So almost every day after work, David and I would go out to water our friends, check their leaves and general appearance to see how they're doing, and look out for any pests & disease. We'd also prune away dead branches and yellow leaves. We are also mindful of fertilizing schedules (for us that just means throwing some coffee grinds for acid loving plants like gardenias).
It's become our relaxing ritual. Our heart rates slow and ours moods lighten. Gripes of the work day is let go and we reconnect. We thoroughly enjoy ourselves in the garden and take pleasure in the life of our friends.
So, I'd like to take this opportunity and report on their conditions here.
A week ago, I noticed the hydrangea wasn't doing so well in her location. I had placed her in a west facing location that would get plenty of afternoon sun. Maybe a bit too much, though, since some of the flower petals were browning and the plant in general seemed to be flowering less.
Hydrangeas need lots of water (hence the "hydra"). But I've faithfully watered her every day and her soil is still moist so water shouldn't be it. So I decided to move her to a more shaded spot a few days ago and she seems to like that a lot better. When we got this plant, there were 2 flowering cluster and some bud clusters. Now there are at least 5 flowering clusters! (I'm not sure what the technical term is for these things so please don't quote me on it.)
Then I read a few days ago that gardenias in the bay area need more sun since temperatures here are so temperate. Hmm. Interesting. Could their leaves be yellowing because they don't get enough sun? I went on a limb and moved both gardenias to sunnier spots.
Then, yesterday I read: Although gardenias are evergreen plants, each leaf has a lifespan of 2 years after which they yellow and fall off. Don't be alarmed if you see a lot of yellow leaves all of a sudden. They are simply making way for new growth and new leaves. To help the new growth, just pinch off the yellow leaves. As long as the new leaves are healthy, the plant is doing fine.
That made me feel a lot better, but I'll be watching them closely to see if they like this increase in sunlight.
Then, I saw a terrific deal for a proper, larger terrarium glass on CL and picked it up to replace the flipped over vase. Fronds were visibly growing taller, unfolding their soft delicate leaves and new fronds were emerging from the soil. It's actually outgrowing the new glass already!
I think eventually, we'd have to wean it off into the natural air humidity because won't they be limited by the glass? I don't know. Are they like goldfish that grow to the size of their aquariums? What I do know is maidenhair ferns don't like dramatic environmental changes (so bathrooms are bad spots for them), so if we're going to remove the glass, we'd have to do it very slowly. Maybe give it a crack of air for a week. Then enlarge that crack for the next week. And so on.
Oh I'm just so relieved this poor thing is doing so well, since I feel responsible for her demise earlier this year that resulted in complete decapitation of her fronds. (Aside: You know I just realized that I think of plants as being female. Well, maybe just the more delicate ones.)
Next to it is our Cara-cara orange bush we planted last year. We discovered the cara-caras from the farmer's market and it's now our favorite orange to eat. So when we saw the plant for sale at the farmer's market, we decided to buy it.
Orange blossoms abound now and the smell is also heavenly. I hope that at least one of them becomes an orange. The buds have been dropping, though, and I'm not sure why. *sigh. This happened last year, too.
Next to the orange (when you turn the corner) is our lemon bush, which has been consistently blooming and fruiting (is this a word?) for the last few months and currently has around 10 adult lemons and several growing children. This lemon bush gives us the most peace of mind among all our plants. It seems to just take care of itself.
I've lovingly dubbed this part of the garden as the "fragrant corner". Doesn't that sound nice? It's an enjoyment in itself to just stand there, close your eyes and inhale in the honeysuckle, lemon and orange blossoms this time of the year. Divine.
Ahhh! I really hope so! We're crossing our fingers that we are so lucky as to have one strawberry this season.
I must say that I'm impressed with this plant. It must've grown 1/2" per day or something. David jokingly (or not? I couldn't tell) said that we should've taken still shots of this plant everyday and maybe we'd be able to show its growth a-la-Plant Earth style.
No wonder everyone says to plant these guys in >15 gallon planters! I'm glad I heeded that advice even though it seemed so silly at first to plant such a small plant in such a big pot.