Grocery Store Rose Blooms Again!

It happened again! The miniature rose plant that we bought at the Giant grocery store five years ago bloomed. This plant was first placed in the dining room for two years or so, and then it was moved out to the balcony. My husband has given it tender loving care since the beginning. He prefers one small flower to a full garden. We used to have a large garden in the Midwest, then a small patio garden on Capitol Hill, and now a couple of window baskets on our balcony. This is the first year that our coco lined baskets have not been filled with annual flowers. The mockingbirds, doves and crows are pilfering off the coco liner for other uses. The only thing left in the basket is some ivy and one viola that survived the winter. I just don’t feel like dealing with the mess of it all. So it’s really nice to have the tiny flowering rose bloom again. Since March there were signs of rejuvenation. Now there are four stages of bud to full bloom in this little plant. And it usually blooms at least twice during the summer. Most often these plants don’t last past one season. But in our house it has defied the odds. And I know the reason why. 

The Orchid Has Bloomed

We got an orchid plant from my brother and SIL as a housewarming gift when we moved to northern Virginia from Capitol Hill five years ago. The flowers lasted the usual life span. Bur ever since that first flowering, it never bloomed again - until Valentine’s Day. What I thought was just another root turned out to be a spike in October. We watched it mature from nothing to a large branch that eventually had five flowers. It’s amazing how long it took for the spike to grow - and then in such a short time, each bud opened just a couple of days apart. So I took photos of each of the five flowers  - comparing them to see if they were identical or a little different. They all look pretty much the same, but there are subtle changes in the design shapes on the petals. I hope the flowers last for a long time - and I am almost afraid to cut the spike again once they fall. Orchids are tricky to keep going. If nothing else we were fortunate to see another showcase. 

The Miniature Rose

He did it again! It’s not something that happens all of the time. We bought a miniature rose plant two years ago. We thought it would add a bit of color to all of the greenery sitting on the plant console table. The blooms lasted for a while. Then we cut it back and it returned the favor again. My husband took this little plant on like no other. He tended to it like no other. He would move it back and forth from the console table to the sunny window during the winter. He got two more blooming times from it. Then we decided it was time to get a real console table in the dining room and the plants were scattered throughout the house. The miniature rose plant ended up on the balcony with a full western sun. The plant bloomed again in the spring. We cut it back another time - and wouldn’t you know - it budded for a sixth time and now is in full bloom. Even with the exceptionally hot summer the plant survived under the tender loving care it received. It looks healthier than ever. I’m not sure how much longer it will survive, but it’s been rewarding us with buds and blooms for quite a while. When you have so few plants you really pay attention to their health and well being. And how pretty they are! 

The Myrtles Are In Bloom!

It's that time of year again. One can't help but notice the beautiful myrtles all over town. They must be a southern tree flower, as I don't remember them in Wisconsin. But every year at this time I can't help but pay attention to the white, red, pink, purple, and various shades in between of myrtles in front of government buildings and all around the neighborhood. Some are tiny and just starting out, while others are clumped together in huge bunches. Others are evenly spread in front of a very long white structures. When we walked this morning we passed by the Library of Congress, the Senate Office Buildings, parks, and neighborhood homes big and small. The tress really look magnificent against the traditional Capitol Hill architecture. We once visited the Myrtles "haunted" plantation in Louisiana a long time ago. It gave me the creeps. So there remains some mystery behind the name - for me anyway! Nevertheless, with or without the ghosts the myrtles looked lovely on a day like today. I'm not sure how I would feel if we took this same walk at 3 AM. But who would?

Springtime on the Mall

It's been a while since we walked on the Mall. The last time was before Christmas to see the Capitol Christmas tree. Now the tree is coming down and it hardly felt like winter. All along the way there were signs of spring everywhere. The birds were rustling about in front of the US Botanical garden, and the flowering trees were in full bloom in front of the air and space museum. The long shadows gave away the winter calendar, but everything else was decidedly another time of year. The cherry blossoms were out, but where were the crowds typically flocking around them? On the way back through the garden pond, a pair of ducks were feasting on whatever they found in the muddy water. He was keeping a keen eye out for her as the children tried to get a bit too close. It was a lovely walk and one less winter month to endure - which was one of the biggest reasons we left the Midwest. I could take this kind of winter anytime!