Easter Parade

Every Friday, KC and I get together for a long, hard hike. Then we hightail it to a restaurant where we consume at least as many calories as we burned. (Hey! We earned it.)

This week, we switched up our routine, skipping the hike and heading straight to lunch. Why didn't we think of that years ago??

I still got a great workout. We spotted a 50% off sale at the local flower store. So, I arm-wrestled other gardeners for great deals.

I bought a newfangled Easter Cactus (above) to keep Edna (below) on her toes. You remember, Edna, don't you? The Christmas Cactus I've had since college. She began flowering last November. Still going strong. That's 4 months longer than normal.

This does not have me delighted. I fear she's trying to tell me something. Like ~ pay attention to these blossoms, buckaroo, this is my last hurrah. I sincerely hope that is not the case.

Not the best photo of Edna, though it sure has everybody excited. Look behind her grand display of flowers to understand why. You can just make out a.... vacuum cleaner!

Hmmm... I wonder if it still works? It's been so very long since I've turned it on... 'Tis a holiday weekend.  I may just have to give that a try.

I came home from vacation to discover that one perfectly horrible housesitter let some of my (indoor) flowers die. And, I know of only way to manage that grieving process...

Buy new ones and try it again!

I hope you've enjoyed the old and the new. Happy Easter to one and all....

While I Was Napping...

I hope you're not weary of my indoor roses.
It's all I've got growing right now!

I suppose this was bound to happen at some point. Not so much an 'if' as a 'when.' As in... when will I get socked with that nasty flu?

The happy 'clutter' in my kitchen window.

Not the ever popular H1N1. I'm referring to the [alleged] minor flu that's been making the rounds in my neck of the woods.

My dear friend, Karen, was down with this flu and has been too ill to hike for over a month.

But, I never get sick! So, I wasn't worried.

Though I did feel a little tired on Friday afternoon. So, I put on my cowgirl jammies... curled up on the couch...

... and, didn't get out of those jammies until Monday morning!


When I crawled into bed it was autumn; when I woke it was winter.

Ripe for the pickings! Miniature Pomegranate Tree
Pay no attention to the filth in my sunny window. Recent studies have shown that all this dust helps my plants grow bigger and stronger!
(That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.)

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day ~ November

 "Any flower counts!" So sayeth, Carol from May Dreams Gardens, inventor of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

Indoor Micro Mini Roses

I wanted to participate in the monthly Bloom Day but winter is upon us and I didn't think I'd have anything to show. So, I was quite delighted to discover that indoor flowers count. This is a snapshot of my beloved micro mini roses, biggest blooms are about the size of a 50-cent piece.

After I photographed these wimpy indoor roses I thought to myself:

Hmmm... Do you suppose there is anything worth shooting out in that frozen garden of mine?

Scabiosa Pincushion Flowers still blooming ~ it was 13 degrees last night.

Well whaddyaknow! Every gardener probably has that flower. That one perennial who, no matter what, will never let you down. Mine are Pincushion Flowers. What's yours?

I grow black, pale pink, and fuchsia Pincushions (these 3 are kind of fussy.) But, there is just no stopping the purple girls. These feisty little ladies don't care about wind, drought, cold, snow. It's almost as if they knew I needed a helping hand for this November Bloom Day and decided to give it their all.

Not to be outdone... the outdoor roses are attempting a comeback:

And, Helianthus perennial sunflower blossoms, in my humble opinion, look just as pretty in winter time:

* There is a giant boulder in this garden ~ about the size of a Jeep Wrangler. Intense mountain sunshine heats it up during the day and it radiates heat at night. I 'think' this is what keeps the Pincushion Girls alive and kicking.

XXL Micro Minis!

These great, big photos celebrate the tiniest flowers blooming in my sunny window:

That sweet little bud I discovered on Saturday has blossomed into a perfect micro-mini rose. Shown here, much bigger than life, she's about the size of a quarter.

I was so very excited about my baby pinks that I didn't notice the micro-mini yellow roses are also back in bloom. And, this one's a biggie. Over an inch in diameter!

Cramped quarters. I've also got some white roses (just for you, Wunx!) living in the same pot as a very productive African Violet. It's not, exactly, a match made in heaven but as soon as I get paid they're both getting new homes...

Update on reprogramming the Belligerent Bella:
A 2-step backwards day. I did my homework. I watched the training dvds over the weekend and I even tried out a few techniques on Bad Dog . (All he did was howl.)

Bell wasted her weekend lolly gagging around the stables! She forgot everything. We accomplished nothing.

In fact, I'm so mad at her I thought I'd show you her worst photo instead another pretty one...

Radiating Happiness

New bud on my indoor micro-mini roses. When fully opened, her flowers are about the size of a quarter.

I'm blessed (and a little bit cursed) with a very sunny house. So sunny the furniture fades and it's hard to watch t.v. until the sun goes down.

Kalanchoes in desperate need of deadheading.

So super sunny I can grow small batches of pretty much anything indoors ~ including spinach and tomatoes.

But, I don't. After the first experiment, determining that I could be practical and grow veggies...

One over-achieving Amaryllis bulb in my herd of future holiday gifts.

I went straight back to the thing that matters most: Bright, happy indoor flowers who keep me somewhat sane throughout the long, cold winter.

Update on reprogramming the beautiful Bella:
I have grudgingly accepted the rule that 'you can begin gently, but you cannot stay gentle forever.' Just so I'm crystal clear ~ that doesn't mean harming, or frightening, B in any way, shape or form. More on the order of sticking up for myself so she doesn't run over me anymore. I thought for sure she'd hate me because of this new authority, our relationship is so very fragile. Interesting, though, she seems to like me more than ever... I'm astonished at the progress we've made in one wonderful week.

After the Swarm: New Victims!

Mini-Roses can live forever in a sunny window.
Many varieties survive transplanting outdoors.

Last Halloween, I had my very own killing spree! Bumped off every flowering houseplant that had graced my sunny window. L pleaded clemency for a couple of the extra special ones. The rest of those bug-filled urchins were tossed, unceremoniously, into the compost pile.

I have a big, wonderful, sunny, south-facing bay window. [Keeps me sane in the winter time.] In it, I can grow pretty much everything, including bell peppers and lettuce when I'm feeling cranky about produce prices.

African Violets prefer to hang out in the kitchen, where it's cooler.

I spend all winter putzing with the flowers in that sunny window. I scoop 'em up at the local supermarket ~ most of the ones I murdered last Halloween had been living in there for years.

That window is a great incubator for bugs, too. Annoying, conniving, practically impossible to eliminate, indoor houseplant bugs. They can easily reach swarm capacity if you're a lazy housekeeper such as myself.

The more the merrier Mini-Roses.
Couldn't decide on a color so I ended up with two!

I made a valiant effort to win this war. Tried a number of homespun bug remedies. But, I'd let the situation get too far out of hand. So, I threw in the proverbial towel, sent the plants (and the bugs!) to the sweet hereafter.

Now that winter is on it's way... I'm starting over!

Ugly Bugs:
- Aphids: Persistent little green, brown, black bugs that collect on new plant growth.
- Mealy Bugs: White fluffy stuff collecting on plant stems.
- Scale: Hard brown shell hides a despicable character inside.
- Spider Mites: Tiny webs appear on flowers and leaves.

* There are lots of chemical bug pesticides but some can also kill your cat.

40 Days and 40 Nights

I don't care what the calendar says. This first Columbine bloom of the season is the official start to my summer.

Oh, thank God! I thought to myself ~ as I peered out the kitchen window at bright sunshine. A glimmer of hope in this grey, dreary, overly saturated spring.

More first blossoms: Johnson's Blue Geranium peeks out from behind lush foliage.

My joy was short-lived. The coffee hadn't finished brewing when dark clouds blocked out the happy sun and another deluge was upon us.

It's a toss up, I suppose. The scent of fresh Lilacs is intoxicating but the cheery pink blossoms of Flowering Almond are pretty irresistible, too.

I guess it really didn't matter if it rained this weekend ~ which it did, as it has done for as long as I can remember.* And, will do for as long as Google can predict.

Because I was stuck behind closed doors in what could easily go down in history as the most depressing sales meeting I have ever attended.

And, I'm not even in sales.

So, just imagine how the sales reps felt.

Alliums standing tall
(Haze, if you're reading this, these are the ones I thought were tulips when you were visiting! Dang. I can't get anything right.

As a freelancer, I work with all sorts of companies. Some are sweet. Some are mean. This company is by far the hardest ~ for the most childish of reasons. They don't like me. They really don't! I don't know why they don't like me. I'm kind of nice...

Mom's Wild Roses are going hog wild.

As I sat there for hours and hours and hours, I tried to earn my keep by offering up [what I thought was] one good idea after another. They kept looking at me like I was the village idiot. At one point I actually went into the ladies room and sort of sniffed my shirt to see if, perhaps, I smelled really bad or something.

Non-stop Tulip action: Heirlooms that (apparently) bloom forever.

So, I'd toss out an idea and feel like a fool. Minutes later some fellow in the room would take my idea and repeat it to the crowd. Then everyone would smile and say... Oh, that's good... Huh? I dunno, seems hard to believe that in this day and age I could be considered 'a dumb girl.' But, maybe so. The good news is I survived and I guess that counts for something. Hopefully something more than a bruised self-esteem.

* Admittedly I don't have a great long-term memory. Or even a pretty good short-term memory. But, I do believe this is the rainiest damn spring I've ever seen.

However! This deep drenching has inspired pretty much every flower in my garden to get with the program.

Catching Up to... Me

African Violets brighten my kitchen window.
[A fab way to divert attention from dirty dishes that need washing!]

When in the mood to eavesdrop, I hear this question all the time: Where did the week go?

Into the history books, I suppose, with very little to show for it. Been so wrapped up in this, that, and the other thing I forgot all about my itty bitty blog.

How does she do it?
A trio of micro mini roses, different colors?
In one pot?*

Seedlings are percolating nicely in the big, bay window. The warmth of the sun inspired all my favorites to bloom: Jane's Azaleas, an experimental Day Lily, forced Hyacinth and tiny Narcissus bulbs, bright red Kalanchoe...

Outdoors?
1 unmistakable sign of spring:

* How does she do it? 3 colors of micro mini roses in one pot??? Oh, that one's easy. Snip the roses, hide them amidst the leaves in 1 pot, shoot the picture. Presto! You're a gardening rock star. :)