Thursday, January 22, 2015

Haste Makes Waste

It seems to be a pretty easy winter so far in this part of Ontario.  It's been cold - but the storms are either to the north or south of us.  The warm and cold systems usually collide several times in January giving us snowfall.  This year they're running parallel to each other - not great for so many folks in the US to the south and for Canadians further north.  

With the colder weather Bart has been getting lots of use of his new sweater for which he seems remarkably ungrateful. Could almost see the smile on his face as he realized that this would be a naked-dog-walk-day which always makes him infinitely happier. 

Pretty grasses down the street:


Amazing how close in colour this vine is to the tree trunk:



Just noticed that little black bit stuck in the tree?  What on earth is it?  Almost looks like a wine cap.


Which brings me to the title of this post.  Last fall I did a rather poor garden tidy-up.  With the ash tree coming down and waiting for ice-storm repair, my heart just wasn't in the final stages of gardening for the year.  I just dumped tender potted plants into the garage - including my Amaryllis bulbs.

Kevin had given me a beautiful pot of three of varying heights and colour arranged by Forget-Me-Not - a very fancy florist - here in Oakville for Valentine's Day.  I had had great success getting Amaryllis to rebloom last year.  So I figured I would be able to enjoy this treasure again this year.  I combined it and my first re-bloomer from last year, plus three end-of-season bulbs from Mum. Today was the day (long overdue) to bring them into the house and coax them back into bloom.

This is when the sad death-march music begins.  Because I discovered much to my shame I should have looked behind the magic curtain to see how this beautiful arrangement was put together:

The beautiful copper pot:


The plastic gizmo that kept the pot from being soaked:
In my defence, I thought that the bulbs where planted in this plastic gizmo and that it had drainage holes.


Oh no.  Each bulb was in its own pot:


There was pretty moss on top to hide the mechanics:


The pots were stapled together:
Now this is the sad part.  While our garage is part of our house, it gets its heat by association rather than by direct vents. And, I discovered 2/3 of these glorious bulbs, each the size of a good pot-roast were frozen.


These bulbs, though closer to the garage door, were not.  It would seem that the difference was drainage.


So I repotted the one non-frozen Amaryllis in a big-boy pot and positioned them all on the light table. Fingers crossed that I'll begin to see some life soon and I won't be completely punished for not taking better care of them.


Here's a shot from last year's rebloomer - sitting gloriously in the middle of what looks like the morning after the night before.  Lesson learned - should I ever wish to keep something from any sort of arrangement I must take it apart.  And, as tired as I am in the fall, I need to remember how I was rewarded by taking a little extra time at the end of 2013 garden's for last winter's spectacular blooms.


8 comments:

Barry said...

Try not to be too hard on yourself Barbara! I am only now wondering whether or not I will have my beloved Lilium napalense next Spring as I thought it a brilliant idea to simply turn the pot on its side, place it against the house and let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Supposed to be hardy, so why not. Hmmm. Lets see: mice, voles...... so yeah, sometimes our best intentions are foiled by these pesky unforeseen circumstances. As for Bart, I have to side with him.

Barbarapc said...

Thanks Barry. Fingers crossed for L napalense! Lots of frost on our old windows today. Looking like Hollywood snow - very beautiful.
B.

Beth at PlantPostings said...

Oh well, these things happen. Your blooms from last year were gorgeous! Our winter here in Wisconsin has been so much better than last year, when we had the polar events. This year the temps are closer to "normal" and we've had light snows here and there from week to week. I'm looking forward to meeting you at the Fling!

Donna said...

Oh we live and learn sometimes don't we and it is part of our life so I concur do not be hard on yourself. I learn by trial and error all the time and it is the best type of learning for me. I hope the one might bloom still for you. Very cold this winter still here but we are 3 feet behind in snowfall...just a few lake effect events but not as many as last year.

Barbarapc said...

PP - part of my n.y. resolution is that it not happen as frequently this year. Much easier year weather-wise that goodness. The Fling should be a blast, so looking forward to meeting you too!
Donna - am headed downstairs to have a little word with them. We got about 15cm of snow a few days ago - so very odd, driving into Toronto just 20k away - streets were absolutely bare - more scheduled for today 5-10 or so with some wind. Definitely an easier year than last! B.

Jennifer said...

I hope that the amaryllis that did not get frozen bloom for you Barbara. I was busy this fall and did not get my new fig tree some protection before the frosts hit. It could be a similar casualty come spring.

Victoria Williams said...

Well, we've all done something very similar, I'm sure. . I've never had an amaryllis rebloom. :-(

Barbarapc said...

Fingers crossed on that fig Jennifer. There's something about the end-of-season chores that just doesn't thrill me and many others. I'm thinking this year, I'm going to put some of these chores in the calendar to see if a little planning will save a few green lives. No doubt there will be a few early ends to some - but perhaps my percentage of "saves" will be improved?
B.