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Crocus chrysanthus ‘Cream Beauty’ joins the Dwarf Reticulated Iris as the first flower of spring in my USDA Zone 6 garden.
trying not to kill the beautiful things
Crocus chrysanthus ‘Cream Beauty’ joins the Dwarf Reticulated Iris as the first flower of spring in my USDA Zone 6 garden.
I spent at least an hour yesterday repotting aloes and kalanchoes that Baxter had knocked over. I was proud of the arrangement of heavier pots in stands and supports, and was sure they’d be safe from kitty shenanigans.
As happens so often, I was completely wrong.
After I took the above photo, I went and had a good cry — because, seriously, how the hell am I supposed to make any headway on my general clutter if I keep having to rescue my plants? And not that I’m wishing kitty destruction on my family’s belongings, but I’m feeling a little singled-out here.
(I should note that he also gets up on the bathroom counter where I keep my bookbinding supplies and knocks my brushes onto the floor.)
Baxter doesn’t even spend time in this window; he specifically targeted my aloe plant. I only have so many windows, especially during the winter when the sunroom is too cold for most plants, and this shell game of moving plants from window to window to avoid destruction is getting old quick. He’s already eaten my purple shamrock THREE TIMES, and I’m running out of window options.
(BTW, remind me to tell you all about what happens when one accidentally leaves succulents in an unheated sunroom in February. The aftermath alleviated some of my plant overcrowding issues.)
So, as part of Laundry & Chores Sunday, I get to once again repot my aloe, AND rescue all my baby jade starts that got scattered across the kitchen floor.
EDIT: My Google research tells me that aloe is toxic to cats. Well, that’s just great. Hopefully Baxter just gnawed on the leaves and didn’t actually eat any of it. I’ll feel like a real ass if eating my cherished plants makes my cat barf.
I seem to have become one of those people: the ones who wake up with only a hungry cat as an alarm, who (after feeding said cat) will go outside to cut fresh flowers to enjoy indoors.
I finally figured out why I haven’t been blogging like I used to: I journal longhand instead, pasting photos of my garden into my gardening journal, creating pages for plants I’d like to research, noting which seeds germinated successfully and which didn’t (I’m looking at you, larkspur), etc.
However, I do like the convenience of being able to just search my blog and compare year to year for particular events or milestones, gardening or otherwise. So, here I am, back-blogging Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for May 2021.
The highlights of this border are the dwarf Japanese maple and the tree peony, but it really shines in early spring, when all the bulbs come up and remind me that things will get warmer and greener.
After all these alliums finished blooming and their foliage browned, I dug them up (and LABELED THEM) in preparation for converting this border into something more minimalist that the chipmunks might not find as inviting.
Iris ‘Peggy Sue’ really likes this her spot in the front garden! The blooms are so prolific that I even cut one to enjoy indoors while I work.