I am the Audience

Plant a Day, Day 4 (peony)

February 5, 2025

a day in this life, plants

Pink peony

A coworker, who lives fairly close, got tired of mowing around some peonies she had taken from her mother’s yard. She called me to tell me to come get them if I wanted them because she was about to cut them down. I had no plans for peonies. But, the idea of intentionally mowing over a healthy plant hurt my heart. So, I went.

They were huge and I shared some with friends and a nephew. I have 2 patches in my yard. One in front and one in back. I’ve added some other varieties to the patch in the front. The back is still the original pink.

They smell divine. And, after planting them, I learned that they are my mother’s favorite flower. She had pink and white ones on the table for her wedding reception.
Goldfinch

February 4, 2025

a day in this life, birdwatching

Goldfinches change out their bright yellow feathers for a more muted green for the winter. Looks like this guy is ready for Spring to get on with it.
Plant a Day, Day 3 (rose hips)

February 4, 2025

plants

Rose hips

Carolyn and I went to Asheville in early December to see the Chihuly exhibition at Biltmore House. The glass was great. She hadn’t been there since elementary school. So, the house was all new to her and that was tons of fun. Tickets are for 2 days so that you have enough time to really see it all and we spent the second day in the conservatory and checking out what there was of the gardens.

The rose garden is pretty unimpressive in winter. But this unnamed variety had the biggest hips I have ever seen in my life. I should have put something up next to them for a reference. They’re a little bigger than a quarter.

I’ve seen other rose bushes that don’t even make hips. The ones in my yard never have.
Plant a Day, Day 2 (Thanksgiving cactus)

February 3, 2025

a day in this life, plants

Peach colored Thanksgiving cactus flower

It’s surprisingly full right now. Usually they have bloomed on the side facing the window. It’s really happy on the kitchen table.

I was trying to find a yellow one. This was full of light buds and I thought I’d scored. But, these damn things hate change and all the buds fell off when I got it home. I waited 6 months (or so) for it to finally bloom. And it is peach! Not a color you see often. So. I’m still pleased with it.

The fuschia and red ones got sickly and I let them die.

I did, eventually, get a cutting from a yellow one. And it’s not as big. But, it is healthy and gorgeous when it blooms.
Why Plant-a-Day?

February 2, 2025

plants

One of the things that happens on social media is someone starting a “Post one (whatever) a day for (however many) days with no explanation.” and it’s kind of fun and kind of drives me crazy. The thing-a-day is great and I get introduced to music or books I might otherwise never hear of. But, the no-explanation can be annoying. The Gardening community on BlueSky has a plant one making the rounds.

Please, at the very least, tell me the name of the plant.

So, I have been doing it WITH explanations. And I decided to move it over here with even longer ones.

Since it is plant and not flower, there may be more than one picture per post. And there may not even be flowers. I have no idea what will get posted past 5 or 6 days at this point. Also, there may be repeats from earlier posts because I’m forgetful.