Late Bloomer

Somebody's thumb is turning green! It's about time, too, because a couple of weeks ago, my thumbs actually turned brown. No kidding. Too much time in the sun one week and I had spotty brown thumbs. Not cool.

It is probably true that our hydrangeas have acid reflux from the abundance of lime I poured in the soil, as indicated by the brown spots on the leaves. (Maybe I have acid reflux, too?) The lime is supposed to bring out the rich shades of blue and I NEEDED those baby blues. But.. my hydrangeas are still alive! Not only are they still alive but we have our first gorgeous bloom! A singleton! Our neighbors probably think there is something wrong with us because I keep going outside to look at it and then yell for Jeff to come look at it, while grabbing my camera. I then fight the urge to cut the thing and throw it in a mason jar. I almost wish I were kidding about all this, but it's 100% true.

I really need to figure out the chipmunk situation we are having because if one of those devilish cuties kill my only flower, I may need to take out the entire population. I keep finding holes close to the root of the plant and in the mulch. They have even mustered the courage to dig up my school plants that are temporarily living on the front porch and we all know how I am with repotting plants The only solution that I've found includes a ramp and a bucket of water. We all know I would never be so cruel but they need to get a life.

While my solitary bloom is impressive, here's the real whopper of green thumb proof. Last year, we received a beautiful potted calla lily plant as a housewarming gift. I'm not sure why I receive so many plants as gifts. When the plant started dying, which was to be expected under my care, I began pulling the dead leaves off but the whole stem kept coming with. After I nearly ripped the whole thing out, I finally hit up Google. I discovered that apparently these are bulbs and I was to cut the stems and put the plant in a dry dark place and then pull it back out in the spring. Off to the garage it went until I discovered it when I took out the recycling, sometime in July. Um, happy spring! Well, there was a little green sprout in there even thought there was no sunlight or water.

I put it out on the counter and watered it and lo and behold, it grew. Then it grew some more. It won't stop.

It's actually a little out of control and experiencing some serious phototropism. (The adaptation that plants make when their stems bend towards the sunlight. I only know this because I am a science teacher, obviously not because of what a stellar gardener I am.) Like the rest of my plants that are supposed to flower, there's not a single bloom. Still, I am so impressed that I may buy another plant. Fall is coming and mums sounds nice to me. Perhaps I should get the pot that has been sitting in the garage since November. Maybe that is blooming, too! :)