Streptocarpus

Monthly Top 10 Plants at Campiello Maurizio (February 2023)

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Not feeling so great after a trip to the dentist so this post will be brief!

Nine hours later, and I’m continuing to deal with numbing and discomfort on the left side of my face. Yea-ouch!!!

One: Oh hellebores—they’ve looked great both before and after the snow storm. This photo is from before, but now that the snow has mostly melted, they still look great. Phew!

I would love to have some fancier leaved hybrids, and maybe a species or two, but I’ve not been really great about acquiring them yet. You’d think I’d know better! It’s not too hard to find them out there.

Two: Fragrance in the garden is something most of us enjoy—especially in winter when so much is still asleep. Sweet boxes are always great additions to shady areas, and additionally, they smell great!

I have a few different ones in the garden. This one is Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis and it’s in the back garden. Since it’s a lower growing option it works well as a ground cover.

Three: The Goodyera oblongifolia aren’t looking great per se, but the one plant has now grown into many since it was planted!!!

This little native orchid is a favorite of so many folks, and while it can be a bit finicky in the garden setting, it doesn’t have to be.

This grouping lives under a large Doug fir and I’ve included other native plants nearby to keep the little group happy. It seems to be working.

Four: Of course I have to add a houseplant or two too!!! This is Streptocarpus UA-Retro. Ain’t she a beauty?

Hubba hubba!

Five: Love this tough hybrid and so do the hummingbirds. Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’ is an interspecific hybrid of two Asian species and is quickly becoming a favorite in my front garden.

Six: I don’t even remember how long I’ve had these Galanthus elwesii but it’s been for well over a decade now. They’re reliable and true for me, maybe not the most hard-to-find, but hey, I live too far away from Galanthus Gala to throw down too much cash on some of the more difficult-to-find ones. (Just kidding!!! That’s what the internet is for, right?)

Anyway, for now, these will do!

Seven: Another great winter plant in the garden, this Garrya elliptica ‘Evie’ came to me as a pet plant that had been trimmed into a lollipop topiary in a container. I’ve let it get a bit messy, and plan to cut it back now that the big show is almost over, but until then, you get this view of it. As a lollipop, it looks a lot like a dramatic chandelier. I can’t wait to see it look like that again.

Eight: Back in houseplant world, Dracaena masoniana aka Sansevieria masoniana has been putting on some new growth and each night I’ve looked at it with a bit of wonder. Kind of amazing how much the leaves can change over time. Plants are amazing.

Nine: So then the snow came… and I think that this is an Acer palmatum var. dissectum of some kind, I just don’t know which one. Mom bought it for me back in 2004 when we first moved into the house. It was a discount plant, from some random nursery in Clackamas County, and it was on sale because it had a very ugly graft.

I wanted it for the cats to hang out beneath it in the summer. For many years, they did.

Now, she’s my pruned princess.

And last but not least…

Ten: All of the plants. All of the plants are #10 on my list this month because I love them and feel terrible they had snow dumped on them. I know this is a subjective opinion, but it seems fair enough.

If not, well, I’ll blame the novocaine whenever it wears off.

It Only Took 30 Years…

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This blog has been criticized in the past for being too personal, and to be honest, it was started because I couldn’t work, was too disabled to work, and I longed to be working outside, to be free, and to be healthy. My feelings and personal life were bound to leak in. And yet, somehow, creating this blog has led to many opportunities over the years.

Yucca rostrata ‘Sapphire Skies’ in the garden at Secret Garden Growers. This plant was selected from seed by my other employer and mentor Sean Hogan. It is so great to work in a community that appreciates the skills and accomplishments of one another.

I wanted to live with dignity. I had spent a long time working hard to receive an education, to find flexible employment, and to be creative. It’s been a slog keeping it all together. There is A LOT of ugly that I’ve had to pass through. Through it all, I’ve become stronger and wiser.

Felix was a bit chilled this last weekend when it was cooler. He enjoyed having the frost cloth made available to him.

Several weeks ago my life changed in a big way. I didn’t immediately announce anything here, and it will take nearly 6 more months until we see the full changes, but I’m happy, and my body is changing.

Finally, I’ve been given the right pill to help that which ails me. It’s a new medication. “ORLADEYO® (berotralstat) is a plasma kallikrein inhibitor indicated for prophylaxis to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE).”

So far, it’s helping me. 

Streptocarpus UA Tiramisu.

It is difficult to not be angry about losing so many opportunities, and to have faced challenges I failed at, and to not like what illness has done to me physically, but I ran out of anger 11 years ago.

Eucomis ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ look great when planted in a large open bed with tons of sun.

My immunologist let me know that she’d be resubmitting a request for me to receive the new pill for my condition. It’s a very expensive treatment, and up until now, I was never ill enough for anything other than anabolic steroids and other meds that have acted like bandages.

I didn’t expect that I’d be approved immediately. Over the years, we’ve tried, and always had to resubmit, and I gave up any expectations.

So just to stay calm, I planned my trip ahead of time not knowing what would happen.

I wonder who the crazy lady is who lives here with all of the plants in her window…

I have a blood disorder and it causes me to swell, a lot. It has wrecked havoc on my life since I was 18 but it wasn’t diagnosed until I was nearly 30. No treatments have really helped, but we were able to reach the point where I could work in horticulture more and more. This has not been easy though.

Pelargonium ‘Xochi’ is a stunner.

There are no savings to take a month off, but I’m working like crazy so that I can go on a plant vacation soon. Right now, I’m adjusting to the new medication and I’m walking a lot at night to process how I feel. These last few months I’ve been flooded with emotions. I’ve had a lot of medical appointments leading up to this, all in the hopes that I’d gotten worse so we could prove somehow that I needed help.

We’ve been doing this for years, and it is not a process I’d recommend. This time, though, I got help.

Aristolochia fimbriata in the garden.

Overall though, I feel calm now. Swelling in all of us sets off alarm bells. I’m not dealing with that daily anymore. I’m taking one day at a time. I’m living in the present. I am enjoying a calm and quiet mind.

Yes, one of those Monstera deliciosa ‘Albo Variegata’ plants. I’m selling a few of these that I never got around to unloading after my LAST trip to California last fall. This is the most lovely one.

Each day now I’m just kind of letting things flow and I’m not pushing hard. I’m focussing on eating a large dinner so that the new pill won’t make me ill, and I’m sleeping a lot more. I am soooo tired.

I have fought so hard, and it has been a very lonely and isolating experience.

xGlokohleria rosea given to me by my friend Derek.

There is time up ahead to spent with my dad, I’m getting the garden under control before I leave, and I’m making plans with friends. I love and adore those who’ve been by my side for so long. They’ve helped me so much, and so often.

Seemania ‘Little Red’ aka Gloxinia ‘Little Red’.

At work I’m paying attention to the plants, but I’m also trying to notice if there are any changes I’m experiencing that I should tell my medical team about. No one is certain how this will change my other conditions. I’m hoping my lungs are better, and that some of the circulatory issues improve, but we need to wait and see.

In the meantime, I’m trying to buy more clothing and take care of me. I don’t know what I will do next.

“You shall not pass!!” Felix blocking Alfie from crawling up into his personal private area in the Seed Studio.

Spending time with the cats at home is kind of what I focus on now. I’m working so hard so I can travel and live my life, but I miss the cats a lot when I am not here.

This last weekend Felix, Alfie and I started to sort out the Seed Studio a bit for an HPSO Open Garden this next weekend. (It is Saturday and Sunday from 10-3 if you’re local.) I’m not at all ready for it, but I will do it anyway.

I seriously cannot believe that I’m at this point in my life.

I have cried so many times about not getting the medical help that I needed, and now, here I am, at 48, finally getting some help. They made the process for approval very easy and I was told that they were aware stress could cause problems for my health, and that they wanted to alleviate that.

Seems like something I would have loved to have heard for decades.

Me on a good day. Not all days right now feel this good. But this day, it was nice.

It only took 30 years, but here I am, unsure of what I’ll want to do next, but at least I have finally been given the medical opportunity I’ve waited so long for…