The grape hyacinths Dad and I planted in the new flower bed appear to be happy. We have growth both from the transplanted bulbs and the newly purchased bulbs.
It always makes me nervous when the grape hyacinths start growing in Fall, but for the last few years the cold doesn’t seem to bother them, and in spring they bloom.
I did not trim back the Gregg’s Mistflower this fall. It is now tall and gangly, but blooming and full of fluttering wings. We have many Queen butterflies, but I’ve spotted some others visiting the purple tufted flowers as well.
Gregg’s Mistflower is native to Texas and in proper light conditions grows to 2 feet tall. The front flower bed doesn’t get enough sunlight which makes the plants gangly and closer to three feet tall before it falls over and grows up again from the fallen stems. Since it is native, at the end of the season, and after a nice solid rain, I’m going to relocate these plants into our meadow, which does get a little more sun. They are self seeding and spread and the idea of a meadow full of butterflies is attractive. They also bloom in both spring and fall, making them a valuable source of nectar.
One of my hanging plants started leaking from a crack in the bottom. I’m not entirely sure how a hanging pot cracks, but it definitely wasn’t leaking plant water last week. I had a spare pot, but it wasn’t hanging, so I attempted a macrame pot holder. I used cotton macrame cord leftover from a different project, and divided it into six strands. I folded these in half and secured a loop in the middle with a knot. I then used macrame style square knots to make the net part of the hanger. It took a few tries. I found that I need to leave enough room from the loop to the first knot for the pot to slip through. The knots aren’t perfectly spaced, but they are functional, holding the oval shaped pot securely. I finished the bottom by gathering all 12 strands and lashing them together with a separate strand of cord.
The zebrina plant looks sad because I had to cull 90 percent of it to get it into the hanger. I took cuttings from the culled sections to root out. This plant regularly goes from sad and spindly to lush and full, so I’m not worried about it.
My hypothesis that my Thanksgiving cactus blooms due to drops in window temperature that triggers the leaves touching the window was blown away this month. The cactus has bloomed and we haven’t seen any temperatures below 68. Hm.
The cactus mysteries continue.
Today I present some photos of plants around the house, inside and outside, and the reason they are unusual enough to warrant a picture.
Critters and Craft 