Heavenly Blue morning glories are blooming! The first flower of the year opened up on Saturday. After several attempts to get these plants to survive beyond seedling stage, I am delighted to now have glorious blue blooms. So now to replicate the growing conditions of this plant when transplanting the rest of my seedlings: it’s living in the northeast area of the house, it gets almost full sun, it’s sheltered from the wind, and planted in a well-draining medium-sized pot with organic potting mix.

I found my soil tester, and have determined that while pH levels are within a good range in my containers, the fertility is low. So I’ve begun to add compost and other organic fertilizers to many pots, and have replaced the poor-quality dirt in seedling pots with the potting mix.

The weather’s fluctuating notably this autumn. Nighttime temperatures are sometimes down to 43-48 degrees fahrenheit, and then in mid-afternoon, up as far as 89, like today! It hasn’t rained for over a month, except for a brief overnight shower a week ago, that only made the ground damp for half a day. Consequently, I always seem to be out watering thirsty plants. But one benefit of this lack of precipitation: insect and snail repellent sprays aren’t getting washed off the leaves or flower petals, so violas and other delicate plants remain protected long enough to bloom properly.

Being inspired by all the time I spend my garden, I’m designing beaded jewelry with leaf, flower, butterfly, and ladybug shapes. If my enthusiasm for this project continues, I’d like to start an Etsy shop, and might participate in the holiday craft fair at my workplace.