What happened???…Am I seeing straight???
I woke up very early last week and looked at the clock on my iPad. It wasn’t the time which shocked me – around 3 in the morning is not when you should be awake, but it wasn’t the end of the world. It was the September 1st, 2020 date which just floored me. How could that be? My last blog was June 18th. About peonies. Entitled ‘Peony Bouquets from my Garden…more to come…’ I had every intention of writing to you about a whole year of peonies – everything from purchasing and dividing them, to understanding how they have been bred, what the three types are, how and when to cut them to bring inside, growing from seed, and on and on……. That was yesterday, right?
And here we are now, still trying to figure out what day it is..… What is a ‘weekend’? Are you busy next week? No…nothing at all in my agenda…ever. The kids are back in school already? No, no, no!!!! I can’t process it… The time really has flown by, as witnessed by my iPad telling me that 6 months had passed while I slept, that they had just vanished into thin air in this year of Covid 19. 2020 – a year never to be forgotten…
And I am not the only one wondering where the summer went. This summer of beautiful days, then a severe drought and recently, much-needed and ground-soaking, torrential rains. (Oh, and did I tell you we have a new Grandson? That was the best part of this horrendous year, and the best thing to happen to us since our first grandson appeared almost three years ago….. Forgive me. I digress, but we need to remember to celebrate the good things this year). All this followed closely by what looks like an early fall…and then what should we expect from the winter??? Oh, my… it’s going to be interesting. Time to keep talking about plants and gardens and the joy and pleasure they bring us. I have plans to do just that with this blog. I have a list as long as my arm of things to write about. And if you would like to have me answer any questions, send off a little note to Kelly or Heather, and I’ll see if I can help out!!
Succulents ready for overwintering. (The arrangement was a gift from Pauline Yelle.)
For you, this would be a good year to try a couple of houseplants you’ve never grown before, or a planting of herbs or lettuce on a cool windowsill. Go to Google and type in your favourite flower and learn all about it. Did you always get confused about when to prune the different types of clematis? Look it up. Now is as good a time as any to learn. Try overwintering some succulents you are particularly fond of in the house and learn how to propagate them for your containers next year. It’s very easy, and your friends and family will be thrilled to receive some as gifts. There are a million things you could do related to plants this fall/winter season when it is white or grey outdoors day after day. The monochromatic colour scheme will get to you after a bit, especially those of you who are normally ‘Snowbirds’. But the vibrant greens of houseplants and the rainbow colours of some flowering plants will lift our spirits and help us get through whatever is waiting for us in the months to come! Imagine three gorgeous Phalaenopsis orchids potted up in a beautiful container with a carpet of moss covering their bases, or perhaps some cut amaryllis in a crystal-clear vase on your kitchen counter to brighten your days. Let’s all make this a happy winter despite everything! We can do this together!!!