End of an era...er, violet

Do plants have a natural lifespan in captivity? I am going to go ahead and say they do to make myself feel better. This sad, dead plant was once a very amazing rescued African Violet that has been doing great for about 8 years and blooming consistently for the last 4 1/2 years. I didn't change anything. It's just started to die.

RIP rescued violet. You outlived all expectations.

Gorgeous Bird of Paradise

My bird of paradise plant that I've had in a pot for about 7 years surprised me today with a perfect bloom! I get about one a year, and this one is gorgeous.

Bob's Nicotania

The Jenny, Guest Blogger

The pride of Bob's Summer is his backyard Nicotania. He waters it faithfully and it gives me great hope that there is a gardener in him somewhere. The crop of Nicotania comes back stronger every year. It's one of the few volunteer plants we've allowed to remain in our revamped/replanted/non-lawn backyard. The resident carpenter bee loves this stuff. The color is so very intense! A glowing, electric magenta. The flowers are wide open in the morning, which is the best time for viewing. It's a lovely addition to our Summer landscape.

Orchid fail

I killed it. I'm sorry. It used to look like this. Now it looks worse. I figure it just too damn small for me. I can't keep it watered enough. Heavy sigh.

Leopardy Orchid Rebloom

The Jenny, Guest Blogger

This completes my own Orchid Challenge! My trusty Brassia orchid is one of the highlights of my fledgling collection. Even the flower buds are spotted. When they open up, they bust out into a leopardy, spiky, shock of awesomeness. They fade a little faster then some of my other orchids, but their death is interesting too, the spots all morph into a solid plum color.

Ficus Tree, Triming Time

Time to trim the giant ficus. I rescued this pitiful tree years ago and now it's about 8 feet tall and doing very well.

It starts to get a little rangy every 6 months or so. This time it turned pear shaped and looked way better after trimming off a generous amount.

Before

After

Green Orchid

The Jenny, Guest Blogger

This bloom puts me very close to completing my own Orchid Challenge! A green Dendrobuim orchid. I love this one because it is so very long lasting and has fabulous yellow-green flowers (my favorite) with pale purple beards. It think we got it from Trader Joe's about three years back and this is its third re-bloom. Woot!