Dreaming

I know you Northern types are dreaming of spring. All that snow seems cruel, but at least you're not being teased mercilessly with alternating frigid/springlike temperatures. It's hard to start gardening like that. So I'm dreaming.

Yep, I bought seeds yesterday. I swear, this is it. I won't buy any more (this time). I can stop any time I want, honest.


Seriously - I've never had much luck with seeds. I keep trying, though. You know what they say - if at first you don't succeed, try, try again... I would add that if you consistently over the space of several years and many dollars don't succeed, get a clue and save up for established plants!

Last year, I was ready to quit, but then I got this. Clearly this was a message that I am to try more seeds again. How else can I take it? I mean - I saved seeds from it and everything! A massive pile of seeds...if only a few of them "take", I will have zinnias coming out of my.... eardrums. How about this pile of seeds!

**Note: I confess. I have no idea how to save seeds. So I saved the entire pod, and figured there are seeds in there somewhere and they will sprout when I stick them in dirt. Cross your fingers!

Here is another miracle plant. Mom and Dad brought me this plant from Hawaii. We're 99% sure that was in 2004. I know it wasn't 2005, because I had it then. As we packed up to evacuate Katrina, I stuck the small plant in its pot behind a bush and forgot about it.

So it lived through Katrina - albeit right up next to the house behind a bush - but still. And the following winter, and the winter after that. Probably not getting much water, up against the house like that. I found it the next spring - yup, that would be 2007 - when I finally got up off my (duff) and cleaned out the front flower beds. If you're counting, that's almost two years in a tiny nursery pot, up against the front wall of my house.

Well, I planted it. Here it is today. Well, it's the low plant in the shade...the leaves are not very visible. I was taking the picture of this flower - wow!

The plant - Dad calls it a leather leaf - spreads easily. There's a lot down there.

Dad took a leaf and put it in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel. Today he took it out and stuck it in dirt:
Look at all those shoots popping out of one leaf.

My azaleas don't appear to realize there are still freezing temperatures on the horizon. This is my favorite color.
They are planted all around the big live oak tree. When they grow up, there will hopefully be mostly this color with some white for accents as well as this:

And.....I need a new flag.

Disclaimer - grainy cell-phone pictures with bad light.