Saturday, August 2, 2025

Hot Lips, Nicole and Ginger


Here's our Salvia "Hot Lips," which blooms almost all year in our garden. I don't often take pictures of it but it's a stalwart, providing these omnipresent airborne clusters of little red and white (and sometimes solid red or white) flowers. They hover in the background off the patio like moths.

Let's check in with a few other garden plants, shall we?


Nicole the Nicotiana has bounced back dramatically since her bout with bad drainage and overwatering earlier this year. I thought she was dead but some little sprouts appeared at her base, and soon enough we had two new bushy stalks. It looks like we may get flowers again before autumn.

I discovered why she got waterlogged -- in addition to her pot's drainage holes becoming gradually blocked over time, the Russians' automatic plant-watering system (which keeps their terrace plants hydrated) leaks and sprayed a jet of water right down onto Nicole every evening.

"Those people drive me crazy even after they've moved out," I told Dave.

I swapped Nicole's position on the patio with our tomato (at left), which can always stand a little more water. Hopefully now she's in a drier location, in addition to having better drainage.

Incidentally, we have several green tomatoes on the tomato plant but still no ripe ones. This is always our struggle growing tomatoes here in the UK. It's not hot enough for long enough. But we're hopeful we'll get some before autumn encroaches.


Here's the ginger I grew from a sprouting root. It is not a thing of beauty and joy forever. It has a few new sprouts but they're all doing that weird rolled-leaf thing. I'm just letting it sit out there for now but its future is not guaranteed if it doesn't start looking better.


Our avocado tree, on the other hand, is looking lush and healthy. It loves summers on the patio.


And finally, here's the "magenta spreen lambsquart" I transplanted from crack in the sidewalk in front of the house. It's not very big -- certainly not the promised five feet tall -- but it's surviving and I love that little blush of purple in the middle. That yellow leaf belongs to the honesty plant at right, which hopefully will be big enough to bloom next year. This pot has a lot of weird stuff in it -- there are also the brook thistles, which have died back to the ground entirely, and several tulip bulbs. And some weeds, because I am not a perfectionist.

We got a beautiful card from former blogger Vivian Swift, who painted Olga's portrait several years ago. She expressed condolences for Olga's death and said "your internet community feels your loss," which I thought was very touching. "The impact she had on people she didn't even know is a kind of magic," Vivian wrote. "Closer to home, I am sure that your girl knew how much she was loved as the heart of your household, just as she knew that her sweet soul will always be cherished."

I think she really did know that.

I still miss Olga, but the pain of her absence has softened to something much more manageable. I'm not outwardly weeping or feeling that physical gut-punch, that almost-panicked gasping, like I was at the beginning. It still seems unbelievable that she is gone forever -- I half expect her to walk in from the garden or to hear the shake of her collar at the front door as she returns with the dog-walker. But I am coming around to the fact that she is truly gone in the physical sense, if not from our hearts.

I mentioned yesterday that I organized a quick trip for early next week, since Dave will be away and I don't really want to hang around the house by myself. Well, wouldn't you know, I am going to be traveling during a named storm -- Storm Floris, which is supposed to bring wind and heavy rain to most of the northern British isles on Monday. This doesn't thrill me, as I'm headed in that direction. Oh well. This should be interesting!

9 comments:

  1. One of my daughters has that same Hot lips Salvia, several of them all in one bed.

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  2. Well, if it's any consolation Storm Floris is not predicted to be as bad as first feared here, and we are expected to be right in its path.
    We have a couple of Salvia Hot Lips, all flowering profusely and adding colour and scent to the garden. I love them.

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  3. Steve, regarding your question about our entrance gate, yes it is for our entire neighborhood, not just our house. We are a small community, just 23 homes. And yes it is large & heavy. Each of those panels weighs between 800 & 900 pounds. Safe travels on your trip into Floris. Cheers!!

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  4. Thanks for the plant tour!
    What you describe with Olga, almost expecting her to walk in from the garden etc., is very similar to what it felt like for months after Steve died. I expected to hear his key in the door when he would return from teaching evening class, or his coughing (he was a smoker) when he got up in the morning. Sometimes when I‘m out walking and I spot a man of similar stature from afar, with a similar gait, it still gives me a jolt.

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  5. I really enjoyed the trip around your garden with the lovely pictures. Felt so sorry for poor Nicole getting assaulted every evening.
    Wendy (Wales)

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  6. So typical of the Russians to be a big nuisance even after they're gone! Maybe you can set a container to catch that overflow to use around your own plants where it's needed.

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  7. Ooh, a stormy adventure. May you be safe and happy. I love all the plants and their stories. The avocado has gotten enormous. Will it have to be lopped to get it in the house for winter or will you wrap it up outside? The hot lips are stunning.

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  8. Hot lips is such a generous plant.
    I hope Floris won't be too alarming, and you enjoy your trip.

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  9. Have a safe, windblown, rainswept, trip though I'm sure it will be a nice getaway!

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