Autumn Grace #15: Reviving My Fall Flowers

I love to grow fresh flowers in my garden!

Unfortunately, I'm not exactly known

for having a green thumb,

even though my mother 

was an excellent gardener.

So many of the flowers I plant

don't thrive for one reason or another.

My zinnias looked so cute

in pots on the garden wall...

a few weeks ago, 

but they've been ailing.

Wrong amount of water?

Maybe...

Oh, I see a problem!

The pots are too small!

They are root bound!

Out of the pot and into the ground.

We'll see if they do better there.

I'd had the same problem 

with the lantana in these pots before.

In the ground, they're doing just fine.

I  give up on those pots.

I'll use them inside for something else.

Instead, I'll put my ceramic pumpkins

on the garden walls.

Now about the purple mums!

I planted 24 a few weeks ago.

They have been looking a bit sick, too.

Lots of brown blooms or dried greens.

Some flopped over. 

Some were nearly dead.

I suspected we had 

not planted them correctly.

The soil is sandy and we hadn't

put them in deep enough either.

So I pulled most of them out,

dug the holes deeper,

and put in some fresh potting soil.

Then I had to even out the mulch

to cover over the sand I had displaced.

This is one of the better ones

after replanting.

Time to pinch off the dead blooms.

Pruning is good for the plant.

This is the same plant after "dead heading."

Doesn't it look much fresher?

Some were in such bad shape

that I had to pull off all of the flowers.

There's hope, though.

Look at all the little green buds!

I worked the dead flowers into the soil.

Maybe they will sprout.

That's what happened with my

gromphema plants last year.

They were totally dead.

I tossed the dry blooms on the ground,

and a few weeks later, 

was surprised to see they had sprouted.

I have three healthy plants 

grown from seed just like that.

Is this lizard

inspecting my work?

It's not exactly the most lush garden.

I wish I could blanket 

the entire area with plants.

But I use what I've got!

Life lessons?

(I'm philosophical.)

Bigger pot: 

We need room to grow.

Don't live life in a narrow box.

Better soil: 

We need the right nutrients.

Pruning the dead flowers: 

We need to get the ugly stuff out

so the rest can grow well.

Spreading the mulch: 

We need to fix what we mess up.

Seeding from dead flowers: 

We can have hope of renewal, 

even if it doesn't look that way.

 Working in a not-so-nice garden:

Life might not go well all the time,

but there is something we can do

to improve our situations.

It may not be perfect,

but it's better!

Grace and peace,

Virginia Knowles

www.ThisMomGrowsUp.blogspot.com