Someday, my thumb will be green.
My mom has been quite the gardener for as long as I can remember. She is always planting new things, maintaining a garden, or replacing her existing plants. I've ... always kindof wanted to maybe do that? Which isn't the attitude that keeps plants alive.
But when I moved into this new place with a little patio outside and a bougainvillea on the brink of death, I knew she'd help me bring it back to life. And she helped me pick out some other plants to keep it company; Besides cactus, I had no idea what kinds of plants/flowers would thrive out here in the Old Pueblo.
We took out the remains of several existing plants and gave the bougainvillea some food/water. And I did want to put in some cactus. I figure that putting in cactus in Tucson is like hedging your garden bets - even if everything else dies, the cactus will probably be alright. She got me several different colors of a plant called lantana, which is supposed to do well in warm climates.
My corner o' cactus. The white stones were there when I moved in, so I took them and put them around the cactus.
The other corner has the bougainvillea, which is looking much greener than when I moved in. I'm glad that the apartment folks didn't take it out, because otherwise my patio would be very sparse and I don't know that I'd have had the motivation to fill it in with plants.
You can kindof see the whole thing here. I also got a hanging basket with a red geranium in it, but I'm not sure how well it's doing. There are some concerning yellow leaves along the bottom. But there appears to be a couple of buds that will hopefully open sometime soon, so I guess it's too early to tell.
So, there it is. It's a really tiny, postage-stamp of a patio garden, but it's mine. And I think it'll be a nice place to sit outside on a lazy morning and read a book, when the weather permits.
When Ben and I were contemplating buying a house together, one of the things that excited me about it was the idea of landscaping it the way I wanted and possibly growing a garden. Obviously that won't be happening, but I do still think I'd like to have a little yard someday. Then I can officially become my mother and spend my evenings pruning. :) Maybe someday my thumb will be green!
But when I moved into this new place with a little patio outside and a bougainvillea on the brink of death, I knew she'd help me bring it back to life. And she helped me pick out some other plants to keep it company; Besides cactus, I had no idea what kinds of plants/flowers would thrive out here in the Old Pueblo.
We took out the remains of several existing plants and gave the bougainvillea some food/water. And I did want to put in some cactus. I figure that putting in cactus in Tucson is like hedging your garden bets - even if everything else dies, the cactus will probably be alright. She got me several different colors of a plant called lantana, which is supposed to do well in warm climates.
My corner o' cactus. The white stones were there when I moved in, so I took them and put them around the cactus.
The other corner has the bougainvillea, which is looking much greener than when I moved in. I'm glad that the apartment folks didn't take it out, because otherwise my patio would be very sparse and I don't know that I'd have had the motivation to fill it in with plants.
You can kindof see the whole thing here. I also got a hanging basket with a red geranium in it, but I'm not sure how well it's doing. There are some concerning yellow leaves along the bottom. But there appears to be a couple of buds that will hopefully open sometime soon, so I guess it's too early to tell.
So, there it is. It's a really tiny, postage-stamp of a patio garden, but it's mine. And I think it'll be a nice place to sit outside on a lazy morning and read a book, when the weather permits.
When Ben and I were contemplating buying a house together, one of the things that excited me about it was the idea of landscaping it the way I wanted and possibly growing a garden. Obviously that won't be happening, but I do still think I'd like to have a little yard someday. Then I can officially become my mother and spend my evenings pruning. :) Maybe someday my thumb will be green!