Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Of Lilies and Koi


Our first day lily bloomed yesterday. Our poor day lilies face challenging circumstances -- they're sun-loving plants, but they grow in a part of the garden that has become heavily shaded by blackberry, climbing roses and a few other things. In the early spring they get plenty of sun but by midsummer, when they're supposed to bloom, they're practically buried in foliage. Last year, Dave transplanted some of them to a sunnier spot, and this bloom came from the transplants. The originals -- which were here when we moved in -- haven't bloomed yet. And I don't want to clear out the blackberries because I eat them!

Speaking of lilies, on June 23 I ordered a second canna lily, a variegated type with purple-and-yellow streaked leaves. It was on sale for £4.99 from a gardening website I'd never used. I waited, and waited, and finally, yesterday, it arrived:


Now, isn't that just the saddest plant you've ever seen? Here it is from another angle, after I repotted it:


Here's hoping it bounces back. I'm not impressed with the quality of the merchandise.

Some people mentioned in comments on yesterday's post that they've never been able to see the "koi pond" widget on my blog, in the sidebar on the right. Just to give you a sense of what it's supposed to look like, as well as to preserve it in my own memory -- in case it does stop working because of the abandonment of Flash technology -- I made a little video, complete with pseudo-Asian music courtesy of iMovie.


Of course this deprives you of the interactive element -- "feeding" the fish -- but you get the idea. I love how the koi hungrily follow the cursor! To give credit where credit is due, this widget was developed by a guy named Adam Bowman.

And this is one reason I love blogging -- I taught myself how to make a screencast video in Quicktime in order to make this recording. I learn so much indulging my stupid little blogging whims!

Dave and I have been watching a German show on Netflix called "Dark," half sci-fi time-travel and half murder mystery. Have any of you seen it? It's really good, but it has a cast of thousands and I have a terrible time keeping track of all the characters and their relationships. I need a flowchart! I'm also still watching "Snowpiercer," but Dave abandoned that one -- he decided he didn't like it, and I must admit the idea of a monstrous train running endlessly around a depopulated, frozen planet is a little bizarre. I mean, London trains stop running when we get a light dusting of snow, not to mention myriad other routine mechanical failures!

18 comments:

Frances said...

I gave up years ago ordering plants from elsewhere as they were always disappointing.The worst time was when I ordered some " black" bamboo from a newspaper..The Telegraph I think it was. I had to wait 18 months as they were swamped with orders and had to grow some more......it finally came, I grew it on, waiting for the black to appear. Now probably 15 years later it is still green, normal stuff! The most recent online purchase was a winter flowering clematis that looked as if it had lovely red and cream flowers. My plant has only had one flower in 2 years and they are about half an inch in size!
Hope your garden is enjoying the rain? I watered mine yesterday so as to encourage some actual rain!!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

It's outrageous! No mention of Olga whatsoever in this blogpost! Surely you realise by now that regular visitors to this blog are not really interested in what you and Dave get up to. What we want to hear about is Olga! In fact, to make access easier, could you possibly change the blog title to "Olga's Blog" and stay on topic in future?

David said...

Ahh, so that is the koi pond! What a cute and quirky little game!

terry said...

"Dark" requires a flow chart,family tree or whiteboard summary to keep track of all the different characters and times. However, it is really good.Yesterday my husband and I decided that time travel to ANY other time would be preferable to our reality today.

Moving with Mitchell said...

OK, will not try "Dark." SG can't keep track of 7 characters in a series. "Have we seen him before?" "Who's she?" "Do we know her?" "Is he new?" I'd probably add another murder to the storyline.

Ms. Moon said...

That canna will do fine, I imagine. It is rather sad but hopefully, it'll be all the more exciting when it starts to come back.
Glen and I watched "Uncut Gems" in the course of two evenings (movie with Adam Sandler NOT being funny AT ALL) and I'm so glad it's over.
Too much, too much.
I'm having a hard time finding something to watch that I like. Either too dark or too light. We've got enough darkness these days but if it's too silly it just feels stupid.
First world problem for sure.

Michael said...

Hopefully you can save the canna lily! Thanks for the TV show mentions. I am looking for something else to watch. I just finished Love, Victor on Hulu. It really is a teen type of show, but that's what I deal with in my job. Not sure if you get Hulu in the UK.

Red said...

Well , now I know why my lilies don't bloom. the juniper are shading them.

Edna B said...

My goodness, such a sad looking plant. However, I'm sure it will blossom nicely with your care. I do like your Koi pond. I used to have a juke box on my blog and lots of music, but for some reason it was removed. I do miss it. As for TV, I mostly stick to the old re-runs. I'm not into most of the new stuff. Sometimes, I just listen to music. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

Sharon said...

That lily is looking good. I used to feed the koi quite often when I was blogging on my old computer. This one doesn't have flash so it doesn't work any longer. I hadn't heard of that Netflix show but I did finish an Italian one called The Trial. It was interesting with lots of twists and turns.

Anonymous said...

That is one very sad looking lily. I really hope you do your Steve-magic on it and it thrives in the abundance of love it will receive.

Linda Sue said...

If that little plant does not perk up in your care it is certainly no fault of your own! I remember feeding your koi every time I read your blog and doubled up when you went on holiday somewhere. They amused me , I am a simple person...

Sabine said...

That lily is a rip off, seriously, But I have no doubt that you will help it back to life.

We watched Dark season 1 together but I have been left on my own with season 2, currently on episode 7, and if I don't watch one episode a day I get lost. I usually read the recaps online and look at the family trees online and I am still confused but it's so weirdly familiar and so German without really being German.

jenny_o said...

Re your reply to my comment yesterday, the following sentence is in the "read more" notice that currently appears on legacy Blogger:

"By late July, creators will no longer be able to revert to the legacy Blogger interface."

I think that means exactly what it says. By the end of the month, no one will have a choice anymore.

Your new lily looks healthy enough at the base, and that's probably all that counts!

Anonymous said...

I remember how once snow stopped Eurostar. Snow in Europe? Who would have thought that would happen? It is the same here. Our trains stop when it is hot or rains heavily. I think the plant will come good, but it should have been delivered in a much better condition.

Catalyst said...

Koi gives him joy, and also moi. O.K. so it doesn't rhyme.

I like the look of the new Canna Lily.

Steve Reed said...

Frances: Yeah, online plants are always a gamble. We normally order ours through the RHS (Crocus), and even those can be iffy. (Like our heuchera!)

YP: I'm trying to give both Olga and my readership a break! LOL

David: Yep, that's it! It's a peaceful diversion!

Terry: It DOES sometimes seem that way, although I suppose we might have the Black Death or the Spanish Inquisition to deal with! (Not to mention Hitler.) As much as I dislike Trump and his authoritarian bullishness, we still have it pretty good overall. So far.

Mitchell: OK, that describes ME watching "Dark." And normally I don't have problems with these things. So yeah, it might not be SG's show!

Ms Moon: I really liked "Uncut Gems," as brutal as it was. (I'd read reviews so I kind of knew what to expect.) Adam Sandler is a better actor than anyone gives him credit for.

Michael: The last time I checked, we don't get Hulu here. But that was ages ago. "Love, Victor" might be available on another streaming service here. I'll have to look! If you like teen type shows, you might like "The Politician" on Netflix. Have you seen that?

Red: Yes! Day lilies need sun!

Edna: It's a shame some of these blog widgets live their lives and then expire as technology moves on.

Sharon: Yeah, I heard that from more and more people -- they used to see the koi and no longer do. Hence the video, preserving them forever! I don't know "The Trial." I'll look for it. (Why do all Netflix shows have one-word titles?)

Robin: Fingers crossed! I hope it's more durable than it looks!

Linda Sue: I remember you being a fan of the koi! Feed them while you still can. Who knows how long they'll be around.

Sabine: We're in almost the exact same place in the series. It seems VERY German to me, kind of philosophical and somber. Nietzsche could have written it!

Jenny-O: Oh, yikes! I didn't see that sentence. I thought we would have access to it in perpetuity. Ugh.

Andrew: The British are very weird about snow. It's just rare enough in England that when it happens, everyone thinks it's a crisis. (The Scots probably handle it better!)

Catalyst: Ha! Well, you get points for effort. The lily will be nice when (if) it leafs out more.

Michael McEwen said...

Yes, I've seen the Politician. I have only watched the first season. The second season is in my queue of what to watch.