Garden Growth
It’s August, and while in some ways my garden has grown larger, the growth is not linear. Day by day it literally looks different and some days certain plants just look dead! Leaving me to scratch my head and wonder what I’m doing wrong!? In full transparency this tends to happen after a few days of being away, and while Ryan helpfully will water them for me, they still look as if they’re thirsty and wilting from the heat!
The weather has been brutal in New York recently: over 90 degrees, extremely humid, and the only time we get rain is during a violent thunderstorm. So it’s a little hard to manage my little outdoor friends in these conditions. But I’m determined, and ready for the challenge. They’ve made it this far (most of them) so let’s see if they can make it to the fall!
The plant stand: it’s got lots of old and new pots here now. They won’t all stay here forever, but right now things seem to be doing best in this corner that only get a few hours of direct sun, and more shade.
These succulent like plants remind me of the type of ground cover we get at our beach house in Portugal, and I had to have them. They are called ‘Wheels of Wonder’ and produce these gorgeous bright red-orange flowers.
Growing like a vine
Here is more old and new. From the ceramic pot you’ll see a healthy vine. I’ve been growing this bougainvillea with the hopes it will expand and cover this fence that divides my terrace from my neighbors. It’s taken months but the vines are totally thriving. The big planter next to it is not that lucky… I have had for 3 or 4 years and everything in it sadly dies. My theory is poor drainage… the soil gets super moist during rainy periods and drowns the roots. The blue spruce I planted in May is like a succulent and likes a dry environment - I should have known this pot would be trouble. But once it’s roots were in I thought it was too late to update it! Eventually the roots were destroyed and I had to get rid of the little blue spruce. On a positive note, I’ve planted new seeds in it that I hope will have a better outcome. Fingers crossed!
Training the vine
Because I want the vines to grow up the fence, I’m using the back of my neighbors wires to keep some in place. You’ll see their vines are fully grown and ahead of mine - flowering and wrapping around our string lights. I love the way it looks. In addition to the existing wire I’m using clear push pins to secure some of the shorter vines.
In our flower boxes we have tons of this flowering ground cover. I’m not sure what kind it is though, it blooms fast and then quickly closes leaving just the seeds below it.
Now I have no idea what this beauty is, but she’s in my flower box and I love her. So do a few baby bee’s and I feel like I’m helping to keep nature in balance!
Here is where the old saying growing like a weed comes to life - maybe it is a weed? Here’s another shot of my lush flower box: vines, lavender and all the ground cover together in harmony. I think I need to make more room for my lavender so if the vines aren’t growing across the railing as I plan then I will re-pot them by the fence. For now my vision is sort of coming together so I’ll leave it as it is.
Now for the hard part… my mom said this Angellonia loves sun and would thrive on my patio but it no longer looks like this! Flowers dropping, leaves turning yellow, and most recently a storm knocked this pot off the table and cracked it into a ton of pieces so this poor plant is not having a great time. I’m giving it some space, watching from a distance, and hoping with a new pot that drains it will have more luck and make a comeback.
More tough news, my sunny yellow Biden’s bloomed a brief yet beautiful life, but we’re finally laid to rest on Monday August 3rd. RIP. The best way to handle it? Rip them right out by the roots, let something new grow.
Positive update: herbs are doing great on the plant stand! Basil is fragrant and delicious.. still waiting on some hot peppers though! Thinking they may need a bigger pot.
This shade lover is happy and growing in its corner. Success!
Ultimately all these plants are going through various life cycles and stages. Some are doing better than others but I’m happy to see my patio still covered in green this August. Next up I think I’ll work on getting some flowers! ;)
Xx Gab