This week has been wildly different from normal, and that means my post won’t be anything like previous ones have been. For one thing, I have a confession to make – I left my plants alone nearly all week. I went on a long vacation. I didn’t know what the weather would be like, and I took a gamble on how to water them.
For the most part, this seems to have paid off. I thought I might be returning home to a browning collection of either crispy or wilting plants, and was totally wrong. It seems like some plants used this unsupervised time to attempt hostile takeovers of their own or other pots. The mint has started to fill in all the corners of the long planter – while the thyme won’t finish flowering. I pruned the thyme quite heavily a few weeks back, trimming off all the flowering (and potentially flowering) parts to no avail. The mint is trying to help me by taking back some of the planter from the thyme, but the thyme is so well-established that it simply doesn’t care.
I’ll have to sort these two out later.
Meanwhile, the more unusual and colorful plants have started to show off their colors in riotous fashion. The bloodleaf is growing like it doesn’t know anything other than outward expansion. Anywhere that the sun doesn’t shine, it wants to be. And since the tomato completely overshadowed it this week, it’s taken up as much territory as it can. Somehow, it also doesn’t seem to be constrained by the tiny pot that it’s in. The leaves spread out to cover three or four times as much room as the pot does, turning nearly one whole wall of my balcony a vibrant red. Meanwhile, the polka dot plant’s seeds have started really taking root in other planters. The money tree has a new guest that seems to love the conditions of the pot. I wonder how big it’ll get…
And finally, a few more flowers have popped up. A previously un-bloomed type of wildflower is showing its colors for all the world to see. I think the hummingbirds are thinking about visiting it, but prefer the hanging feeder to the tiny singular flower. The Billy Button, though, has also started showing its colorful flowering head. It’s still fluffing out into a yellow orb of sunny happiness, but is enjoying the intermediary stage of football of happiness. I’ve been working on these plants for a couple of years now, and don’t know what the heck happened to make this one particular plant happy. I’ll take it, though!
And that’s about all that I can fit in this week’s Six on Saturday post. I’m still talking to my plants and finding out the gossip from the last week. There’s doubtless going to be a few other complaints and requests for me to take care of, starting with my tomato’s latest tantrum. I think I should have arranged for a plant sitter for the outside plants!
The inside plants were seen to by my mother-in-law, who did a fantastic job of it. None of them are dead, none of them are unhappy, and none of them are flowering unexpectedly. I’d call that a success. (Thank you!) I owe her some tomatoes if they make it through the week!
The trip took my wife and I through quite a bit of the southwest. We took many opportunities to enjoy the wonderful changes in nature all along the way. Keep an eye out for the post in the near future!
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!
Դուրսը լաւ է։
The outside is good.
(I don’t know if I spelled this right, but that’s what it sounds like!)
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 