In the corner of our garden, by the bird bath, we have a lovely bushy green Brugmansia, or Angel Trumpet.
It was in a container and was doing so well that I scarecely gave it a thought. However, after the recent rains I happened to look closer and realize the container was full to the brim with water. It wasn't draining for some reason.
I carefully laid it on its side to let the excess water drain out and soon realized why it wasn't draining. At some point I had apparently moved it and forgotten to set the saucer back underneath it and the roots had grown through the drainage holes.
Because one of the roots had broken as I laid the pot over to drain it, I was left with no alternative but to repot it. First, of course, I had to do some surgery to get rid of the big chunk of root that was holding the plant in the pot. (below you can see the rest of the root in the ground -- no wonder the plant had looked so nice and healthy, look at the size of the root!)
I repotted the plant in a huge container into which my husband had drilled some additional drainage holes on the side. I'm hoping that will provide it with drainage while stopping it from rooting in the garden.
After that, it was up to the plant. I watered it and set it back in the border and hoped it would make it. By morning it had dropped a ton of leaves, but the ones it retained looked okay. When I got home from work, it looked awful, nothing but a few droopy leaves at the end of the stems.
Next morning it looked better and I checked the moisture level and gave it another drink. By the time I got home from work it was drooping again.
I really thought I was going to lose it, but eventually it seemed to pull through.
It's just a shadow of it's former self at the moment, having lost so many leaves, but it's got lots of new little leaves budding out so I'm hopeful that it will eventually look as lovely as it did before. Perhaps it will even grace us with some blooms next year.
Wish us luck!
Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.
There are times I question the sanity of trying to garden in the Houston area. This weekend was one of them. After all, Texas is known for it's hot and humid summers and this weekend has been a doozy. Who in their right mind would decide to spend the day outside?
Why, me of course! I decided I was sick of looking at the empty containers around the birdbath and decided the area needed a boost of color for the summer.
And because plants don't voluntarily leap into pots and bury themselves all nice and deep in delicious potting soil, I had to do it for them.
But first, a trip to the nursery. I headed out to Plants for All Seasons on Hwy 249, determined not to let their wonderful collection of fairy garden accessories waylay me again!
I made it home with several choices for my containers, in addition to a Hamelia patens I've been wanting to add to the island bed.
My plant list included Evolution salvias in blue and white, as well as a Victoria Blue and a Forest Fire salvia (red), and a red Penta, Confetti for a patriotic Red, White and Blue theme in the containers.
I also got some trailing purple lantana, purple Persian Shield, Little Lucky lantana "Lemon Creme", Little Luck Lantana "Hot Pink", along with a chartreuse sweet potato vine to go in the half barrel.
One thing in my favor, the patio is in shade for most of
the day, and we have ceiling fans. But really, when it's 94+ degrees out
there, with high humidity, it's still hot and sticky. I kept a towel nearby to mop my sweating brow and drank at least a gallon of ice tea.
When you see photos of Southern ladies showing off their lush gardens, how is it that they always look cool, calm and collected? Perhaps it's the Mint Juleps they always seem to be sipping -- maybe I should try those...
I'm always bright red in the face, hair plastered to my head with sweat. Not a pretty sight. I dread working out in the front garden in case a neighbor stops by for a chat. I do not look my best when I'm working in the garden!
Anyway, I got the containers planted and arranged them around the birdbath and I'm quite pleased with the effect. They should look lovely when they fill out.
I felt bad about ripping all of the Babylon White verbena out of the barrel, but it had been blooming constantly since last summer, kept going all winter and finally fizzled a month or so ago. I pulled off some of the greener parts with roots attached and stuck them in the ground in the raised bed and the rest went on the back of the brush pile.
I think the barrel will look nice with the mix of purples, yellows and greens and the lantana and sweet potato vine can trail as much as they want to in that location.
After planting, I gave everything a good water and left it to settle in.
Unfortunately, as often happens when I exert myself outside in the heat, I ended up with a raging headache and spent the rest of the day lying on the bed with the ceiling fan blowing on me, trying to feel human again.
I can't wait till fall gets here!! Roll on fall!
Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.
