I’ve come to accept one thing about my skills. I am not a gardener. Oh no. While some of my plants have thrived (don’t ask me how), I am quite miserable at keeping my favorites alive.
For example hydrangeas shrivel up and die within weeks. “Forcing bulbs” indoors was a miserable failure as well. I even transplanted a fern that promptly wilted up.
Don’t let the ones still alive fool you. They’re just luring me into a false sense of security.
One thing I realized is that I am especially lured in by plants on life support. When they clearance out plants because of imminent death I can’t stop myself from buying them. Like this one for $1 at Wal-Mart.
Isn’t it pretty? So much potential.
For some reason getting plants that already on life support gives me a fall guy. Obviously if the plants die it was not MY fault but the slacker at the store who failed to keep the plant in good condition. If anything I’m just giving the plant a nice home for its last few weeks.
Plant hospice, if you will.
For the interior plants I most often get cut flowers from the store… like these white tulips
Actually tulips are one of my favorite flowers
And these lilies from Rob are one of my favorite flowers:
Despite the “mostly dead” status it’s always a little sad when I have to throw them out. Maybe I should start a flower graveyard and if any of them seed and resurrect it’ll be a miracle.
My wife and I used to say that we would not get pets until we could keep our plants alive, and that we would not have kids until we could handle plants. (Then, we had kids.) We still struggle with plants, though.