Hibiscus in Seattle?

It is sad to watch a plant suffer.  And plants which are clearly out of their eco-system, are especially sad cases.  I have a plant that is in need of Plant Amnesty--a one way ticket to Honolulu to be precise.

My very unhappy hibiscus plant

My plant's journey through suffering began last May.  It was a birthday gift to me from a good friend who loves plants as much as I do.  And when it was given to me, it was stunning.  It's leaves were thick and glossy, and it was covered in beautiful golden yellow Hawaii blossoms.  No doubt it was started in a nice warm nursery, coddled with simulated south pacific island air.  I've never had a hibiscus before, but I was excited about creating a tropical container for our summer patio.  My plan was to combine the hibiscus with some other tropical looking plants--maybe an interesting coleus, with a lime-green sweet potato vine and some bright pink impatiens.

My enthusiasm waned however, after I did a bit of research on this plant family.  I found out that hibiscus' like temperatures in the range of 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit.  In May, we were a long way from that type of warmth!  And so I began the work of trying to keep the little hibiscus happy until summer appeared.  I kept it in its little plastic pot in a sunny spot in our dining room.  And when the temperature got warm enough outside, I moved it to a warm spot on our deck.  If you've seen any weather data about Seattle this year, you will find that up until August, my plant's outside time could be measured in hours, not days.

Finally....a bloom!

My plan of a tropical container ended as I watched the hibiscus shrink to about half its size.  It was withering away! I focused instead on trying to keep it happy.  I misted it with water, I put it in the warmest parts of the garden, and finally last week it bloomed again!  Such a sunny flower, but I'm not sure it was worth the effort.  The plant is still clearly miserable, and summer--what summer we had--is on its way out. This was just not the summer for hibiscus in Seattle.

Because I am still harboring fantasies about tropical plants, I may try to overwinter the hibiscus in the dining room and try again for next year.  But if the plant keeps shrinking, this may not end well.  Unless of course Plant Amnesty steps in and saves my little hibiscus with a one-way ticket to Hawaii.

Fresh Garden Veggies

Our row of broccoli, ready for harvest

We are finally starting to harvest food from our garden.  The broccoli, though late, has been incredible this year.  Those thick green leaves have loved our cool spring and summer.  Likewise with the lettuces and swiss chard.  I can't remember a year where we have had such lush lettuce crops.  The downside is that my family is tired of eating salad.

We don't have a very big garden, but I like to grow enough for a few summer meals. Mostly we use the garden for 'grazing'.   When the berries start to ripen, the girls will head up to the garden to snack.  I try to get a handful of blueberries, strawberries or raspberries for my cereal, but I have to beat both the birds and the girls to the berries!  And some of our crops, like broccoli, produce just enough for a few meals. Not really enough to even call a crop! But even so, it is deeply satisfying to walk into the garden and gather dinner.

Our veggies grow nice and big on aged goat manure

With the weather being so cold all spring, our garden is oriented this year toward cool weather crops.  I decided not to take a chance on growing heat-loving plants like pumpkins, cucumbers or peppers.  And the tomato starts I bought are all of the coolest, short-season variety.  (They have names like 'Northern Delight')  The basil starts I planted a month ago have been sitting in the ground looking rather glum up until this past week. And the zucchini plants, purchased when a rare sunny day gave me hope for a summer, are just now setting tiny zucchini.

Our harvest is small, but even so, a vegetable garden is a worthwhile undertaking.  Nothing tastes better than food plucked fresh from the garden.  In fact, our girls eat some vegetables from the garden that they normally might not try.  Broccoli, for example, was a vegetable they learned to like only after eating it from the garden. And when they were little, they would eat green beans right off the stalk--followed, of course, by generous amounts of candy.  But at least they were grazing on some fresh food.

fresh garden broccoli covered in cheese!

My biggest hope for this season is that we get enough sunshine to ripen the tomatoes.  Right now I have plants covered in green tomatoes and I'm dying to see how 'Mr. Stripey' and 'Japanese Black Trifele' turn out.  Who wouldn't want to sample a pink and green striped tomato?  I've also got some purple, blue and yellow potatoes that I'll be excited to dig up this Fall.  Insects, disease and deer all attempt to bring disappointment into the garden.  And they frequently succeed.  But the seasoned gardener knows that the garden always holds promise in the harvest.