Summer’s going through mood swings and the plants are trying their best to adapt. We haven’t had rain in quite a while, but fog has been rolling in each day and leaving a mess of dew all over the place. The plants don’t seem to mind – but they also don’t seem to care. They’re growing at their own pace, despite whatever the day or season wants to tell them.
The winter squash doesn’t seem to understand its name… but I also didn’t plant it at the right time, so who’s to blame? I planted it late in spring, and it started to sprout rather quickly. Just as quickly, it decided to hang out and wait while the hottest parts of summer passed. Some of the leaves got uncomfortable and fell off, but it always managed to replace each one. As the weather cooled a bit, the leaves started growing back larger and larger. Now that the days are unseasonably cool (at times…), the little plant has decided it’s time to flower. It hasn’t reached up any farther from the ground, but gravity isn’t going to hold it back now! I just hope it’s tasty.
The shishito peppers are starting to pop out too. They grew pretty slowly at first, then so quickly that both plants fell over. I decided to prop one up with a stick to help it stand tall, while I let the other one grow near the ground to see what happens. The tall one thanked me by immediately flowering and putting out peppers. These ones are definitely going to go into a warm oven later.
The mint has taken over its third of the planter, finally filling in every square inch of space that it can get its roots into. I hope its strong enough to start combatting the thyme, which refuses to stop flowering. There’s not quite enough mint for me to do much with yet – I don’t want to harvest it too early and set it back in its growth. Meanwhile, the olive tree has restarted its growth while standing up straight. A few of the branches had gotten too long and caused the tree to bend over, giving it horrible back issues. Now that its spine is straight, the upper leaves have really started to develop. I hope it grows to be big, strong, and full of olives! Maybe I should make some peppered olives when both those plants are ready…
The office planter is thriving through all the sudden changes its undergone. All the plants had been taken from their normal homes and stuffed into a broad planter together, mostly to give them some shared humidity and a bit more root space. The fern is curling up and trying its best to stay in the shade of the taller philodendron, which has firmed up its roots and no longer needs support of any kind. The red emerald philodendron, on the other hand, is starting to reach out some of its vine-side roots toward the moss pole. I’m hoping that it’ll only need another month or two of being tied in place before it’s able to support itself. Only one portion of the red emerald is actually curling around the pole, which probably isn’t nearly enough to support the weight of all those long leaves. Eventually I’m going to have to let it stand on its own – but not until I’m good and ready.
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!
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 