It looks like the plants are focusing on growing leaves this week. The flowers are sticking around, the plants are the same height – but there’s just so much more green! I love it. I’m starting to wonder if I was a little too preemptive in trimming off all the thyme flowers.
If you’ve got a garden you want to show off, don’t hesitate to write your own Six on Saturday post! They’re easy to make and I’d certainly enjoy taking a look at more gardens. If you want to learn how they work, check out where it all started!
1
The sensitive plant put out a bunch of new leaf clusters! I think I keep exhausting this plant by poking it and watching it curl. Many of the leaves turn dark green, then brown, then eventually fade. Almost as quickly, new shoots of leaves pop up out of the dirt or out of a joint in some stem, and then turn into a similarly-sized bunch of leaves. It’s not getting bigger, it’s not getting smaller – it’s in some sort of growth/death equilibrium. I’m starting to think I should move it up to a larger pot, but I’m afraid that transplanting it will make the whole plant go into shock. It’s already so shy…
2
I had read that the polka dot plant was supposed to be self-seeding, but this is the first time I really believe it. The main pair of plants had been flowering for months until I finally trimmed them back roughly. I hadn’t seen any new plants start in the pot around the edges, so I thought the plant was just regrowing from the same root cluster(s). It seemed like the flowers didn’t get any work done. And then, all of a sudden, this little bundle of happiness sprouts up like it’s right at home. I’m not sure how it’s so happy in a significantly drier pot, but it’s determined to show the world that polka dot plants are not to be trifled with. Go little plant, go!
3
Thanks to a tip from someone in the last post, I think this might be a cornflower. That’s one wildflower identified, four or five to go! The wildflowers in the pot are relatively short lived, lasting only two weeks each or so. These big bundles of blue happiness are lasting longer than the little flowers, but even they’re showing a pretty rapid change. I hadn’t thought any of the seeds would sprout at all, being a couple years old already. I’m glad they proved me wrong! Now I just need to solve the mystery of why the seeds only sprouted along the perimeter of the pot, and not at all in the middle. It’s like a donut of wildflowers.
4
I’m pretty sure that I’m giving the ZZ plant too much sunlight. I put it in its current home because I thought the overall effect would be lovely, but now I’m starting to think it’s time to move it elsewhere. My only fear is the potential root rot. The plant had originally been saved from the back-room bargain bin of a grocery story, and looked like it was on the quick route to death. I’ve been pruning and watering and aerating the soil as best I can, but it’s struggling day after day. I’m concerned that the sunlight might be killing it, but moving it to darkness and causing the soil to dry slower will cause any potential rot to skyrocket. I’m caught between a rot and a hard place.
5
The mint has decided to live! This plant had also been struggling, but its chief enemy had been thyme. This isn’t some terrible plant pun… I’d planted a mint plant in the same planter that the thyme and rosemary share, and the mint was instantly overwhelmed. It lost territory day after day. Within weeks, it was already looking pretty rough. I took a clipping of the last tiny-leafed stem that was still alive, and stuck it in a cup to propagate. It turned limp and, considering how small it was, slipped underwater within the first few days. It chugged along somehow, growing roots and leaves alongside each other underwater. I planted the rooted stem and crossed my fingers. It looks like this generation learned from the last generation. This mint plant is fighting vigorously against the thyme, taking back nearly 1/4 of the planter in a matter of a couple months. Now that it’s starting to establish itself, I’m hoping it’ll find balance at an even 1/3rd. Guess I’ll have to eat more mint in the future to keep it from getting out of hand!
6
This Spanish moss is so mysterious. It doesn’t grow or change. It just hangs there, 20 inches or so of fuzzy green strand. I feel it may be happier among its own kind, rather than hanging off the money tree like a Christmas tassel. I would say that time will tell, but it’s already about a year old. No signs of change in that time, either to die or grow. I’m keeping my eye on it, but really only out of sheer amazement. If this plant doesn’t turn out to be immortal, I’ll be surprised.
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 
First time I’ve checked out your blog through SoS. I’ve grown the sensitive plant for the last two years and couldn’t resist touching it all the time. I know what you mean about the size not really changing. Have you had flowers yet? They look like tiny puffs of candyfloss.
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Still no flowers yet, even though most other things are blooming! I think the individual stalks aren’t lasting long enough to make flowers, even though they’re growing back fast enough to replace each other.
Thanks for stopping by!
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