Sunday, December 12, 2010

Triumphs and Tragedies

It's been awhile since I've posted about the ups and downs of my gardening life.  There's less gardening going on these days but it's not entirely absent.  The weather outside today was gorgeous.  Sunny and 2 degrees (celcius).  So we took advantage and spent a good amount of time with the basement windows open throwing firewood inside.  Okay, so for most people that's not really an ideal way to spend the day.  Me neither, my arm hurts now but at least we'll be warm tonight when the temperature drops.

We did manage to relax some afterwards and took a nice walk.


We've had snow off and on in the last few weeks but the temperature has been constantly shifting so it doesn't stay long.  As you see there's no ice on the water and it's running freely.


We happened upon a group of yellow birches that caught my eye.  That bark is just so striking to me.  I'm really glad I planted 2 of these trees in our yard.

Back inside the house I decided to finish what I began the other day and tidy up my house plants.  That dracaena did indeed perk up with some water so I decided to pull the plant out completely and check it's roots.

I was surprised to find it actually has a pretty decent root structure.  This plant does not want to go in the bin at all.  I'm reminded of something I read a while ago regarding children.  A doctor commented that children will thrive in spite of what we do to them, rather than because of what we do.  I found this idea quite profound.  Life, in all its forms, has a natural will to survive and this little dracaena, despite my neglect, and my good intentions, is going to live it's life with or without my help.

Talk about will to survive, that spider plant wants to create a bajillion little spider plants.


Can you see all the babes hanging and trying to find a spot to nest?  Well they got some pots today.


Several shoots got a pot full of dirt to rest their roots in and some water.  I'll attempt to remember to keep them well watered over the coming weeks and we'll see if they take hold.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tidying up the houseplants is a chore I must get to also. My spider plant is dying for new soil and the babies are hanging just like your plant.

Liz said...

Hope your plants take hold. And enjoy the nice weather while it's here.

Floridagirl said...

Plants do try their best to survive, don't they? That's why I feel especially awful when I actually kill one. You are certainly right about spider plants! My mom hung a basket in an oak tree years ago, and it has become a groundcover in that part of the garden. I keep telling her it is invasive, and she needs to pull them out, but she likes the effect.

Laura said...

I entirely agree, plants and children thrive despite us! As an example of that my husband is a fantastic cook. He is the Head Chef at our house. His mother regularly brags that he learned everything from her. In reality she is a terrible cook. He learned to cook on his own due to necessity ;) Lol!

Marguerite said...

GardenWalk - I usually repot and clean up houseplants in spring but they've been so badly neglected as of late I couldn't put it off!

Liz - we are outside every minute we can. I know all too well how quickly we could be buried in snow!

Floridagirl - That sounds really lovely actually, I can see why your mom would be loathe to clean it up. I had no idea spider plants could be invasive but I guess it makes sense considering how prolific my little plant is with no help from me.

Laura - I'm laughing like crazy here. My mom too is a terrible cook. Both my sisters and myself have all gone out of our way to learn how to cook well!