My sister and brother-in-law are in the traveling mood! They have bought a delightful camper trailer to tow behind their truck and are planning on seeing the country! It was a huge step for them to sell their house and downsize to a camper but they did it. I am proud of them! That did mean that she had to part with all of her beautiful plants, though. Susan has always been one that could take the dumpiest place and turn it into a showplace within just a short time. Her knack for helping plants grow to their full potential is amazing so parting with her "babies" had to be difficult. The fact that she brought several plants here honored me, to say the least, but, in a way, it also terrified me. While I love plants, too , and love puttering around in the greenhouse, I always keep "easy to grow" plants. She has ones that take work, skill and a good bit of luck.
One of the plants that she left with me was her prized African Violet. This thing was always full of blooms and so very healthy while at her house. This thing was also one that terrified me....especially when I read her instructions. "Keep the plant in a light place but not in direct sunlight. Do not let the temperature get below 60 degrees nor above 80 degrees and keep in a draft free place..." Uh, oh! That right there should have been warning enough. The Little Bayou House does not have central air conditioning nor central heat. We depend on open windows and Bay breezes for cooling. We depend of woodburning stoves for heat. During the first three nights that the plant was in my care, the temperatures dipped into the 30s and I left it in an unheated portion of the house! Poor thing had to be shivering to its roots!
So I moved the cute little dish and its priceless occupant to the greenhouse. At least there, the lighting was perfect! The nighttime temperatures have been in the 60s so we are good there but.....but today while I was watering the plants, I noticed that the thermometer read 87 degrees! Aaack! What was I supposed to do now?
I looked at my ward and asked if it was sweltering. No answer. I did, however, notice that it had bloomed! Hey! Perhaps I am doing something right! Perhaps the plant likes the greenhouse! Or, perhaps, the plant is just giving its one last hurrah before its demise.....I hope not....I truly hope not. Please little African Violet, try your best!
Living on the Bayou, we very rarely see snow. Last year, we did have ice storms but not snow. This is all fine and dandy except if you want to make a snowman. I think in my entire life, there was only enough snowman-making snow days maybe three times. Once when I was young child, Pop took all of the kids out and made a huge snowman! It was not particularly round but it was tall! Pop being over six feet tall still had to use the ladder to put the head on for us. It looked a lot like one tall, skinny tower but it was THE SNOWMAN! We were elated to say the least. Mom....not so elated. She wanted the front lawn to stay pretty and white for a little while at least. Poor Mom..the kids and Pop overruled and the snowman ate the snow from the yard in large swaths. Afterwards the yard was an unsightly mess of brown trails where Jack Frost had once laid a beautiful carpet of white. The other couple of years were not more than a "heavy frost" by most standards but down here, you take what you can get.
My "Bayou Snowman" is one that my sister gave me years ago as a Christmas gift. She has a knack for finding the perfect gifts to fit everyone's list. This snowman is not the typical "made of snow" type. It is constructed from tree bark. I know, I know. You can find these in most department stores nowadays but back when she bought it, the idea was a novel one. This "Rustic Christmas" idea was just starting to catch on as a trend. She knew that the Little Bayou House is and always has been decorated as such. Most of the decorations are handmade or found items...all are rustic. It is very fitting. Even this new trend of using burlap is nothing new here. I have been resorting to the stuff for every use possible for decades now. Burlap was easy to come by and cheap..both being requirements in my book. (It is not cheap any more since it has become quite chic which in itself tickles me. I see the most elegant of houses decked out in burlap and wood now. Sort of seems out of place when you think of it. I mean, come on, Folks..either you live rustically or you live elegantly. The Little Bayou House is rustic...definitely rustic.) Anyway, the little snowman sits beside two wire and grapevine Christmas trees. He holds a brown paper snowflake with a few more scattered about around him. Since the Bayou rarely sees snow, this little guy with his wooden top hat and moss scarf is perfect. He does indeed look like he belongs on the Bayou where style is rustic every day. It just goes to show....rustic is not just a trendy idea, it is a lifestyle and not every snowman is made of snow. Frosty has met his match and his name is "Woody"!
I absolutely love sharing plants with my sister, Susan. She has this uncanny knack for taking a withered, old stick and making it flourish and bloom within a matter of weeks. Her yard is landscaped to perfection and I have yet to ever see a single spot untidy. Of course, she is my only sister and sisters share everything but this is not the only reason I love sharing with her! I have a slightly ulterior motive or a bit of method in my madness, so to speak! You see, I found long ago that if I share something with her then my plant perishes, she is kind enough to return a rooted piece of the original plant! Now, isn't that the nicest thing you have ever heard? I think it is!
This all brings up a plant that is blooming in the yard today. Years and years ago, Aunt Marie and Uncle Alfred shared a bulb of their precious Lily of the Nile. Their plant grew to an unimaginable size and bloomed with the largest clusters of deep blue flowers that I had ever seen! It was absolutely gorgeous! When they dug a bulb for me, I was ecstatic! Mine did well and I garnered many compliments about the bloom. So I shared a rhizome with Susan! (Spread the joy!) The came along Hurricane Katrina and my Lily of the Nile was washed to parts unknown! I could not find a trace of the thing. This made me sad. Fast forward to this spring, I mentioned how I missed the plant to Susan. She immediately made a trip to the Bayou bearing not one but three bulbs! While I never thought the things would bloom this quick (she just brought them about a month ago), I was back to being ecstatic! Today, the thing is blooming its best! I love this lily!
Now I find that the thing could possibly have a few medicinal properties that I never knew before. It seems that the rhizomes can be used as an anti-fungal for both humans and rose bushes! (Odd combination!) The leaves promote healing and are purported to be an anti-inflammatory. The plant is being studied for use in many other instances. Now, I have never tried any of these but, hey, if ever the need arises and I cannot acquire other anti-fungal or anti-inflammatory agents, I can always turn to the plant! Maybe...I guess I had better research this a bit more! Still, if scientists can find a use for the Lily of the Nile, I am all for it! Me? I will just enjoy the beauty of a plant originally given to me by my aunt and uncle and once lost, replaced by my sweet sister!
