My Plants

I was going through the pictures I had taken over the summer, and I found several good ones of my various different plants. This is not all my plants, mind you. I have many, many more (besides being known as the "Crazy Author" I am also known as "The Crazy Plant Lady"). These pictures were the best of the best for sharing, however. Except for one. I tried and tried and tried to get a picture of "Angel", a fern I saved from Wal-Mart a few months ago. But no matter what I did, how I placed her, or where I put her, she just refused to smile and give me a nice picture. She's a brat like that. I save her from a fate worse than death at Wal-Mart and what thanks do I get?? None. So, her picture is featured at the bottom. I just had to put it in, just because she looks so hideous compared to the rest. Thankfully, all my other plants are much more grateful and very photogenic.

Recently saved from dying of thirst in someone's back yard, I call this Aloe Vera "Dusty". He has made a fantastic recovery from being mostly dead.

This is a Bonsi tree which I call.... ahem.... "Marijuana". There is a LOOOONG  story behind that name, one which my dad was a big part of. But don't worry. No real Marijuana was involved.

This is my favorite Bonsi tree which I call "Hobbit". I'm not sure what kind it is, but it is so tiny and cute, and it is quite happy being left alone. So many of my plants are needy and require extra attention, so it is nice to find an independent one occasionally. 

This is "Spike", a cactus that my Granny brought from work for me one day. I actually pet him sometimes and he quite enjoys it. His pot is where the kids tend to collect rocks and bugs of all sorts. But Spike doesn't mind. I think he likes the habitat they've built for him from their collections.

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Some cone flowers (unnamed) that did exceptionally well this summer. They made a very nice display for the 4th of July.

This is one of my butterfly bushes, and the only one that actually put on some blooms. I am going to transplant them soon to a new spot in the yard and see if they do better next year. They don't like where they are at.

The trumpet Vines crawling all over the house did fairly well this year. We actually got some rain this year, so they came out and gave us a bit of a show. The wasps loved them.

I saved some more cone flowers and some grass from Wal-Mart, and they actually did very well, despite the stupid cats laying on them all summer long. They made a great display for the yard gate!

Several people told me that they thought transplanting Indian Blankets, a native wildflower, was impossible. So, I decided to try it for myself. I took a walk, found several healthy specimens, and transplanted them. They lasted ALL summer long. I'm good. Admit it.

This is "Roni", an Ivy that I picked up somewhere a long time ago. Probably found it at Wal-Mart (that is the story of most of my plants). Weather this is the original Roni, or just a clone, I'm not actually for sure. Ivy are so easy to root. Just clip off a branch and put it in a glass of water. It takes care of the rest. I do it all the time with our ivy and succulent plants. So... this could be Roni #136 for all I know. But who cares? It posed pretty for me.

This is Jasmine. That is her real name. She's a vine. Tea is usually made of the flowers (though she did not produce any flowers this year). She is really quite an exotic beauty, in my opinion. I'm very proud of her.

This is the Greek of the bunch. Oregano has made the best tomato sauces this year. I think he should get an award for "most used and loved plant in the house".

Stevia... my dear little stevia. One week, it is overflowing out of the pot. The next week, it is like you see in the picture: barely there. It is such a funny little plant. We still have not learned which part is sweeter of this plant: the leaves or the stem.

I honestly have no idea what kind of succulent this plant is or where it came from. All I know is that it loves this family. It grows EVERYWHERE. I have a little bit in the house, in a tiny little pot, and it is always happy and smiley. It particularly likes hanging out with Dusty for some reason...

Next to our Greek of the family, Basil is the next most used and loved. We use it for everything! It spends a majority of its time looking half dead in the kitchen window. My dad is always worried about it, but that is just the way it is.

.....This is "Angel". She is the fussy one of the family. She would not pose, would not smile no matter what I did, so finally I just hung her up and took a picture of her ugly frown. She wants to move to the bathroom, where she can get lots of humidity on a daily basis, but I haven't made the arrangements yet.