Plant Killer Extraordinaire

I have a bad habit of killing plants. I don’t mean to. I start with the best of intentions, offering them fertilizer, water, and lots of sun. And my grandparents were farmers, so you’d think I would inherit the green thumb. Um, not so much.

So, it was with a fearless heart that I bought annuals at Home Depot the other day. I’m sure the other plants were quivering, screaming, “No! Don’t pick me! I’m not ready to die yet!” What, you think I’m kidding? In the past week, two of my plants committed suicide. No, really. I went to pull weeds and my gardenia bush was lying on its side, roots exposed. One of my double-knockout roses was also lying outside the flower bed. No animal tracks were evident.

My husband (engineer) claims that likely it was the combination of the ground freezing and thawing that made the root ball pop out of the ground (we had that strange weather where one day it was 40 degrees and the next 75 degrees). I choose to believe that my plants chose to find that Higher Path to Heaven, a place where their owner wouldn’t forget to water them or weed them.

But in spite of my losses, I am persevering. Here are a few shots of my garden for you to enjoy. Probably a week from now they’ll be dead and shriveled, but for now, they look okay.

How about you? Do you enjoy planting a garden, or do your plants try to commit suicide also?