houseplants — Page 8

Saturday

July 28, 2018 at 9:07 am by Claudia

We have reached our sixth day in a row of high humidity, storms and torrential rains. Every time I think I might be able to weed or mow or weed whack, I am faced with a wall of humidity or a sudden storm. Everything is waterlogged. More rain today, then a break for two days, then more rain.

We’re not used to it being this humid all summer long. We usually get a day or two here and there and August always tends to be humid, but from the get-go this summer we’ve been dealing with a lot of high temps and humidity. I can see the effects of it on my potted impatiens on the porch – the leaves on some of the plants are discolored and look mildewy.

The only plant that really likes it is the big fern that sits on the former kitchen island on the porch. He’s digging it, for sure.

We have had a few sunny breaks, like the one we had the other day when we were out and about. And I’m very grateful for them.

Speaking of that trip:

This is the little chair that I bought. It’s quite heavy. As Don said to me when he saw it, “The color!” He knows this is a favorite color of mine. Actually, it’s one of his favorite colors, as well.

It almost looks Mexican with its chunky, boxy design, but no, it has a fleur-de-lis.

Perhaps a plant of some sort should adorn the chair?

It will definitely come indoors for the winter.

It’s been a frustrating week for Don in terms of photography, simply because conditions have not photo or camera friendly. We finally got outside yesterday for a little session, which was eventually halted because of inclement weather. But he did really well, figuring out F-stops, apertures, and all of that stuff that I should have a command of but don’t. I’m real proud of his progress.

This was shot on the porch:

(I’d been pulling weeds and you can see the dirt under my fingernails!)

This is tricky work. It’s a very heavy camera with a polaroid back. Everything is manual. Nothing can be easily deleted as with a digital camera or phone. The viewfinder isn’t aligned with the lens, giving a parallax view, so framing a shot is also very tricky. Much adjusting has to be done. Eventually, all of it will have to be done rather quickly, but now is the time for figuring out what works and what doesn’t. He did a real good job on this one.

The zinnias (grown from seed) are really taking off this year and are the healthiest bunch I’ve had in a long time. Cheery zinnias are one of Don’s favorite flowers. Mine, too.

I’ll share photos from Milne Antiques tomorrow and some photos of the vintage suitcases. It’s a little too dark in the house right now to get a good photo of them.

Happy Saturday.

Wednesday Thoughts

April 11, 2018 at 9:09 am by Claudia

Morning light from the east. A still life.

Though I can see frost on the car window and ice in the birdbath, this is the last day (I hope) that we will be dealing with colder than usual temperatures. I feel some hope and a little twinge of excitement.

I was looking through some photos from last year at this time and we were so much further along in terms of green grass, buds on the trees, the signs of spring. I’d say we’re about two weeks behind this year. I’m keeping a long list of things I have to do floating around in my head (in addition to painting the one remaining unpainted wall in the kitchen) and that list needs to be written down today so I can make some sense of it and prioritize my chores.

I’m currently reading a book I bought at that wonderful bookstore in New Orleans, Faulkner House Books. (Oh, if I could only whisk myself there for an afternoon of browsing!) It’s Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life by Marta McDowell. Beautifully done in every way, with photographs and drawings, many of them Potter’s illustrations and sketches.

Nonfiction seems to be my thing at the moment. I can’t quite lose myself in a fictional story – my guess is that what’s happening on a daily basis in Washington D.C. is far more shocking and twisted than any mystery or spy novel out there. Especially these past few days, right? I’ve been glued to the television and Twitter.

Just wanted to clarify that even though Don is tired at the end of a long week of shows, he is having the time of his life. He really loves it. Right now, every show on Broadway is collecting donations for Broadway Cares: Equity Fights Aids. They pass around a bucket after the show and auction off backstage tours. Don was out in the lobby the other day, meeting the audience and collecting for this charity. If someone wants a photo with a cast member, they contribute ten dollars, I think it is, and the actor poses with them for a picture. It’s a lot of fun. Don had a great time. Last night, there were 3 separate groups who had paid for a backstage tour. Don took one of the groups around the theater.

Can you see the bunny? I took this through the kitchen window yesterday. I saw him hop into the brush (everything is still so brown around here) where he found the perfect place to eat a bit, groom himself, nap and generally hang out. I’m not kidding. Several hours later, he was still there.

He was completely camouflaged, even more so than this picture indicates because I edited it so you could see him. Smart bunny.

Happy Wednesday.

Wind

April 5, 2018 at 10:23 am by Claudia

We had a high wind warning yesterday and from 3 pm until about 2 am, the wind was relentless. At one point, I happened to look out the kitchen door window and saw another branch (though not nearly as big) fall from the catalpa just to the left of Don’s car. Needless to say, I ran out there and moved his car next to mine. The branch was long but it was light enough for me to carry to the wood pile, but my heavens, I felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz out there trying to open car doors and just plain maneuver in that wind.

It took me a long time to get to sleep, so I slept in a bit this morning. It’s still ‘breezy’ but the sun is shining. We’re due for a couple more visits from winter over the weekend in the form of snow showers, but it will melt quickly. I am SO ready for spring. I had a little meltdown on the phone with Don yesterday because it’s just been plain old hard this winter and that, along with my recent bout with a bug and my sore back, sent me off into ‘feeling sorry for myself’ territory.

I guess I needed to get it out. I’m better this morning. Bless my husband for being there.

I wanted to share the growth on this Zz plant with you. It, along with my two other Zz plants, has been growing steadily during the winter. One of my readers wrote in a comment a while back that someone had told her that Zz plants were slow growers. I assured her that I hadn’t found that to be the case. They’ve been pretty prolific so far and I’ve only had them a few months. Imagine how they might perform during the summer! The two tallest shoots are recent additions.

I love these plants. They can get by on low light and, like a succulent, they don’t need a lot of watering. They have a sculptural quality that is quite lovely.