In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me,
an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how
hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger—something
better, pushing right back. ~Albert Camus
Recently, Middle Sister shared this quote with me, words of comfort and encouragement during difficult days. On a dreary late-autumn afternoon, I take a long and loving look at gifts for the garden from Ben, three plants that transition from outdoor
summer garden to basement winter garden and back again, offerings that promise to cultivate an invincible summer in the midst of winter yet-to-come.
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| Ben's Coleus on the Patio. |
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| Coleus in the Winter Garden. |
Several years ago, Ben presented me with a
glorious coleus plant on Mother’s Day. Over time, we’ve learned that when coleus
sits in direct sunlight, the foliage loses some of its trademark vivid punch.
With this in mind, we position the plant in a quiet, shaded corner of the patio in summer, and it flourishes in filtered sunlight. Numerous seeds from
lavender-colored flower spikes scatter to other patio pots, making our coleus
an enthusiastic proliferator. We've discovered that coleus overwinters easily in our basement garden. Just before cold weather hits, we tidy the pots, topping off well-drained soil and trimming back leggy growth to encourage
multi-colored and bushy-leafed ornamental specimens when the outdoor season returns.
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| Red Geranium in the Garden. |
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| Red Geranium Overwintering in the Basement Garden. |
Our red geranium is another Mother's Day gift from Ben. During the outdoor season, the geranium soaks up sunshine in a bright stretch of the garden, welcoming itinerant butterflies and peripatetic hummingbirds. We move the frost-tender perennial indoors before October chill sets in. With a smidgen of care and a bit of benign neglect, our geranium overwinters well in the basement garden. We cut the plant back to a fraction of its original size, spruce up the potting soil, and inspect the plant for freeloading insects. In mid-May, we move the pot outside again, and we have a nice head start on growth and blooms in next year's garden.
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| Lovely New Guinea Impatiens. |
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| New Guinea Impatiens in the Winter Garden. |
Another Mother's Day, another golden hour past, Ben presented me with a lush New Guinea Impatiens. The tropical plant, generally grown as a showy shade-loving annual in the Garden State, makes a fine transition to the winter garden. We keep the soil moist and spritz it with fertilizer every few weeks, and it seems to enjoy basking in warm, albeit artificial, basement light. By the end of the outdoor season, the plant is somewhat gangly and woody, so we cut it back by half to encourage new growth and attractive summer-to-come blooms.
You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by. ~J.M. Barrie
With a long winter before us, it will be good to hold the invincible summer in our hearts and to remember the golden hours, however fleeting, as we linger in the winter garden.
