Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for houseplants

Houseplant Mysteries & Cleaning

September 8, 2019 at 9:48 am by Claudia

This is intriguing. My now-quite-big monstera (aka split leaf philodendron) needed repotting a couple of months ago, which I did – with the help of Don. Several leaves on the bottom had yellowed and died, which often happens with plants at certain times of the year. But I must admit, this plant is very special to me (it was found in the sale area of Terrain and I nursed it back to health) so I was worried. I though it might be root-bound. After the repotting, I started to notice the beginnings of new stems, which was a good sign. All in all, 6 new stems/leaves appeared!

Here’s the interesting part: usually, once a monstera gets mature, the new leaves have several splits in them. When a monstera is young, the leaves are either whole, without splits, or have one split. Out of the 6 new leaves, 4 were whole, and 2 had a split. I’m not sure why. Did repotting it have an effect on the leaves themselves? If I’d kept it in the smaller pot, would they have had several splits?

I don’t know. But I’m glad I repotted it – it was getting very top heavy. This is why I find all plants – indoor and outdoor – so fascinating. I also repotted my parents’ sansevieria – it definitely needed it as the roots were breaking through the pot – and I’ve since read that they only bloom when they’re more root-bound. Since mine has bloomed for the past 3 years, it will be interesting to see if it blooms this year.

Don is at the Farmers Market today. We both woke up way too early, so we had a lot of time to chat before he took off. Sleep is erratic lately. Ah, well, nothing I can do about it, except stay in the moment.

Another lovely day, partly cloudy – though it’s sunny at the moment – temps in the seventies. I plan to yank some weeds and water the plants. I thoroughly cleaned both bathrooms yesterday. I don’t know why I hate doing it so much, but I’ve decided I need to create a bathroom cleaning schedule, so that big cleans like yesterday’s aren’t so big. I have this app I use called Wunderlist, which is a great way to create reminders. I’m going to add ‘bathroom cleaning’ to the list. Anyway, I felt a great sense of accomplishment once I finished, so there’s that.

Hope you’re having a nice weekend.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: cleaning, houseplants 22 Comments

A Quiet Sunday

August 4, 2019 at 9:56 am by Claudia

I’m going to find a photo that I took of the Boston fern early in the spring and pair it with a recent one. It’s once again full and beautiful and I’m thrilled.

I had a painful night with ongoing back issues. I ended up coming downstairs and sleeping in my chair. I think I’ll do that again tonight. The bed, for some reason, isn’t the best place for me right now. Today I will take it extremely easy as I’m determined to kick this issue to the curb. I’m over it. Don is taking portraits at the Farmer’s Market. Plus, he’s been taking care of me. And he’s been watering all the plants. To call him a gem is an understatement.

I don’t know how many of you saw this, but late in the day yesterday, Nancy left a comment here. She said she had a strong feeling that she should visit the blog. I don’t know the details yet and they might be private, but she said she’d send an email soon. Whatever the reason, I’m just so relieved to hear from her!

At one point in the day yesterday, I questioned whether I should have written the post. I contemplated deleting it. I’m glad I didn’t.

Good news! Thank you for all your caring and concerned comments. We are a community and I’m damned proud of us.

The antique dollhouse is back up on top of the china cabinet in the den. I’ve done all I’m going to do with it for the moment. We also wanted to use our kitchen table for eating once again!

That’s about it. I’m wiped out from the sleep and back problems, but I’m so grateful that I did get back to sleep last night. We had a big thunderstorm last night with lots of rain so Don won’t have to water the seedlings (morning glories, zinnias, etc.) Looks like a beautiful sunny day for the Farmer’s Market.

I can’t even address the horrific news from El Paso and Dayton except to say our real terrorism threat is homegrown: young white men. The GOP is bought and paid for by the NRA.

I’m sick of the whole damn thing.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: blog, blogging, friends, houseplants 42 Comments

Beautiful Saturday

July 27, 2019 at 9:38 am by Claudia

This is the monstera (split-leaf philodendron) that I rescued from the sale area at Terrain a couple of years ago. It was so root bound and in such a tiny pot that it was really struggling – it looked sad. I brought it home, repotted it, and gave it lots of attention. It has thrived.

A month or so ago, several of the bottom leaves started turning yellow and dying off. I know this happens with houseplants, but with this plant it had always been maybe one or two. This time, it was more like 5 or 6. I was a wee bit alarmed.

I moved it into a larger pot with Don’s help. (It was definitely in need of repotting.) And then I watched nervously for more yellow leaves. I kept telling the monstera that I wanted to see some new growth. Well. I now have 4 new leaves emerging, the tallest one that you see is one of them. Huzzah! I assume that certain older leaves had to go to make room for the new growth.

I really love this plant and I was nervous that something might be wrong. Nope. Just part of its cycle. Sigh of relief.

I discovered this beauty among the coneflowers next to the porch. The telltale seam in the web tipped me off, so I grabbed my camera to get a closer look. It’s a Yellow Garden Spider. Such an uninspired name for such an exotic looking critter. I usually see these down by the road. This is the first one that I’ve found in my garden.

I weed whacked yesterday and yanked tons of weeds from the big garden bed. Very satisfying! It’s looking a bit neater around here.

I also finished The Paris Diversion  and am just now starting Knife  by Jo Nesbø. I’ll take my finished reads back to the library today when I drop off our mail at the post office. Don is off to take some portraits.

Shaping up to be a hot and beautiful Saturday!

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: flowers, garden, houseplants, spider 10 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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