New Plants
There’s a new plant in the garden, False Leaf Mallow. My son grew them from seed, and we planted them by the old water trough deep in the shade of the big oaks. There are two at the moment and both are doing well. There are buds that I assume will flower or maybe they come out at night. I’ve yet to see them, although I know they’ll have a tint of orange. With luck they’ll re-seed and we’ll have a stand of them much like we do with the coral sage, who now own a large portion of the same ground the mallows occupy.
It’s always interesting to put new plants in the ground and see how they do. My silver pony foot has escaped it’s pots and grows wild as a new ground cover, but I’m unsure of its future because it seems tied more tightly tied to water than the competitors who occupy the adjoining space. Perhaps it is destined to only be a spring plant, brought in to start the season and then left to wander in the summer wilderness if it has the grit. We’ll see.
Meanwhile the cool nights signal our descent into winter. The days are growing short, and darkness approaches. At some point there will be a frost and the ground will grow bare as plants retreat into their roots. Sometimes I wish I had a pile of roots I could hide in for a while, but maybe that’s what a home is for. Shelter in place. But that’s just a sometimes thing. I’m actually looking forward to Christmas this year. It’s going to be bright lights and music with children both large and small, and friends, too. January and February will be another story, but I’ll figure something out. There’s bound to be a light somewhere.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale