Indoor Gardening ~ The Meyer Lemon Tree

 Last spring I picked up a Meyer Lemon tree at the local garden center.  At the time it might have been a foot tall. Rather puny for the price.  I located it in a sunny spot on the patio and made sure it received adequate water throughout our long, hot summer.  It thrived out there and doubled, if not tripled, in size.

With the prospect of frost on the horizon, it was time to find a new home for it.  So, I hosed it off and gave it a thorough spray with insecticidal soap in an attempt to keep any creepy crawlers from coming in with it.

Next I located the sunniest window in the house and moved it to it's winter digs.

 Here it is near the bedroom window.

My new routine includes getting those shades up as soon as the sun shines in this direction.  Most mornings I give it a light misting of water to provide it with the humidity it likes.  While misting away I check it over to see if I see any cobwebs or bugs.

I'm hoping to keep it thriving inside until next spring when it can return to it's outdoor home.

Currently it looks content in it's new home.

The leaves are big and glossy green.

This isn't the first time I've overwintered a lemon tree.

You can read about the last attempt here.  That time it was covered in buds and I was pondering the right fertilizer for it.  I went to the garden center and asked for a recommendation.  They sent me on my way with citrus spikes.  Not long after popping the spike in the soil the plant turned brown and died.  In hindsight that spike was way too big for the potted plant.  It was better suited for an inground tree.  I tried taking the spike out and babying it but the damage was done.  RIP!  :/

After nurturing the plant along I had such high hopes for that first lemon. :(  Not to mention I felt so guilty for ending it's life like that.

So, this time I am determined to meet with success.

Because they do need fertilizer to produce those luscious lemons, I went to a different garden center and found this granular version.  Now I can have better control over how much it receives at each feeding.

I also found this fantastic article on the subject.  I am trying to follow her advice to a tee.

I'll keep you posted.  If you don't hear more about it, it might be best not to ask ;).

My fingers are crossed for lemon bars and lemonade next summer.

🍋🍋🍋

Please chime in if you have any experience with this topic.

Any advice is welcome.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Puttering with Plants

 

Wednesday is plant watering day around here.

I find a weekly visit with the watering can seems to do the trick with my houseplants.  I chose Wednesday as it starts with W ... just like water.  Makes it easy to remember which day I did this task last week.  Kind of like how I give Peanut her heartworm pill on the 10th of the month because that is the day of the month that my sons and grandson were born on.  At this stage of life, it helps to do these little association tricks.  At least for me it does.  How about you?

Normally by this time of year my one and only geranium would be taking up residence in the garage or be relegated to the compost heap.  This year it was so mild right through Christmastime, that I left it on the front porch where it continued to put out smallish red blooms.   Now that we are getting some colder weather I decided to bring it in and since it was loaded with buds it bypassed the garage and is being moved into my bedroom where we can enjoy watching those buds open.

It should feel right at home in there near my Meyer Lemon Tree which is also hanging out indoors next to the window.  This is the second year I've moved the lemon tree inside.  It dropped about half of it's leaves last month, which is normal.  Now it seems to have leveled off and is doing quite well.  I try to remember to mist it with water periodically too.

 

I noticed today that it is putting out some buds.

I look forward to seeing whether they will eventually turn into lemons.

I have yet to grow a lemon on this tree and I'm not quite sure why.

In the spring I move it back to the patio where I make sure it receives adequate water and fertilizer throughout the spring and summer.  Last spring it was covered in blossoms and I was envisioning a large lemon crop.  Before the lemons formed a storm blew all the blossoms off and that was the end of that.  My next plan is to look for fertilizer specifically for citrus trees.

Have any of you had any success with the potted lemon trees? 

The sun shines nicely in our bedroom which makes me and the plants happy.

The amaryllis bulb my sister sent for Christmas has doubled in size since I moved it from the mantle to the bedroom table.

 The plump bud is just popping out of the "earth".

The landscape outside may be a bit dormant, but in here signs of life are popping out all over.  A hopeful sign as I sit here in my sweater sipping a warming cup of tea. 

Come in From The Cold

 

 Not long after moving to North Carolina, I learned (through an article in Southern Living) the secret to getting your holiday cactus to re-bloom every year.  They recommended moving it outside for the summer into a mostly shaded spot.  It should stay there until just before the first frost when it will then be brought into the house and given a home in a cooler room out of direct sunlight.

I brought mine into the garage for a few days to acclimate to the slightly warmer temperature before bringing it into the warm house.  I also sprayed it good with an insecticidal soap.

When I brought it in it was covered with tiny buds.

The above photo was after it had been in the house for a week or so.  You can see the blooms are about ready to open.

 I placed it in my living room which is always on the cool side and gets very little sunlight.

It's been a busy week and I haven't been in the living room much.

Until last night that is.

I sat down to read and looked across the room to see this:

As you can see it doesn't take long for the buds to turn into blossoms once it is in the house.

So pretty and I like the way it is brightening up the corner in this dark room.

Speaking of dark rooms, I broke the cardinal rule of blogging and used the flash in this photo.  It was that or a very dull and drab photo.  Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do :-).

While I was taking photos I couldn't help but notice how pretty the inside of this tea cup is and it coordinates well with the cactus.

I brought one more plant into the house for the winter.

It's a Meyer Lemon Tree.

I bought this one from QVC last spring.  I had been wanting one and happened to be watching one of their gardening shows when they explained everything I needed to know about growing it.

It spent the spring and summer on the patio and doubled in size.

It came with a nice booklet of growing instructions which I am keeping in a handy spot.

It will now spend the winter in the sunniest window in the house.

It is normal for it to shed many of it's leaves, which it has just started to do.  Once it goes back outside next spring the new leaves are supposed to pop out quickly.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Have you grown a Meyer Lemon Tree before?  Any words of advice?  I hear the flowers are supposed to smell wonderful.  I'm looking forward to that.

 Now that it is the time of year to spend more time indoors, I am planning to renew my efforts to work on a long neglected project.

We won't even discuss when this Christmas cross stitch project was started.  I can't really figure out why I don't just stick with it until it's done.  I think I'll just blame it on my eyesight.  It's a lot harder to see those tiny holes than it was when I used to love to cross stitch.

Anyhoo, I saw something on HappyOne's blog that has inspired me to get to it.  She will be posting a picture of her weekly progress on one of her cross stitch projects every Saturday.  You can read about it here .

If you read her blog you already know that she whips out afghans and dishcloths and all sorts of beautiful things at record speed.  She will no doubt have her large cross stitch piece done long before mine.  However, I think doing a weekly update on progress could be just the thing to hold me more accountable to finishing this project in time for Christmas.  It might not be til Christmas of 2014 or even 2015, but sooner or later it shall get done.  

Once completed it should look something like this:

Kind of hard to see, but the angel's skirt is a Christmas tree.

The sentiment is  Enter Friend and Welcome Be Share Warmth and Joy Beneath our Tree.

 Wish me luck (I have a feeling I'm going to need it ;-).

When Life Gives You Lemons ...

Late last fall when it was time to bring my Meyer Lemon inside for the winter, there were two lovely lemons waiting to be picked.  Not a huge harvest, yet very exciting as I have been trying to grow them for years with limited success.

I put them into the fridge waiting for just the right recipe to use them in.  While two lemons from the grocery wouldn't be all that exciting, these were like a prized treasure to me :).  

Anyhow, the fall and winter holidays came and went.  The lemons were still in the fridge.  Clearly something needed to be done before they were no longer edible.

Yesterday I decided to quit waiting for the perfect recipe to present itself and just think of something with lemon in it that sounded appealing.  Something with blueberries came to mind.

I consulted my Cooking Light cookbook and decided on lemon blueberry muffins.

The lemon glaze was the "icing on the cake muffin".  It added such a sweet/tart fresh lemon flavor.

One lemon and it's zest were used.  One remains in the fridge.

Amazingly, they were still very fresh and full of juice.

I suppose that has to do with being homegrown rather than traveling great distances to reach the grocery store.

All ready for the weekend.

If you were here I'd offer you one.

Since that's not the case, I can offer the recipe here.

With our recent stretch of warm weather, the lemon tree has been enjoying the patio.  The five lemons that were growing last fall are still there along with many flower buds.  Exciting!!

I think I better start collecting the lemon recipes now.

Do you have any to recommend?

Hope your weekend is enjoyable.

Snowdrops and Sunshine

Last fall I was on a mission to find and plant snowdrop bulbs.

Having no luck at the local garden centers, I finally found a mail order source.  When it comes to bulb planting in the fall I have good intentions, but often fail to get any planted.  Then when spring rolls around I wonder why I didn't make a better effort.

Snowdrops are something I had never planted.  In fact it's only been in the last few years that I've come to know about them.

After seeing them on some of your blogs, I fell in love with their delicate beauty and knew I needed to add them to my garden.

I'm so happy to report that this was one mission that was accomplished.

Currently they are blooming alongside some grape hyacinths in the little courtyard across from the kitchen.

Behind them are the tulips getting ready for their moment of glory.

I love this time of year when the earth is awakening from it's winter dormancy and new life is to be discovered on a daily basis.

 The lengthening daylight hours are also bringing a bit of new life to the lemon tree.  I am encouraged by this new growth after all of the TLC I have been giving it over the fall and winter.

Even more encouraging is this little bud that has formed.

Actually there are two.  I check on them every day to make sure they haven't fallen off or shriveled up.  So far so good.  Now if I can keep things going until next month when the tree can be moved back outside I might even see a little lemon crop.

🍋🍋🍋🍋

After an extra rainy winter we are enjoying a sunny day today.

This little birdie on my neighbor's rooftop seems to be basking in the sun's warming rays.

Spring is on it's way.

Hooray!!

🌷🌞🐦

Spring Things and Strange Things

 

I'm on a mission today to share a bit of southern Springtime with all of you who may be fed up with old man winter.

As our temperatures have started to rise the pansies on my patio have responded favorably.  A week or two ago there were no flowers to be found.  Now with a little bit of liquid fertilizer and alternating rain and sun, they are putting on quite a colorful show.  I have them planted with Swiss Chard which is also making a great comeback after sitting idly all winter.  I'll be adding a few leaves to my vegetable soup this evening.

The first of the flowering trees came into bloom this week.  I think this is a flowering cherry of some sort.  So pretty when in bloom, but the blooms usually come and go in the course of a week.

Look quick or they'll be gone until next year.  Fleeting beauty... like so many of the spring flowers.

Some of the daffodils are nearing the end.

Others are just beginning to put on their show.

My knock out roses are in the center of the photo under the hummingbird feeder.  A couple weeks ago I pruned and fed them.  Can't wait until they come into bloom.

Last fall I planted one of those mixed bags of bulbs here (purple and pink hyacinth and some grape hyacinths).  I wanted to get down there and take some close-ups for you.  That plan got scrapped when it started raining.  Instead you get a cropped landscape shot.  To the left and behind the bulbs you can see little green buds on the Endless Summer Hydrangeas. 

At this time of year, I'm itchin' to be outside playing in the dirt.

I've planted some lettuce, kale, cilantro, radishes and peas in my raised bed.  

Inside I have some more seeds started just waiting to get big enough to be transplanted outside and . . .

 

the Meyer Lemon Tree looks longingly out the window hoping to make a permanent home on the patio soon.

She spent the winter right in front of this sunny window.  Outside of losing about half of her leaves (to be expected) she is doing well.  Can't wait to pick my first lemon.

Adding a touch of Springtime to the front porch.

 

A simple forsythia wreath for the front door.

This one came from Michael's (40% off sale).  

I guess that concludes Spring Things for today.  If old man winter doesn't hit the road soon, I'll see what else I can come up with to send your way.  We'll force him out one way or another ;-).

Now, about those strange things...

Imagine the following scenario:

You fix an impromptu dinner for guests.  In my case it was my grown son and his girlfriend. (not really guests, but sort of :).  That dinner just happens to be chili in the crock pot.  You're feeling good that you had all of the ingredients on short notice and it tasted really good to boot.  There is one serving left.  Not enough to offer son to take home (a blessing in disguise).

A few days later you are happy to heat that one serving for your own lunch.  Especially happy because you've been babysitting your grandchild all week and cooking time has been scarce.  While he is napping you are happily enjoying your bowl of chili until you discover something a bit... well... hard to chew in your mouth.  Thinking it seems a bit big for gristle you discreetly extract...

   

~ Exhibit A ~

A rubber grommet?

In my chili?

I have no earthly idea how that got in there.

Could it have been in the can of beans, the tomatoes, the tomato sauce??

All I do know is that I'm thankful it was me who (almost) ate it.

I'm also thankful I didn't send the leftovers home with my guests.  I'd hate to have to try and explain that one.

Documenting October

October has been such a lovely month here this year.  One sunny day seems to follow the next bringing with it the highly anticipated autumn leaf color change.

It occurred to me this morning that I haven't done a single post to document the month.  By this time next week we'll be into November.

So, before the last few days slip away, a few notes to remember October...

I don't do much in the way of Halloween decorating, but this small display houses the pieces I have held onto through the years.  The little ghosts are Gurley candles that were from Brett's childhood.  The others were things I bought when my own boys were kids.  Looking at them brings happy memories.

The other day I went looking for a few hydrangeas to dry.

Most of them looked well past their prime.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a few on the backside of one plant.  They were at the bottom and pressed up against the house.  Once I wrangled them out of there, I was rewarded with four large blooms sporting pretty autumn colors.  They are now on display on the foyer table.

While I was out there I took a look at all of the plants.

Another nice surprise was a few raspberries ripening.

Somehow knowing that the frost will be coming anytime now makes these berries even more precious to me.  I will be watching them closely as they ripen in hopes of eating them before the birds find them.

When we brought the lemon tree back to the patio in April it had five green lemons on it.  They have only recently turned yellow.

Soon it will return to it's winter home in the garage.  This time it will have 8 green lemons and many blossoms.

The last of the furniture arrived this week.

It will be so nice to all be able to sit at the table for the holidays.

In celebration I made cauliflower ham soup and a batch of pumpkin muffins.  Brett and I gave it a test drive and declared it all good.

Ready to head into November and the holiday season.

 

These Days

These days are so different from life as we have known it for so many years.  These days Brett watches tv from morning to bedtime.  He eats all of his meals there never venturing into the rest of the house or outside.

These are the patio chairs we sat in most summer evenings watching the birds and commenting on the state of the garden, our plans for the days and weekends,  The first thing he always did was turn on the bird app to see who was making all of the various bird calls we heard.

Now, I sit here alone.

I still watch the birds and the state of the garden, but I struggle with feelings of deep sadness so it has also become a place to let the tears flow.

In trying to understand why he no longer wants to come out of the tv room, I have concluded that this is the way he is dealing with the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis and I respect that.  I can't even imagine how I would deal with such an overwhelming diagnosis.

Keeping connected to the garden helps to bring a slight sense of normalcy to the days while also providing a distraction from the constant caregiving.  The tiny fig plant that was given to me by a neighbor a few years ago is now bearing it's first fruit.  

The Meyer Lemon tree looked completely dead after spending the winter in the garage.  I gave it a few weeks on the patio and got tired of looking at it so I chopped it down to a more manageable size to be able to carry it to the trash can.  Before I got it there, I noticed a few green shoots popping up at the base.  I decided to let it spend the summer on the patio to see what would happen.  It is now close to two feet tall and looking as healthy as can be.  That was a happy surprise.  Now to see if it produces any lemons.

The garden has more weeds than I like these days.

When time allows I work on eradicating them.

As I tug and yank on them I visualize eradicating ALS.  Wishful thinking, I know, but sometimes it helps for a moment.

Bringing in a few flowers after my weeding sessions is a nice bonus.

Earlier this summer Jaxson and his daddy came for a visit.

Brett has changed so much since they last saw him at Christmastime.

I know it was sad for them to see.

We found many moments to create happy memories along the way.

Most importantly we celebrated Jaxson's 13th birthday.

He and I took several walks through the woods.  One day we sat on the swing and I smiled when he wanted to turn on the bird app.  We talked and talked.  It was wonderful to have this one on one time with him and learn more about his life.

Another exciting and happy moment was when we found out he will become a big brother later this year.  We have since found out that he will have a little sister.  Being a boy mom and grandma all these years I am over the moon to think that I can finally buy all of those adorable little girl clothes!!

I know that Brett is excited too, although he has expressed his fears of not being here for the baby's birth.  I pray that is not the case while knowing that he has reason to think this way.

Since January he has changed so much.

At his recent visit with the ALS team we learned that he now weighs 145.  Despite me doing everything I can to pack calories into his food, this disease speeds up the metabolism.  The dietitian told us that he would have to consume 2600 calories a day to maintain his weight.  That is a real struggle when the swallowing muscles are atrophying.  Scary choking incidents happen much too frequently.  His ability to cough effectively is nearly nonexistent so we now have a cough assist machine and a suction machine to help deal with this.

We also learned that his lung function/breathing numbers are down since our January visit.  Next month he will be getting a feeding tube.  If we wait much longer his breathing won't be good enough for them to safely do this procedure.  

These days are unpredictable, often exhausting, sad and not at all what we had hoped our first year of retirement would be like.

Saturday was our 45th wedding anniversary.

I realize that we are now in the "sickness" part of our vows.

Looking through our wedding album I had to laugh at this final photo in the album.  Partly because of how wedding photos have changed through the years and partly how that hand signal I am using has new meaning all these years later.

These days ALS is trying hard to steal Brett's voice.  Many times all that comes out is a whisper.  Most times I think it is tiring for him to speak so he often points to things or gives me a thumbs up sign.  Brett always loved to talk so this is particularly sad to me.

At bedtime he wears a non invasive ventilator to help his breathing while he sleeps.  Once we get the ventilator mask on and get him tucked into bed I want to make sure that he is comfortable before shutting out the light.  Trying to understand anything he says with the mask on is challenging so once he is situated he gives me two thumbs up followed by two okay signs.  

45 years ago I could have never imagined the new meaning that simple hand signal would take on.  So much has changed, but the LOVE remains and for that I am truly grateful.