Flora and Fauna

Last week, one of my many plants unsuccessfully attempted harakiri by flinging itself off the top of the baker’s rack. Sitting in the living room, we heard a loud crash from the breakfast nook. Alarmed, I hurried to check it out. A green vine had jumped three and a half feet from the top of the baker’s rack turned plant stand/catch all. There was plant soil everywhere, and parts of the vine were broken off. It was a mess.

After uprighting the vine, I scooped up the soil as best I could by hand and tamped it back into the cracked plastic pot. The few broken off stems that were large enough were tucked into the dirt to root. That soil was on the dry side which may have contributed to the leap into space. The main culprit, however, was me. I had neglected to rotate the pot for too long. The vine was being trained to grow up the tall, heavy stake (with a decorative frog on top) I’d stuck into the plant. In its attempt to grow to the light, it was leaning too far out, away from the baker’s rack. Gravity had finally asserted it’s authority.

The pot that vine is in was only cracked near the top, not in pieces, so the plant has not yet been repotted. I placed the pot inside a slightly larger brass pot which will contain any water that may leak out. It’s also heavy enough to better control the lean of that stake. The plants were somewhat rearranged, with this one now nestled among others on the floor (in a different room) where it obviously desires to live. The space it had occupied now houses my rosemary, with a starter pot of Pearls of Omar atop the soil of the rosemary.

Speaking of Pearls of Omar, I’m indebted to a friend for identifying it. She’d acquired one from me. This plant had been in the pot with the kaffir lily my mom had. It freely seeds itself in nearby plants. It’s one of many plants I keep watering. Another friend had purchased one of the many succulents I’d split and started. She wanted to know it’s name. I had to confess I didn’t know. The plant tag on the original simply said “succulent.” She took it upon herself to search for it, and shared the results with me. So now I know that particular one is a Red Pagoda, a species of Pygmyweeds. It’s also caked Red Flames or Campfire Plant. (Perhaps I need to have enough curiosity to do my own searching? I’m for sure keeping these friends.)

There is a fat-leafed succulent that I call my “Dr Seuss” plant. It’s housed in a small ceramic wall-hugging pot, so I’m unable to turn the pot to ensure more even growth. It’s definitely growing towards its light source, the south-facing windows in my dining room. I do try to remember to do a quarter-turn for most of the flowerpots when watering them. Several plants are vining outwards. I’ll tuck those out-reaching sections back into the main plant, and/or pinch the ends to encourage them to branch out more.

Other than watering and rotating plant pots (with the rare rescue of those that decide to leap off into space), there isn’t much to report. Our yard receives regular visits from several deer. There are a couple of cottontails that hop through, making regular pathways through the snow. The fauna seems to feel more secure now that hunting season is over. The couple does with this year’s fawns are here almost daily, while last year’s spike buck had made a couple of appearances. There was a nice three-point buck here early in the week, making the does nervous, but he hasn’t come back. We do enjoy watching the fat sage hens perching high atop the Russian olives on the spindliest twigs, causing much wing fluttering until they catch their balance.