new plants 2019 / 2020

SURPRISE! I bet you didn't expect to see me here again.  Spring is the time that I most miss my blog, and this year, after conversation with Dava (@davastewart), who I first met at a Chattanooga Blogger's meetup years ago, I got nostalgic.  I miss the blogging community and really getting to know people online in a way that doesn't translate on 'social media platforms'.  It's also really nice to be able to have an archive to dust the cobwebs of your memories.  I was nostalgic enough to say to myself, well, I do have a couple of things I could blog about....so let's see if I can do this again.   

My conversation with Dava got me thinking about 2 things I loved about blogging... being able to look back on how far my house/garden have come, and getting to know some of the amazing people in the blogging community.   I'm hoping to bring those both back into my life.  If the pandemic has taught me anything, its to put my needs first, and that good online relationships are just as nice as in person ones.

So even though this post is supposed to be about plants, I have to acknowledge 2020 as the year that will go down in history as quite the year.  I spent the spring dealing with the aftermath of a tornado and adjusting to pandemic life.   My mom had a hip replacement just before Covid, and my grandfather passed away in May at age 93.  As soon as I was ready to turn my attention outside to something normal  - maintenance and garden work.... I herniated 2 disks in my neck.  Plans were interrupted, and much of the heavy garden work was put on hold.  I picked up a few houseplants, and started propagating some of my grandmother's houseplants (mistletoe cactus and spider plant, both 40+ years old), but that was it.  

The biggest project was a May 2020 unplanned mowing of the underbrush in my front yard.  It more than doubled the size of my front yard, and makes me anxious to complete my dream project of being able to see the whole pond from my front porch. 

Looking back past 2020 to 2019 is hard.  2019 a blurry and distant memory.  I can't remember much of what I planted.  I know I was gifted a peony by my sister that bloomed from a large pot on my front porch this year.   My Instagram tells me that 2019 was a maintenance year. I cut back ivy and laid pine needles on the front steps to the pond, mulched, pressure washed, and cut back "volunteer" bushes.   It's nice to look back and see how nice it looked, but it's crazy to see how quickly things grow back after even one year off.  2019 was also the year I re-discovered embroidery.....more on that another day.    😊

New plants 2019/2020

• Peony, from my sister
• Mistletoe Cactus, cuttings from Grandmother
• Spider plant, cuttings from Grandmother
• Baby Jade
• Mini Orchid
• Wandering Jew, from Clemson
• Ponytail Palm
• Monstera, from my sister
• Snake Plants, from Clemson