A Story - "Legacy" and Petunias

 A Story

"A hundred and fifty years ago, Mrs. Marshall and her husband moved to their undeveloped land. They worked hard and managed to turn it into a sufficient farm. Mrs. Marshall had brought with her, from England, a rooted shoot of purple lilac and one of white lilac. She planted them near the house so she would be able to enjoy their fragrance.

Last week, Fiona attended the funeral of her aunt. It was a tense affair as the eulogies were forced and no one really had anything very positive to say about her. Fiona had found her to be an abrasive woman, who liked to monopolize  conversations and was critical of just about everything. She only came to the funeral to support her cousin who suffered from anxiety and was feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of settling the complicated estate. It was sad that her aunt's legacy was just more stress for her daughter.

Driving home, feeling rather down, Fiona turned on to the road where the Marshalls had lived so many years ago. Hundreds, if not thousands, of lilac bushes were in bloom in a profusion of pastel beauty. House after house had lilacs on their property. It felt like being in a Thomas Kinkade painting. It was impossible not to smile and feel happy in the joyful landscape.

Mrs. Marshall's legacy would bless people for a long time to come."

Petunias are a popular plant sold in the spring, especially in hanging baskets.

I was looking for an old-fashioned purple because I like their spicy scent.  Only the purple ones are fragrant, and the newer Wave petunias, while very floriferous and less apt to get leggy, do not have scent.

After I bought this basket, I found an all purple basket which I was happy about.  The other day, it was very windy and I brought the two baskets inside to keep them from being knocked around. The lovely scent wafted through the main part of the house. So nice.

My petunias will get leggy and bloom less in the heat of the summer.  To keep the baskets looking better, I will gradually prune them back. Every four or five days starting now (beginning of June), I will pinch a few stems back to about 4". Over time the whole basket will  be pruned but the pruning will be hardly noticeable. Using this technique, I can usually keep petunias looking decent into August. 

Of course, the newer varieties  have a tidier habit so they're a good option with less work.

Petunias are heavy feeders and need to be fertilized every week or two with a liquid fertilizer. They like to be in full sun.

I dead head every day and that also helps with getting more blooms. The whole blossom including the green sepals at the base of the flower, not just the petals, should be pinched off.

This fun petunia is called Starry Night. It's the first time I have seen a petunia with this sprinkled pattern.  Reminds me of fireworks.  It is not a new variety, just new to me.

It's an attractive magenta which isn't a common colour for petunias.

 I'm not sure what it's growing habit will be like but I can pinch it back if I have to. 

A Story - "Habitat" -Vinca (Periwinkle) and Changing Views of the Bay

A Story

Habitat

Perched on the side of the half-barrel planter filled with colourful pansies, the robin surveyed the front yard. He had a clear view all the way to the stand of lilacs that bordered the trees where he and his mate had built a nest.

Later, Sheryl noticed him and his mate poking at the front lawn finding worms and other insects. It made her happy to see them comfortable in their environment. It helped her to feel at home.  She missed the birds that she knew at her old home but this robin pair would be the beginning of new relationships.

On her usual woodland path walk, she found a large patch of wild columbine with red and yellow flowers.  They were a happy surprise.  She had tried in the past to grow columbine and hadn't had success. Here a whole swath of them were thriving in this unique habitat. 

Would she thrive in her new habitat? It would be an adjustment. Some things missed, some things gained.

 She could learn from the robins. They were content wherever they were, finding nesting spots in forests, or on a porch light in the suburbs.  Always with a cheerful song and never a bully to other birds.

Sheryl promised herself that she would start each morning watching for the robins, and opening her heart to her new life.
 

Vinca (periwinkle) can be an attractive groundcover in shady areas but it is aggressive. It should be planted where it can be contained and where it won't go over to the neighbours or invade a woodland area.  This patch came with the property.

 

The flowers are pretty at a time of year when not much else is blooming.

The bay is always changing.  Interesting patterns on the water even though the sky was just clear with no clouds.

At this time of year, we get lovely sunsets.

The dark blue of the water stands out well against the yellow green of the new leaves.

A Story - "Time Well Spent" and Cyclamen Indoor Plant

A Story

Time Well Spent

 His hand hovered over his phone. She looked lovely. But he had experienced so many rejections on the dating app. Sometimes a couple of emails were exchanged and then nothing - ghosting. Maybe he should give up. So much negative feedback was hard on his mental health. He knew he was only average looking and he was just 5'8". He did have a good job but maybe he came across as a bit of a nerd. So many women wanted tall handsome men who were sporty and fit.

Taking a deep breath, he sent a rose and a message.

Later that evening, she replied. Yes, she would be interested in meeting up in person.

What to wear? Where to go? He decided on his well-cut jacket and a higher end restaurant.

They were both a bit nervous but the conversation flowed and she laughed easily. He was smitten.

He hadn't expected to meet someone warm and kind. Why was she still single? It turned out that her life for the last few years did not really have room for dating. She had been caring for others. Now she had the freedom to pursue a relationship.

 It was hard to believe that, like two needles in a haystack, they had found each other.  Persistence had paid off.

Cyclamen are a lovely indoor plant.  They are long blooming and will rebloom again after their dormant period if they are given the proper care.  Cyclamen have a corm and should be watered from the bottom so that the top of the corm does not get too wet.  Sit the cyclamen pot in a container with a couple of inches of water and let it remain for half an hour. Then put it back in its decorative outer pot.

When the leaves start to yellow and die back, usually in late spring and summer, gradually decrease the amount of watering. When all the leaves have gone, just water enough to barely keep a bit of moisture in the soil. Too much water and the corm will rot, too little water and the corm will dry out completely. In the fall, start watering a little more and the corm should sprout some leaves. Give it a light fertilizing and soon it should be blooming again. Cyclamen enjoy bright light but not strong direct sun.

Cyclamen leaves have interesting patterns on them that add to the beauty of the plant.

Some cyclamen are winter hardy but the ones bought at the grocery store are only hardy to zone 8 so definitely a house plant.

A Story -"Masterpiece" and Cheery Tete-a-Tete Miniature Daffodils

A Story

Masterpiece

 Doom and gloom, woe and worry, darkness and dread.  

Still the sun was coming up in the morning.  At least, Monica believed it was somewhere behind the clouds. The air was still puffing breezily.  Water was sparkling out of the taps.

Time for a little art. Monica lay on the couch and pondered different colour schemes. Yup, we'll start with brown.  Maybe a little beige.  Always good to have bright light for a project.

The creative process takes time so this would be a gradually evolving endeavour.

She mixed the brown with water, dotted it with beige. Quite abstract really.

Green was added a few days later.  Paisley shapes evolved.

Finally, after a few months of intriguing effort the masterpiece was revealed.

Tomatoes: yellow, red, dark purple, orange ranging from the size of a grape to the size of a softball. Some were smooth, some wrinkled, some striped. Some were pear-shaped, some were flattish, some bulging out in all directions. The tomato patch was a glorious expression of wild abandoned growth with a promise of delectable tastes. 

"Ah," sighed Monica. "Life is good."

A charming pot of tete-a-tete daffodils. What a welcome sight in early March. These little cuties grow to 6-8" inches tall and have one to three flowers on each blooming stalk. Like any daffodil, in the garden they like to grow in a situation that gets lots of sun in the spring but can tolerate shade later in the season.  I will be planting these out in the garden when the soil is workable.  They may not bloom again next year but should be revived enough to bloom the following year.  A little bulb fertilizer will help. Daffodils are great in areas where squirrels and chipmunks have a taste for certain spring bulbs like crocuses.  The animals never eat the daffodils.

A Story - "Prepared" and Perennials for Alkaline Soil - Phlox, Yarrow, Centaurea, Asters , Dianthus, Lilac

 A Story

Prepared

It all started with the Covid pandemic. Dan didn't just go down a rabbit hole.  He went down a mineshaft. The world became a scary, unpredictable place to him. The Youtubers that attracted him fueled his anxiety. Soon he was stocking up on food to feed them for five years.  He took most of his money out of the bank, just leaving enough to pay the regular bills.  After much nail-biting research, he decided to buy silver rather than gold. He built a secret storage space in the basement with a bookcase in front to disguise it and stored the silver in it.  His fear of dangerous substances in food made eating precarious and he began to lose significant weight.

His wife, Gloria, who didn't share his world view, felt him drifting away into his delusional world. He got angry when she questioned his decisions and finally she gave up trying to reason with him. He was sure something awful was about to happen.

Turns out Dan was right. One day when he was out buying more supplies, Gloria raided his silver cache and disappeared, ready to start a new life.

I am thinking about my new garden.  My old garden had clay soil on the acidic side which was good for lots of plants.  However, I didn't have many full sun locations.  In my new home, I will have lots of sun but the soil is on a limestone base so it will be alkali. I had originally wanted some roses but they like rich acidic soil which is not  what I have here.  However, phlox should grow here so I will get a couple of them in the spring.

Yarrow will be perfectly happy in the poorer soil. It will be less likely to flop over because the garden will be in full sun and the soil is light so it will be on the dry side.

I ordered a couple of asters - one purple, one magenta.  They are very tough and are great pollinators late in the season.

Centaurea prefers alkaline soil and full sun so I'm hoping for a good show with that. Easy to grow and a hardy perennial.

Also on my list is dianthus. I ordered a short bushy type and I plan on starting some carnations. I gave up trying to grow dianthus at my old garden but perhaps they will do well here. I really like the cinnamon scent of carnations.

Lilacs do well almost anywhere that's sunny and where the soil isn't too rich. They prefer alkaline soil over acidic, but they can grow in either.  I already have a couple of nice bushes  on this property and judging by the dried seed pods, the bushes  bloomed well last year.  

It will be an adventure to begin a new garden. 

A Story- "Nature's Friendship" and Coneflower, Sweet Pea, Bicolour Phlox, Lily, Pink Polka Dot.

A Story 

Nature's Friendship

After a last word of encouragement to the dependable perennials, she gazed round the full view of the gardens.  It made her smile to know that her drops of sweat had soaked into the soil.  Something of her would still be here.  A hummingbird whizzed by on its way to the feeder.  The different birds who had nested on her property and raised their families would be part of her legacy.  The next generation would know to come back to this haven.

She leaned her head back and admired the trees that had grown so tall over the years.  They had sheltered the house in winter, cooled it in summer. The wind in their leaves had whispered sweet songs to her.

But it was okay to move on.  It felt right to start a new chapter.  She walked over to her car.  As she pulled out of the driveway,  she prayed that the new owners would be blessed with many happy moments.

 All the echinacea flowers from the center to the right of the photo are on one plant. I've never had so many blooms on one plant - I counted at least 15 flowers and buds.

Some lovely fragrant sweet peas that I grew from seeds I saved last summer.  So many of the seeds germinated that the plants are rather crowded in the pot.  That means each plant has fewer flowers but it doesn't matter.  They still smell lovely.

This is all one plant. It was originally all bi-colour but now some stems are solid.  I like the combination of the different stems. The solid pink flowers match perfectly with the bi-colour flowers. Phlox has such a wonderful fragrance.  It's one of my favourite scented flowers.

I also really like the fragrance of lilies.  Some people find it overpowering but I enjoy it. Lilies are a dependable plants as long as you aren't plagued by red lily beetles.  I used to have trouble with them but I started inspecting the plants in May and getting rid of any beetles I saw and after a few years I was no longer troubled by them. I just squashed the beetles.  With beetles, I find the best way to catch them is to put one hand, palm up, under the leaf with the beetle and then try to trap the beetle with your other hand.  Usually the beetle will suddenly drop off the leaf but it will fall into the hand below.

Three pink polka dot plants that I started in spring  2024 and overwintered last winter in the basement.  They are in a nine inch pot and add a nice pop of colour in a part-shade spot that tends to dry out. I water fairly regularly but they can stand some dryness.  They can be  an alternative to coleus.

A Story - "When Baby Came" - Calla Lily, Native Black-eyed Susan, Astrantia, Hostas and Cherry Bell Campanula, Bridging colours, Aggressive Purple-flowering Maple.

A Story

When Baby Came

 Lisa sighed gently as Peter brushed her hair, stroke after stroke. His hands tickled her neck as he gathered her hair together to make a ponytail.  He playfully swung her hair and then kissed her on the cheek.  She turned to him, and drew him into a full kiss. They had always been deeply in love but now that she was pregnant, they felt even closer. Peter rested his hand lightly on her swollen belly and smiled when he felt the baby's foot pressing outwardly. They were already connecting.

A few weeks later, Lisa went into labour.  Peter, who had attended pre-natal classes with her, knew to massage her back. He sang her favourite songs and wiped her brow with a cool cloth. He told her how much he loved her and how special it was to have a baby with her. When she was finally delivering, he held her hand and never flinched when she squeezed with all her might. Lisa was so thankful to have such a devoted husband.

Baby made a grand entrance, crying heartily and turning a bright rose red. Lisa cuddled her and laughed at her comical face.  Peter, on the other hand, stared at Baby mesmerized, totally enraptured with her.

That was the beginning of the competition between Lisa and Baby.

The summer before last I got these calla lily bulbs for free at the end of the season in August.  I potted them up and they grew a bit before the frost.  I overwintered them in their pot inside, basically just neglected them in the basement.  Last summer, I put the pot outside and they grew nice leaves but no flowers. Finally this summer, I have blooms.  Very pretty and worth the wait. They like a sunny location with ample moisture in the growing season.

Gardening is always full of surprises.  This year  three native rudbeckia (hirta) have popped up around the garden. They are a biennial plant unlike the usual perennial rudbeckia (goldstrum).  Their leaves are narrow and hairy. I guess some bird dropped their seeds in our yard. I'm enjoying having them.

Astrantia is such an unusual flower - spiky yet soft. The white ones have subtle colour variations with touches of green and pink here and there. They form a nice big clump but do not wander.  They prefer a half-shade location and adequate moisture.  A mulch around them to keep the soil from drying out is preferable.

Some of my favourite hostas, especially the green one with buttery yellow centres. I don't remember what varieties they are.  In front of them are some cherry-bell campanula which for some reason decided to make a nice ground cover this year in an area that I have struggled to find a plant for.  Campanulas in general like sun but also adequate moisture. These ones are flopping because they are not in full sun. However, they are growing well because the soil is not drying out.

To transition from the hot orange campion to the cool pink lily, I planted in a couple of miniature red roses.  The red serves as a bridge colour.

Purple-flowering maple has attractive flowers and will later make red raspberry-like fruit.  It is native to my area (zone 4).  It makes a shrub up to 5' tall. Sounds nice? Not really.  It is very aggressive and I would gladly do without it.  I spend considerable time trying to root it out of my gardens. It is sometimes sold as a garden plant  but it is a real thug. I didn't plant it in my yard - it was already here as it is a native plant. The bees like it though and birds will eat the edible, but not tasty, fruit.

A Story - "Pop Quiz" and New Seed Starting Set-up

A Story

Pop Quiz

Dr. Masters greeted Debra with a smile, but her eyes were wary.  The appointment would be straightforward.  A clear diagnosis and simple treatment were being reviewed.  Why did this older woman make her squirm?

Debra waited for the doctor to start the conversation.  She nodded her head and agreed that she had looked up her condition on the Internet.

Dr. Masters felt like she was back in high school facing a pop quiz.  But she was the doctor, she was the one who had studied medicine and had years of experience.  Was that a look of skepticism when she mentioned the dosage of medication?  A quick pivot, and she thought she saw a softening in Debra's face.

The appointment was over.  Debra smiled and thanked the doctor.

Dr. Masters took a deep breath as she left the examination room.  She felt that she had barely squeaked through the test.

 

My son gave me a new seed starting set-up. It's pretty cool and well designed.

I really like the flexible cells. The upper rim and bottom are firm but the middle is rubbery. It will make popping out the seedlings super easy.

There is a water reservoir in the bottom. A plastic stand supports a black felt wicking mat that soaks up water and keeps the cells moist. I found it kept a very steady level of moisture in the soil. I also like the fact that the dome is quite high so air circulation is good. I use rainwater or melted snow for my new plants as our untreated well water is very hard and the treated water has salt from the water softener.

I only planted 4 pepper plants in this tray and they have sprouted now.  I kept the tray about 4' away from our propane heater so that it would stay warm. Yesterday, I planted some tomatoes in the empty cells. I remembered to label them.

The set-up comes with LED lighting built into the green cover plate.  The light  has a USB cable that I have plugged into a small external battery pack I have. The green cover plate swivels so you can close the holes or open them for more air circulation. I have kept the holes open and the soil has still stayed evenly moist.

I think this set-up would work  very well for starting flowers that often take a little longer to get going.

I will have to transplant the peppers and tomatoes after a few weeks into larger pots.

This is the box it came in.  It was bought from Amazon. It doesn't have a company name on it.

A Poem - "Goodbye" and Red Hypoestes and Improved Ant Bait

 A Poem

Goodbye

 Goodbye my dear mustang,

My rugged bay pony built to withstand wind and snow

Always mindful of the need to survive.

Your mellow greetings still linger in the air,

Your rich throaty murmurings sing to my heart.

Memories of your beauty will always wave to me:

Your movement, your strength, your agility.

The little flycatchers will wonder where you've gone.

The robins will miss your shed fur for their nests.

My life is forever changed because of you.

Your life resounds in rippled waves across my world.

This red hypoestes (pink polka dot plant) has stayed nice and small over the winter.  Last summer it was on the back deck where it grew to about 10" tall.  I gave it a good prune and it kept its small form while it was on the cool windowsill for the winter. I'll put it in a bigger pot for the summer and it can be outside in a semi-shade location.

Every spring we have ants of various sizes.  I read somewhere that ants like trillium plants and we have lots of those so there are just a lot of ants in our environment.  Over the years, I have used borax/sugar mixes to keep them in check but last year I came across a brilliant improvement to my ant bait. The secret is a piece of Eggo waffle. In the picture, you can see that I took a plastic container and poked some holes near the brim.

Next I put a piece of Eggo waffle on the lid and pour over my equal parts borax/sugar mix that I have dissolved in some hot water.  Put the container bottom back on the lid. The waffle is like a sponge and the ants are happy to break off a little piece of the sweet treat to take home to the nest. Every so often add more borax/sugar solution to the waffle.

I might add that some ants prefer protein so peanut butter is a better bait for them, but my ants like sugar. 

You have to experiment to see what they like.

A Story - "Body Breakdown" and Growing Onions

A Story

Body Breakdown

Sitting on the couch at 2 am, Penny tried to remember how to activate her leg muscles to stand up.  Her sore wrists, hands, shoulders, hips and back had kept her awake and she wanted to get up and pace the floor to ease the stiffness and pain.  Marshalling her brain, she gritted her teeth, pushed on the arm of the couch and staggered to her feet.  She shuffled forward, walking slowly up and down the length of the living room.

The suddenness of her new incapacity had been startling.  Almost overnight she had gone from being strong and active to being stiff, sore and weak.  Polymyalgia rheumatica, the doctor diagnosed.

Thankfully, medication brought the storm under control.  Hope and relief came flooding back.

For my zone 4 garden, I need to start my onions in February.  In my region in Ontario, it's important to buy long day onion seeds.  I have an inexpensive grow light that I can put the seedlings under to help them get through the dull winter days.  Even still, they are floppy.  It won't matter though and once in the garden they will straighten up.  They will be planted outside in early May.  By the end of July, they will be ready to harvest. Last year I planted some yellow onions and some red onions.  Both varieties kept well and I still have one red onion left that's in good shape. I just stored them in paper bags in the dark at cool room temperature. I have about forty seedlings in these pots and that will do me until this time next year.

A Poem "In Recognition of my Aging Body" and Mini African Violet

A Poem

In Recognition of my Aging Body

Like an old stretched sweater,

My sagging arms hang by my bulgy sides.

Age spots masquerade as chocolate stains

On my wrinkled rough hands.

Scarred, lumpy-veined legs

End in worn scuffed feet.

Poor old body that's been with me

All the way.  Thank you.

This cute little African violet is only about 3" across.  It has been bred to stay as a mini.  I bought it last year at Walmart not realizing that it would stay small. I really like its petiteness.  It sits nicely on the windowsill and it's just really cute.  It came in a little plastic pot that comes apart at the middle so you can water it from below.  It grows just like any other African violet except it grows very slowly. 

African violets don't like to be overwatered, they can handle being a bit dry from time to time.  I only fertilize them when they are blooming with a liquid all-purpose fertilizer once every few weeks. This one sits happily on a south windowsill during the winter but as the sun gets stronger I will move it back a couple of feet from the window so it doesn't get scorched. 

I really enjoy my winter blooming indoor plants.

A Story - "The Gourmet's Wine" and Kalanchoe in January

A Story

The Gourmet's Wine

Every weekend Vivienne invited friends over for a gourmet meal.  Her menus followed the Mediteranean diet.  Desserts were fresh fruit.  She was pleased that she was feeding her guests healthy food.  She always served organic wine from a small vineyard.  No beer, no hard liquor, and, definitely, no soft drinks.

During the week, she bought and tasted various specialty wines so she could determine the perfect pairing for the food.

When she began to feel ill, she saw her doctor.  The shocking diagnosis was cirrhosis of the liver.

"Alcohol is alcohol no matter how pretty the packaging," the doctor said sadly. 

 

Kalanchoe can bring a bright pop of colour to the dull days of January.  The blooms will last for weeks, and sometimes months.  They like a bright window and not too much water as they are succulents.

To get them to rebloom after their rest period during the summer months, they need to have at least 12 hours of darkness each day.  I put mine on the windowsill and draw a heavy curtain across so that the light from the inside of the house is blocked from the plant.  They don't mind a chilly windowsill. As our days in zone 4 naturally get shorter in the fall, the kalanchoe get the required amount of darkness. They usually set buds in December and are blooming in January.  I give them a bit of fertilizer every 2 or 3 weeks when they are blooming.

Kalanchoe are super easy to propogate.  Simply take a piece of stem - 3-4" long, strip off lower leaves and plant in some soil.  This works best in the spring and summer. If plants are getting too leggy, just prune them back to the size you want and they will send out new branching shoots.

A Story - "Soul Music" and Indoor Lettuce

A Story

Soul Music

The radio host tried to convince the audience that the song he was going to play was good, heartfelt, inspiring.  No, no, no.

I sighed.  Where was the emotion?  The joy, sadness, anger, love?  I missed the days of raw original music not generated by computers.

I pulled up to the church. A friend's son had died.

As a prelude to the funeral, a fiddler soulfully played Scottish laments.  Tears pricked eyes.  The older man next to me dabbed his nose with a tissue.

Old hymns were sung reminding us of grace, hope, love.

We left nourished, comforted, healed.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed some lettuce seedlings in the garden.  They were in really good shape even though we have had some frosts.  I planted up a few of them  and put them under my small grow light. They grew so well I decided to plant some seeds in a container. They sprouted in a day and began growing really nicely. I won't have enough lettuce for a big salad but certainly enough for adding to sandwiches. I've already picked some leaves.  I fertilize with all purpose liquid fertilizer every watering - about once a week.  They are planted in garden soil not potting soil but any kind of soil would do.

I'm so pleased with how this is going that I plan on making regular seedings over the course of the winter. It will be nice to have some fresh home-grown produce and it will save a little bit of money.

This lettuce is a leaf lettuce with red markings that grows very well in the outside garden as well.
 

A Story - "Silence" and Dried Flower Arrangements

 A Story

Silence

After the funeral, friends hugged James,  They promised to deliver casseroles, arranged to do chores, shared memories of his lovely wife who had died just before her sixtieth birthday.  His daughter assured him she'd call every day.  His son encouraged him to come with him on holiday.  Robert was glad to see his friend being supported.

Reluctantly, Robert returned home because the carer was due to leave.  His wife was still sleeping.  He mindlessly made a sandwich after noticing the message light wasn't flashing.  Silence engulfed him.  The lonely emptiness of caring for someone with dementia left him swaying precariously.

It can be fun to experiment with drying various flowers.  I was surprised at how well pink peonies dried.  They're the main feature in this arrangement. As well as the usual statice,  some astrantia, sedum, ornamental onion seed heads fill out the arrangement. For some longer wispy accents, I used coral bell seed heads and grape hyacinth popped-open seed stems.

This little posey has quite a few dried roses - some regular size, some miniature. In the back are some ornamental onions that still have petals, some yarrow and some astrantia.

This is a more traditional collection of dried flowers.  I didn't grow them. So there is strawflowers, statice, gomphrena, and a bit of wheat. I have in the past had good success growing gomphrena and the flowers keep their colour for a long time. Gomphrena usually comes in pink, red, and white.

A Story- "The Wolf" and Coleus, Pink-Polka-Dot plant, Geraniums

 A Story

The Wolf

The sheep saw the wolf tiptoeing around the perimeter of the field but they unsuspectingly kept grazing.

Craftily, the wolf plotted his moves but he'd wait for dusk.

Suddenly, a flurry of white and black rocketed into the field scaring the sheep.  They ran, hearts thumping, this way, then the other.  The dog raced in arcs, driving them forward.  The sheep arrived at the pen, hardly knowing how they got there, panting with fear.

The sheep huddled together, worried about the dog.  But he was gone.  They sighed in relief.

They didn't see the wolf slinking off into the distance.

Last spring I started some coleus from seed.  I always find that coleus is slow to grow at first but quite a few of the seeds germinated and I put them together in a large pot on the back deck where they got morning sun.  I didn't pay much attention to them but as the summer progressed and they grew bigger, I started to really enjoy their colourful leaves. It seemed a shame that soon the frost would kill them and that would be the end of them.  I decided to take some cuttings to overwinter in the dining room.

I cut shoots about 4" long and dipped the ends in rooting hormone.  I was feeling cheap and decided to just plant them in 4" pots( reused) in garden soil instead of buying potting mix.  In a week or so, they had all rooted. I'm really pleased that it worked so well.  Because they don't need full sun, they will be fine on a table set back a couple of feet from the window.  In the spring, I will pot them into bigger pots and give them a good pinch so that they branch out more.

It's such a pretty collection of colour.

   I also started some pink-polka dot plants last spring.  This one (actually two) is a red variety. It was much larger but I gave it a real prune and so it's a manageable size again.  I read that pink-polka dots are a short-lived perennial and sometimes die after they have bloomed.  The pink ones I grew, which got to about 12" tall, were starting to bloom.  Again it seemed a waste, after starting them from seed, to just say goodbye to them so I have taken cuttings and am trying to root them in water. Internet advisers suggest that the cuttings be potted in soil when the roots are 2" long.  It's only been a week and no sign of roots yet but I do see some swelling near nodes so I guess the roots will come out soon.  I change the water every 2 days.

I bought these three geraniums on sale at the very end of the bedding plant season from the grocery store.  I only paid .99c each.  I didn't feel like potting them up so I just kept them limping along in the original pots. In February, I will start fertilizing them and get them going more vigorously and then in April/May I can take some cuttings.  I'll pot up the original plants into bigger pots.  

I tried to take some cuttings from larger geranium plants I had in the garden in September but they didn't root even though I used rooting hormone.  I had good success taking cuttings in the spring so I guess with geraniums the season is important.