Tending

I love the word tending. As in . . . to care or look after.

It's such a gentle word.
So soothing.
It just exudes love-in-action to me.

I think about the word tending most often when it comes to gardening. I love to . . . tend . . . my garden. I like to care for my plants. I'm one of those gardeners who actually prefers the tending kinds of tasks - weeding, deadheading, picking off pests - more than the planting and harvesting kinds of tasks.

That's what I miss most about my garden in the winter: Puttering around and tending.
(Well. That's not really true. I mostly miss just seeing it all unfold and being IN it.) (But tending is a close second.)

So I'm biding my time until garden-season by tending to my little indoor garden for now . . . 

First, there's my Aerogarden. Which is really coming along nicely!  Not much tending to do with this one, actually. It really is a Just-Add-Water kind of thing. But fun to watch all the same -- and soon I'll be able to harvest fresh herbs for my cooking.

Then, there's this first-ever possibly-re-blooming amaryllis bulb. This is very exciting for me. I've never been good at saving my spent amaryllis bulbs from one season to the next, but last year I followed Bonny's instructions . . . and look!!! A green shoot! (I stuck it next to the Aerogarden, so maybe the light is helping it come back to life?)

And then, there are tulip bulbs that I picked up at Costco last week. They don't require much tending, either, really. Another Just-Add-Water project. 

But a winter delight for this gardener all the same!

Are you tending any plants in your indoor garden this winter?

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Be sure to visit Carole for other 3-0n-Thursday posts today.

Comments

[Bonny]

Definitely! I was desperate for some indoor blossoms last week, so I bought a miniature rose (on sale after Valentine's Day). I tended it by repotting and picking off all the yellowing leaves. I'm also tending my four not-looking-like-they-will-rebloom-this-year amaryllis. They've all got great leaves, but no bud stalks in sight. I keep hoping ...

[Patty]

I've got a nice succulent pot (very little tending needed) that exploded last summer. The green aliveness makes me happy! I think I'll grab some tulips today!

[Carolyn]

I'm so glad to see those are back at Costco! I had some (mine were purple) a few years ago (tulips are my favorite) and haven't seen them back at our location the past few years. I'll have to check. Enjoy your indoor blooms until the outdoors beckons.

[Caffeine Girl]

I have a purple thumb. I have three paperwhite bulbs, but only one bloomed. The others are clearly not going to do anything!

[Laurie]

Oh, your Aerogarden is doing so well! God for you. I love the word tending too. I am tending plenty of plants in my indoor garden. Along with all of the plants I brought in over the winter, I have decided to tend to a poinsettia again.

[Mary]

Down here in north central Florida, I'm always tending my plants. We've had a few nights down in the mid 20s and that means space heaters and plant covering for all my patio plants. Some are heirlooms (my grandmother in law's staghorn) and some are gifts that came at just the right moment (new house 30 years ago, new baby 28 years ago). Some, are scavenged from the tops of plants set out to the curb by a neighbor (coleus on my counter). And a very favorite, is my autograph plant, that a dear friend gifted a leaf of to me a few years ago, that is now 4 1/2 feet tall and brings a smile to my face every time I tend to it!

[Dee]

I am.

I just noticed that the Christmas Cactus I bought in November is starting to show new growth. Two thumbs up on that.

My two orchids get a lot of tending. The new one (bought last week) is sadly going to lose most of the flowers rather quickly. I guess it didn't like being transported and then transplanted. :-( Oh well, hopefully, it will rebloom next winer.

The old orchid --- I tend it lovingly. I don't think it likes me. But, we shall see. I may win it over.

[Kat]

I am having dreams of tending my garden. The itch to be outside, in the dirt... yes! Your herbs look amazing! (and I can't even with that little amaryllis leaf!)

[Mary]

Ha! LOL. "tending" "indoor garden" I am happy that my Valentines bouquet is still looking good (and smells amazing!) and my ONE amaryllis bulb is almost ready to share four blooms. and by "happy" I mean enjoying every second, and taking lots of bad photos :-)

[Vera]

We have quite a few house plants - in the living room, in the kitchen, in my office room and upstairs in both bedrooms. So watering and pulling off dead leaves, etc. happens all the time. We ended up receiving 3 plants this past Christmas and it was nice to add them to the mix (but we are running out of room in our small house for more plants....).

[Sarah]

I have a few plants in the living room that I am trying to keep alive through the winter (I am battling the forced air heating, so watering happens a lot more often these days). It's nice to have a little green, but I do miss seeing everything growing outside. Spring is only a month away, though!

[Carole]

These are beautiful examples of tending! Seeing your Aerogarden fills me with hope as you're just a few weeks ahead of me!

[Margene]

Having beautiful, living greenery in the house is a joy during the gray and cold winter months. I seem capable of keeping a few things alive during the holiday season, but then the green thumb dies and I'm done. One year I saves an amaryllis bulb by letting it grow through the summer and then leaving it to freeze in the fall. I stuck it in a closet and 6 weeks later had a bud peeking out. It lived beautifully through Thanksgiving and had 3 stems before it was done!