winter – Margies Garden
February 9, 2019 margieclydeLeave a comment	
February…what a teaser!
We have struggled and endured the stunningly cold polar vortex that assaulted us for a number of days in late January and early February….then February decided to give us a taste of spring with warm breezes and sunshine. We are now back to cold and blowing snow.
While walking to the house with my head tucked from the cold wind, and not paying much attention, I glanced down and couldn’t believe what I saw…the little violas that had reseeded along the sidewalk were blooming! Such an unexpected surprise! February is teasing us again! But spring will be here soon.
The flowers of late winter and early spring
Gertrude Wister
Brrr! Bring them inside!
October 30, 2018 October 30, 2018 margieclydeLeave a comment	
Bringing Plants In
“The Autumn Winds They Do Blow Cold…”
It is the time of year to bring in any tender plants that you want to overwinter.
You can preserve plants from year to year and also enjoy the tropical greenery inside. It is nice to have something green growing when all is dead and buried under snow outside.
Inspect the plants and pots for pests and insects before bringing them in. The plants may need pruned back some, or re potted.
Make sure you have the right spot for them-they need bright light out of direct sunlight.
The air inside is dryer, and of course much warmer, and the plants need a higher humidity-mist them occasionally or set on pebble filled trays.
I find that it is easier to take care of them if they are grouped together.
Keep them well watered. They should be lightly fertilized about once a month, especially after the daylight begins to lengthen in the early spring and they begin growing again.
What is going on here garden wise….
The only vegetable garden I was able to muster this summer here at our new home was this…
A few tomato plants and a few zucchini squash along the block wall by the carport. They grew fine and I enjoyed the precious few tomatoes and summer squash. The summer season ended all too soon and I am left wondering where the summer went.
The temperatures have dipped into the 30’s at night these last few weeks and reduced my small garden to this…
One of the most frost sensitive plants are my impatiens-they put on such a beautiful display in the shady areas of the garden-overnight they turned into this.
I do have a few houseplants that I overwinter every year, bringing them inside before the frost damages them. After spending the summer outside, they are all growing very lush and full.
One is the Christmas Cactus. It is really a Thanksgiving Cactus, as soon as I bring it into the warm house, it begins setting its blossoms and should be in full bloom in a few weeks. It is a very forgiving plant and survives just fine outside in the summer and also does well inside during the winter.
I love ferns, and try to keep this one from year to year-it is a challenge as it does not like the dry heat of the house. By the time late spring arrives, it is barely surviving. It recovered nicely this summer, but I am expecting it to suffer in the house again this winter.
I was given a few pink sorrel plants years ago -these were from the person’s grandmother, and could I keep them alive?-and have overwintered them successfully for a number of years. They are considered perennials, but are not hardy in our area. They overwinter in the house fine, but do make quite a mess, as they grow, flower, die off again and again.
The last plant that I plan to overwinter is this mixed hanging basket. It grew ferociously during the summer, hanging down about 4 feet, but it is very frost sensitive and suffered some killing damage already as I didn’t bring it in soon enough. I will cut it back severely, and see if it recovers.
It is the time of year to begin tucking everything in for the winter….are you ready?
Do you overwinter any plants?