New plantings

 In the middle of May I mail-ordered some plants that I could not find in my local nursery. My husband was disappointed in the growth of the Alachua red climber rose I had planted to climb the arch trellis in the back yard. He loves the little dark red roses. I watered and fed it for several years and it just wasn't thriving. Plus the deer chewed on it regularly even though I sprayed it with Liquid Fence. 

So my husband researched and found a native vine called cross vine, with a pretty orange and yellow trumpet-shaped flower. Hummingbirds love it. Research showed that it is deer resistant and does not send out underground runners like trumpet vine does. So I ordered a cross vine plant and along with it a pink dogwood tree and a crinum lily variety. (Like I need more crinum lilies in the yard. I'm covered up with them. The seeds sprout easily.) 

The plants came and I opened the package, covered the roots in potting soil and watered them as instructed. Two days later, the horticulturalist who helps me at times planted them for me. The dogwood and the crinum lily sprouted leaves right away. The cross vine remained a brown stick. I watered the stick every day. I waited. I emailed the nursery. They said be patient, it's a very young plant, it could take up to two months. Almost exactly four weeks after the cross vine was planted, tiny purple buds appeared. The next day they were three times as big. Now the vines coming from the buds are about a foot and a half long and looking great. About a week before the buds appeared, we started having heavy spring rains. I thought tap water will keep it from dying, but the rain will really wake it up, and it did. 

I have a lot of garden clean up to do this summer and it's still raining almost every day. The summer is short for us this year, because school started weeks late due to the pandemic. We start at the usual time next fall. This year was strange with some students in person but most joining class remotely from home. In some ways it was a challenge to connect and in some ways the students engaged as much or as little as they would in person. Several of the students who came in person were deeply committed to being at school and came all year. They had passionate and funny debates about silly things that made me smile. 

I think next year will be a challenge in a different way, as we adjust to everyone being back in school. Some things will never be quite the same, and perhaps that's not a bad thing.