But wait, here's something that still has a breath of life in it - Homestead Purple verbena.
And a couple of miniature white roses, flanked by their dead cousins.
This is all too morbid, let's check inside the house and see how the carry-over plants are doing. This fern and a few others of its kind live on the patio in the summer, providing a lush background for the Pink Flamingo. This one has to move soon, it's in the Christmas tree spot.
I'm not keen on variegated leaves but I bought this Calathea because the undersides of the leaves match a pot I own. This is the only sunny window in my house and in the morning this plant reminds me of the view inside a kaleidoscope. I liked it better outside and I think the plant did too.
I predict this fern won't make it through the winter. I'm getting really tired of picking up dead, dry leaflets off the carpet.
The bamboo is looking none too happy. I don't know what's the matter with it. Probably a lack of humidity like all the other plants I brought indoors for the winter.
And this behemoth in the kitchen skylight is really annoying me. There's one like this hanging over the basement stairwell too. Do you know how hard these are to water? I need a solarium, or a greenhouse. A conservatory would be lovely. Heck, I'd settle for a big bay window. I need to get lucky and win the lottery.
Speaking of luck, it's run out for this gardenia. Remember I paid $1.00 for it at a garage sale? It had two blooms and I certainly got my dollar's worth out of smelling them. I brought it into the house before the first snow and it proceeded to get spider mites. It's back outside. The weatherman says the second snow is coming for Thanksgiving. This gardenia is history, just like the turkey will be on Friday.
25 comments:
LostRoses... Loved your blooms, especially those roses hugging the house. But I have a confession to make. I had a big fern outside, too. But I forgot about it and it got left outside. Then there was frost and so it died. Can you believe it? You had the presence of mine to take yours in and I left mine out? What is this world coming to?
If you win the lottery, how about a little pittance sent my way for me to have a conservatory, too?
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
Lost Roses: this was my first bloom day participation too... glad you joined in. i'm so proud of your blooms for hanging on through the snow and freezing temps. i didn't know it was possible.
those ferns can be a real mess inside and out but so much easier outside.
i have to mention your wooden shorebirds keeping watch over the indoor ferns. love them!
i surely hope your Calathea makes it through winter... i can tell its colors are stunning!
Well that's one way to keep a Blooming Day post at at reasonable size - wait until after frost, HA!
You crack me up, LostRoses.
Good luck on with keeping the ferns and Calathea alive; my gardenia did not make it either - rather than the expected heat or drought it was a loss of soil and nutrients - the container was taken over by ants seeking drier ground during our record rain! But I had dozens of flowers spread over two seasons of bloom for my 12 bucks.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Glad to see you join in the Bloom Day fun, Lost Roses. And as for houseplants that 'go to sleep', as I call it...they just make room for more houseplants, same as the ones outside that shuffle off this mortal coil. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
all I have flowering right now are dandelions!!
That's kind of how I feel about houseplants too, Lost Roses---more trouble than they're worth. I do actually have a couple right now, but who knows how long they'll last.
Carol, real gardeners like you are more concerned about serious things like garden cleanup in the fall. Unrealistic gardeners like me are trying to save a buck in the spring by remembering to bring in hanging baskets that are going to die anyway. It's one of the many fruitless exercises I indulge in.
My neighbor and I have a long-standing agreement that if one of us wins the lottery, that person will spring for new driveways for both houses. I'll tell him the pie needs to be split a little more for a conservatory for May Dreams Gardens!
Annie, I'm just feeling so much better knowing that Carol forgot about her fern, and your gardenia died. If that happens to real gardeners, there's hope for me yet! Mmmmm, dozens of gardenia blooms----I'd willingly pay the price for a summer's worth of that lovely scent. I'd say you got your money's worth.
Yes, I'm a real piker about choosing to do Bloom Day now, but it worked for me!
Jodi, yes, going to sleep, that's a good description, and a scenario that will happen here soon I'm sure. And that's a good story to stick to!
Mon@arch, dandelions, really? That's something I won't see till spring, but they're always the first sign the garden is waking up.
Pam, I think you have to be rather philosophical about houseplants, don't you? They look okay for awhile, then they get troublesome, and out they go. I can take them or leave them. Or rather, they leave me!
Meems, sorry I didn't mean to skip your comment! We actually get a lot of fairly warm temps through late fall and it's apparently enough to keep some of the more protected plants alive for awhile. I agree that I much prefer ferns outside. Who cares if the water spills over and the leaves drop? Not so nice on the carpet inside!
I'm loving those shorebirds too and I like to look at them!
It was fun reading your post, LostRoses... and the white roses that are flowering are very nice, at least. :)
I don't know about pink flamingos (and that link didn't work for me for some reason) but I LOVE those birds that are hanging out near that first fern you showed! Do they get to go outside for the wummer, too, or are you afraid they might, um, fly away? *grin*
Your post has reminded me to take a few pics of my winter garden downstairs. This will be a good project for me since I'm still a bit under the weather with this darned cold.
I am terrible with houseplants - they are fine outside during the summer but when I bring them into this drafty house, the start to suffer. I take a lot of mine to the library where they are much happier.
I'm like you ... schlepping in plants for the winter and then spending my time tossing them back outside as they either get bugs or just die. My succulents and cactus do okay but that's because I can just ignore them.
I like your approach to Bloom Day! I have yet to get my act together to participate ...
Blackswamp girl, I don't know why that link didn't work, but I can't get it to come up either. Pink flamingo is listed in my labels column so you can at least see it from there. I didn't get to see those white roses for most of the summer, a huge Verbena bonariensis chose the spot in front of them to reseed. I seem to have no control over my plants!
The shorebirds might indeed fly away, they stay safely sequestered inside the house where marauding squirrels can't chew on them.
Giddy, that's a good idea for a post. Sorry about your cold, I've been doing battle with one trying to lay me low for a week now.
Phillip, good idea to take them to the library! Since I work in the support services side, we're not really attached to a library so I have limited space to dispense my largesse of houseplants. My cubicle is overrun by several Crown-of-Thorns plants that have gotten too big for their britches.
Kate, I'm glad I'm not alone in my exercise in futility. But we know we can't throw them on the trash heap right off the bat! One of these days you'll succumb to Bloom Day, I'm sure.
I often hang on to doomed houseplants longer than I should. It just seems kinda criminal to toss one. But when it's done, there is that little bit of extra space so you can drag something else--green--home!
I learned the humidity trick for houseplants when I bought humidity trays for my orchids. All the other plants are healthier now too.
--Robin (Bumblebee)
Wonderful posts and you put a smile on my face...
Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog about making moss balls..
Well, time is like sand between our fingers...here right now.. gone
in a second.
cheers Gisela
Those roses are quite lovely! I don't have any left. I was figuring I didn't have anything at all left, though, and now I'm wondering. As soon as it's (relatively) light out, I'm going to have to go see!
~Angela :-)
Lost Roses, I'm so sorry your gardens are colorless and everything fern is getting on your last nerve. And I apologize for laughing straight through this post, especially after I read your reason for not posting. I'd never remember to run around making lists, either.
Poor gardenia. Some things are meant to be - others, not.
I admire you for even attempting to save so many of your plants. I know exactly what you mean about picking up brown bits all over the floor from the fern. I tried to save six of them a couple of years ago. They only lasted a few weeks before I tossed them out.
This year I came to my senses and didn't bring any of them into the house.
I hope you have better luck!
I have a fern that I have to pick up after too. It's been around for about 20 years now I think! I put it on the front porch during this past summer and since I brought it in about half of it has died..so you can imagine the dead leaves I've swept up! However, it's a more manageable size now :) I always cut off the 'air roots'. That's supposedly the secret to keeping it growing well.
I had that same Verbena and it was one of my last survivors too.
I love your shore birds!
Robin, I'm sure the humidity trays would help here for sure. Not sure how to do that with hanging ferns though! I'll probably dump them before long. Sigh.
Gisela, I loved those moss balls! One of these days I'm going to try it.
Angela, I took those pictures in the morning when I was hurrying to get ready for work. When I looked later I actually found a few more things in bloom, and I bet you do too!
Mary, you never have to apologize for laughing through any of my posts - mission accomplished! I'll find another gardenia next summer, but it has to be in bloom otherwise there's no hope for it here.
Zoey, I never seem to learn about bringing plants in for the winter. All I can say is hope springs eternal!
Kerri, a 20 year-old fern?? Wow! I'm very impressed. Okay, I'm going to go check for air roots. Glad you like the shorebirds too, I'm very fond of them. Even if they don't light up like my pink flamingo!
Love the Calathea! But what I really like is the bird egg print on your wall.
iowa gardening woman, I love that bird egg print too. I got it as a poster at one of those nature stores at the mall about 10 years and I framed it. I've loved it ever since! Oh, I'd better go water the Calathea.
Good Morning LR, pretty flowers holding out just before the big white comes. I've never participated in 'Blooms day' how often does it occur? Would you like to exchange links? How about adding Stockholm,Sweden to your list? Tyra's Garden or The Greenhouse.... blog? lol Tyra
Hello Lost Roses. Haven't heard from you in awhile. I thought I would look at your blog anyway. I hope all is well and you aren't buried in snow.
I don't even bring in the boston ferns any more. I let them sucumb early to a frost instead of bringing them in to die a slow tortuerous death one leaflet at a time. Saves me a vacuum bag and lots of irritation.
Lisa, thanks for checking in, I have been under the weather for awhile but I'm feeling better. I should have thrown those ferns out and saved myself the trouble but I guess that's still down the road a ways. You were smart to do it immediately!
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