The bulbs I left in the ground have not come back up. I bought the bulbs from Blue Buddha Farms.
This one started coming up inside after a surprisingly short period of dormancy. Since it is so lush, we’ve left it inside.
‘Strawberry Star’ caladiums
The mostly white one slowly started back around the end of February. And it has done well outside. I’ll bring it in when nighttime temps start to stay around 50°F.
‘White Star’ and ‘Florida Sweetheart’
The mostly red one just came up recently. Like…. This week. I thought it was not going to.
When I met Sweet Leaf Nursery on BlueSky they were all mail order. But, by the time I was going to be in their area, they had gotten a booth at the PeeDee State Farmers Market. So, Saturday I went to see them. They are both delightful and happy to talk about their plants.
I bought 3.
I planned to get the nepenthes. But, the drosera were too much fun to leave behind.
The one that looks like an alien is Drosera binata. The Drosera aliciae is the more common type of sundew. (I saw them called bog buttons on Reddit yesterday.)
With my reference dime
That dish was a wedding present to my parents and I had never figured out a good use for it since it has no drainage. But, drosera need to keep their feet wet. So, there they are.
The Nepenthes briggsiana needs moist soil but not a soggy bottom. This is its temporary spot. I haven’t decided about a pot yet.
Miranda said that if it quits making pitchers, it isn’t getting enough sun. Because nepenthes are tropical vines, they come in for winter and don’t grow new traps until they go back outside in spring. But, that happens pretty quickly once they have enough light. I’m curious to see how this one does with the full spectrum bulbs we have in the kitchen.
It’s a variegated lace cap hydrangea. See how variegated those leaves are?
I have no idea how long it will take to mature. I took cuttings from a bush in South Carolina 4 years ago. I know it should be variegated. The leaves on the cuttings were not solid green. Which is why I took cuttings.
I have never grown any plant this way before. So, I am pleased it’s not dead. But, I’m ready for it to look like its mother.
This is the bush I took the cutting from.
The original bush was in the shade. I planted this with lighting that matched its parent plant.
I have never had fruit from the 3 remaining trees. But, I did start to see blossoms a few years ago. I just never see fruit.
The Pawpaw Field Day in Winston-Salem is in September. I’m hoping that having that on my calendar will remind me to check. I’ve never been to the festival because I keep neglecting to put it on my calendar and I always think about in November. Or April when I notice the flowers.
This year, I have also noticed that each tree seems to be creating its own patch. There are smaller trees growing near the original plantings.
My first thought was that they grow like aspens or trees-of-heaven and put out roots that sprout up making a grove that is actually one organism.
But, it might just be that the fruit dropped and sprouted because I wasn’t paying attention.
Ok. I looked it up. It’s clonal. So, trees are coming up from the roots of what I planted.
But, I may not have seen fruit because they are “self-incompatible” and if what I bought were shoots from the same tree, it probably won’t produce.
I’ll pay attention the Fall and may see if I can find another one to stick out there between the older tress.
When I was a regular poster at New Cafe, one of the other regulars that I chatted with frequently was also a labyrinth walker. She and her ex-husband had gotten back together after a long break and a lot of growth (probably on both parts) and she was taking care of him at the end of his life. He reached a point where he couldn’t talk, couldn’t really hold a book and was trapped in his slowly deteriorating body. She asked if anyone would be willing to send him postcards. I bought a pack of postcard stamps and got to writing. I don’t think he got a year of cards. But, I sent some I’m In NC!! cards that had touristy stuff on them. And when I went anywhere, I looked for cards for Andy. He got a couple from our trip to Wyoming.
When he finally died, she posted that his favorite flowers were daffodils amd said that if anyone felt like doing something, planting daffodils would be a nice thing. So, I got some daffodils to plant in the labyrinth and when they bloomed I posted a picture of them to her. She thought that was lovely.
They grew nicely in that patch and always reminded me of my long distance friend and a little family that had come to reconciliation after some stuggles. (Their adult son was pleased that his parents had been able to find their way back to each other, even as he completely understood why they had to be apart originally.)
When I dismantled the labyrinth, the daffodils stayed. And when the flowerbed that had there for a few years was being lifted up and moved around, they got transplanted to the bed by the road.
Well. Most of them did.
It appears I didn’t get all the bulbs. So, there’s still a ghost of the labyrinth daffodils holding on in the back yard. I’m OK with that.
The Cafe was an important part of my online social life and I made several significant relationships that have continued even as that website has changed and I have wandered off.
Andy’s daffodils are sort of Cafe Daffodils. When they bloom, I am reminded of all those people and conversations.
I am the Audience 