We made another Home Depot run this morning for more mulch (back yard) and a few more bedding plants. I wanted some yellow lantana for a pot on the patio and a few more things. I stopped to look at the vegetable plants and I was honestly shocked at the prices. I just won't pay $5 for a damn bell pepper plant. It made me so happy that I took the time to start my seedlings myself, because for the price of one nursery plant I got dozens of plants from a packet of seeds. And I'm with your hubby on the coffee thing.
@Beth Gallagher did you ever consider doing some of your landscaping with hardier plants? It may not be what you are used to seeing, but you would have something left after the one annual frost you seem to have. If we planted what you plant we would be barren here.
Don, all the shrubs we have planted are supposed to be able to withstand temps down to zero. We've had boxwoods, pittosporums, red tips, cleyera, and others sold at local nurseries and purportedly appropriate for our zone. The red tips did well for many years but ultimately got some kind of fungus; it has only been in the last 2 years that the shrubs (pittosporum and boxwood) didn't survive freezing temperatures in the teens. We would not waste money on plantings too delicate for our climate, but unfortunately that's what happened.
But annuals down here provide such color! Frilly petunias and impatiens? I love them. Of course I don't plant them in the quantity that I did 20 years ago because of the cost but pots scattered about are so cheery. PS I did winter over my favorite color impatiens by accident. It spit some seeds into some of the pots I brought in. Hydrangeas are hardy, long lasting and colorful but most of my shrubs only bloom for a short time. I have something blooming at all times but, individually, not long.
I don't know if regular impatiens would grow in Houston, but New Guinea Impatiens certainly would. It loves the summer heat and is what I grew when I lived in the South. Wife loves petunias here and plants literally thousands of them. I was thinking perennials, though, so @Beth Gallagher wouldn't have to mess with the much after they were planted.
Actually, we were only planting shrubs--evergreens that just need occasional pruning and shaping. I grow flowers in the backyard flower beds but I like the front to be as maintenance-free as possible.
What a crappy week. Yesterday I found out that a friend who lives in CA recently lost her husband. She had gone to the store and was only gone for about 45 minutes; when she returned home he was dead on the kitchen floor with their little dog lying on his chest, whimpering. Just totally a shock; he had not been sick or anything. Another friend who lives in this area sent me a message tonight that her husband is in the hospital and not expected to survive. He has dementia and has been in a nursing home for the past year or so. She said if he leaves the hospital it will be on hospice care.
Terrible especially when it's unexpected. We lost a friend and neighbor yesterday also, he lived directly across the street from us. My thoughts keep wondering to him and conversations we've had over the years.
That is the part that worries me, too. At least if it is unexpected to them, they will not have to spend a lot of time stressing and worrying like they would if I was sick and just kept getting worse. At my age, and with the heart failure, my kids already know that it could happen anytime , and I would prefer just to not wake up some morning rather than be in a hospital and be miserable when I die. I am sorry to hear about your friend losing her husband, @Beth Gallagher , and I know that the shock had to be really bad for her to come home and find him on the floor, and not expecting it. My father-in-law had just retired and they were coming across Washington state to visit with us on the weekend, and he had a heart attack the night before they left, and never regained consciousness. He was in good health as far as we all knew, so it was a shock to everyone. It was good that it didn’t happen as they were driving over to visit us, it would have been much harder on my mother-in-law.
I think if any of us could choose how we die (excluding suicides of course), we'd choose the unexpected drop dead or die in our sleep exit. No one wants to suffer for months/years or linger being a burden on our families. My friend's husband who has dementia was such a great guy; he was a successful pharmacist who owned his own pharmacy, had the best sense of humor, etc. It was so hard watching his decline. I am positive that Mike would have preferred the "drop dead" exit to what he has been going through for the past couple of years. My nephew who died in 2021 had a heart attack while driving. Luckily he was on a dirt road in his farm truck and it appeared that he simply coasted to an easy stop and struck a pine tree on the shoulder. No damage to his truck and he was sitting upright with his sunglasses still on.
It's good for any of us to die quickly rather than the long drawn-out event. The other side of the coin is when my mom died it was expected she wasn't going to live so hospice was called in and they were like miracle workers they taught and encourage us how to say goodbye. They were very supportive of the family as well as my mom they made a what could have been a terrible experience into something that was peaceful.