No-Buffalo Consolation: A Lovely Visit & Garden Surprises

Count me among the garden bloggers who are NOT going to Buffalo, and wish they were... :(  My younger brother and sister-in-law (the middle child and his wife, known in previous posts as "The Apartment Dwellers") are making a big move:  In August, they are relocating to New Mexico!  In trying to arrange a "Sibs' Weekend" for all of us to enjoy before they leave, it turned out that this weekend was the best option for everyone... well, for everyone but me, who wanted to go to Buffalo instead.

So instead of a trip east, I'll be heading west to spend a weekend at "The River" with the fam--and I'm not really complaining, because I know that we'll have a great time, and I'll have numerous Buffalo posts to enjoy on other blogs when I return.  And as consolation, my garden has offered up a few special surprises for me to enjoy this week:

Yes, that's a future bloom hidden way down in the depths of my pineapple lily!  As I mentioned, I would grow this for the foliage alone... but I'm super-excited about seeing it in flower, too.  I'm not sure whether it will emerge at all before I head west on my trip, but it should be in bloom shortly after I return.

Second, the "Mexican thyme" (coleus amboinicus, syn. plectranthus amboinicus) that I purchased on clearance at the garden center as much for its felty, fleshy green leaves as for the fact that you can use it in cooking, has settled in and rebounded nicely.  It looked like crap, frankly, when I put it into the ground, but after some cutting back and some judicious watering, new growth is emerging:

Lastly, but most importantly, I got to have a wonderful (if brief) visit with Leslie, of Growing a Garden in Davis!  Leslie was visiting family in Cleveland before heading over to Buffalo, and we arranged for her to stop by and see my garden while she was here.

I admit that I was very a little nervous about the visit.  Working 70+ hours between two jobs from mid-April through the Fourth of July weekend does NOT reflect well in one's garden!  And I knew that another gardener couldn't help but notice all of the neglect, weeds, unfinished projects, etc.  But meeting Leslie was like meeting an old friend, and I felt like she understood what I was planning to accomplish with the space--and that her "Gardeners' Glasses" were keeping her from noticing and commenting on all of the weeds and mess that abounded, too!  :)

All in all, I had a lovely time showing Leslie and her Aunt Elaine around the garden.  (And although I was a little distracted at times while trying to keep an eye on my Gardening Assistant, who has been ornery all week due to the heat wave we're enduring, I need not have worried about Coco.  She was putty--yes, putty!--in Aunt Elaine's hands, and even looked a little disappointed when I returned to the house by myself later.)  Maybe some day I'll make it to California and get a great garden tour in return.  Now there's a lovely thought.

I hope that Leslie and all of the other garden bloggers who are making the trek to Buffalo enjoy themselves immensely, and have safe travels.  I wish I could join you... but since I can't, I look forward to reading all of your recaps next week--please post early and often!