ve been hovering around 30% or lower at some points, and the tips of some of the strands are browning again. I’m hoping that the parent plant will put out a few more pups and I can give a few of them away.
5
The moss log from my family’s farm has grown some new lengths.
Looks like it wanted shade of a specific type, or a lower indoor temperature. We don’t run heaters or ac when we’re out, so it’s finally happy in conditions similar to where it left. I’m not sure what type of moss this is (or what those red strands sticking out of the face are). I’m thinking it may be a good idea to build it a little home with other, similar wood so the moss can slowly take over. It’s been like a pet plant, and it’s finally waking up.
6
This card (photo) is totally beautiful. Can’t say it enough.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you had a pleasant time checking out the plants. If you’re in the mood for more nature, please stay in touch!
Mindful Foliage 
I love your moss log. Do you generally keep it covered for increased humidity, or have you not found that to be necessary? I congratulate you on your tillandsia baby. I have never manages to keep my air plants alive long enough/happy enough to induce them to reproduce. Will have to give it another go one of these days.
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Thanks for stopping by!
The log has a pretty cozy little home – underneath it is a sliver of soft wood, which I sometimes soak in water to provide a little higher humidity. I also mist the log once or twice every week (because watering it the normal way would make the wood fall to pieces). Over the top of both the wood base and the log, I put a clear glass cup. I’m hoping this setup is pretty close to the rain and morning dew that this moss would normally rely on.
Good luck with your tillandsia! They’re pretty thrilling little plants.
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It’s easy to take moss for granted when you live somewhere wet and it’s everywhere. It can be a bit of a nuisance on top of pots of seeds but some forms are really attractive. I think the red strands are spores capsules.
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Thanks for stopping by!
And I had been wondering what those were… They’ve been hanging off the moss for months now, but there hasn’t been a change. I like the pop of color, though.
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