So random

Time for more random observations.

I had such a hard time keeping this pot wet enough this summer. Now I can't keep it dry! (I want to get some of the water out so I can bring this indoors, but it just keeps raining!)

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Not a terrible problem to have I know.


This is the third or fourth mantis egg case that I've found:

The ones that are in bad spots (like on the gate where it would be crushed) are now in a jar in the refrigerator.


I do love seeing this japanese maple's branching structure all winter long:

Nice that a few leaves are still hanging on too, adding a bit of color.


Speaking of color, I don't know what I'd do all winter without bamboo in the garden:

It's nearly evergreen, and looks great in snow -- if we get any this year that is.


Moving indoors, an experiment of mine may actually be working:

That's the top of my Melianthus major, stripped of most leaves and stuck into some soil after pruning. For the first couple of days it was a droopy, sad thing, but then it perked up:

Does that mean that it's starting to root? I hope so but won't know until new growth appears. It would be so nice to have another of these (for free) next year, as I want to experiment with leaving one in the ground, mulched over winter in a protected spot. This was one of my favorite new (to me) plants last year.


Speaking of growing roots, the small space in front of the kitchen window contains cuttings in water:

The spearmint of course rooted (just try to stop mint from rooting!) but I had no idea about the purple Aerva sanguinolenta...

Success! (In at least one of the three cuttings) I am overwintering the parent plant in the garage, but in case that doesn't work it's nice to know I can get some cuttings as backup plants. Definitely want this around next year!


Finally...

This Dracaena marginata must be happy, as it keeps putting out new growth from the base! That's the third one! (The cats love these low ones, biting the leaves until the stems get too tall -- which takes a couple of years. They're happy about the constant new growth too!)


If I could just focus on one thing for a while...

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