The Plant Thread

[Artemesia's Garden]

I re-potted some house plants today, Spathiphyllum 'Peace Lily', Tradescantia 'Purple Tinge', Anthurium 'Pink', Fuchsia 'Orange Drops'. None very fancy, but all fun and reliable with a nice growth habit. They normally live outside during the summer.

[Beth3346]

it's finally cooling off. for now at least. i think i need to repot the rosemary. it needs to go in a smaller pot. i'm getting a little concerned about where the plants will go when it gets cold.

i showed my dad what i want to do with the rock flowerbed and he is trying to take over. i don't think he understands what i'm trying to do. my dad tends to overcomplicate things. this is our first landscape project so i'm sure it won't be perfect but it's a start. even an imperfect space will be better than mud.

[Artemesia's Garden]

The chives, mint and rosemary will be fine outdoors although the chives and mint will die back until the spring. The basil might be best to take cuttings and grow some smaller plants indoors or just sow/buy some more in spring. The coriander will be fine on a sunny window, but it only lasts around 6 weeks before it flowers and sets seed. In the summer I sow it every month or so. I really like the smell of green coriander seeds.

My nasturtium grew well at work today.

Your Dad sounds like my Mum by the way! I was trying to do a tasteful front reception room with bright yellow walls and she bought a chocolate brown carpet instead of the demure greige that we discussed. Now it looks like an over-ripe banana in there. It's been like that for ten years. 

[Taffeta]

My Dad is an avid gardener - he worked as one once, between teaching jobs. So he and I used to do planting even when I was tiny (I did my first seedlings age 3). He still likes to try and tell me what to do...xD

[Beth3346]

thanks @Artie and Taffeta. i think they mean well but parents can be frustrating.

well my mom says i can't keep potted plants alive and my dad seems to think won't be able to complete my projects. my parents don't leave any room for learning and getting better and something. you're either perfect on the first try or your should give up. it's very frustrating. i've learned not to listen but it's still annoying. my dad also forgets that i work full-time and it may take me a while to finish projects.

[BlackCurtains]

My mom is the same way! In her case though it’s “you’re doing it wrong” Ugh.

I’d like to make a living wall piece of air plants on sand blasted grape wood with Spanish moss hanging off it, for the bathroom. Can air plants live in darkness most of the time? There’s no window in my bathroom.

[Taffeta]

I like gardening with Dad mostly, but when he gets too 'backseat gardener' about things, I remind him that when I was a kid, I always took the seedlings he discarded when pricking out, and planted them, and they always did better than his.

And that usually resolves the issue.

Today we brought the fuchsia inside for the winter. Gave her a bit of a trim first. Had to persuade the bees to leave her alone first, though. Bees don't usually haunt fuchsias very much, but this time they were really interested in the last of her flowers.

[Ponyfan]

Here's this week's pic of the mint plants. They must love rain.  They always seem to grow a lot and perk up.

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Mint 1

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Mint 2


Ponyfan

[BlackCurtains]

Looking good!

Here's Ben and Carlos Catnip (I decided to give him a name too)

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[Beth3346]

everyone's plants look great i don't think my cilantro is doing well. it's getting kind of yellow. and the basil has some dark spots. i think something is eating it.

i did some work on the rock garden. i'm hoping this weekend we can go look at rocks and paver stones. i still need to dig some of the grass roots out. i wish the dog would dig there instead of other places in the yard.

[Ponyfan]

I think Mint 1 might be getting ready to go dormant. We haven't had our first freeze yet, but I noticed several dry, dead leaves on Mint 1 when I was watering it today.  I also noticed that one of the twist ties wasn't holding anymore and a lot of the runners had slipped out.  I tied them back up, so Mint 1 will probably look a little funny in the next photo.

Mint 2 is doing great. I almost can't tell where the original plant is due to all of the runners coming off of it.


Ponyfan

[Beth3346]

i need to trim the basil and chives. also i may bring the cilantro inside soon. it's still pretty warm but we're getting colder periods. this time of year it can get pretty cold at night and hot during the day.

i also worked more on digging for the rock garden. it's kind of nice to go outside and dig when i'm annoyed by my job.

[Ponyfan]

I'm debating if I'm going to bring the mints in when it gets cold.  I was just going to leave them outside for the winter, but my mom suggested putting them in the sunroom when it's really cold outside.


Ponyfan

[BlackCurtains]

I think you should bring them inside

I looked up air plants and they need a little light to survive. It doesn't seem there are any plants that can live in darkness most of the time. I might have to use dried plants for my bathroom decoration.

[Ponyfan]

I forgot to mention this before, but the leaves on Mint 1 feel a little rubbery.  Is there a reason for this?  They might just be older leaves but I don't think the leaves on Mint 2 feel that way.  Speaking of Mint 2, there was a leaf with some kind of white substance on it.  Does anyone know what it is.


Ponyfan