TO ALL LATCHKEY ORPHANS AND BEGINNER GARDENERS: ODE TO THE COLEUS PLANT:

THE MICROCLIMATES OF CONTAINER GARDENING ON A COVERED, COLORADAN PATIO, WITH AN INDUSTRIAL, URBAN LANDSCAPE IS CHALLENGING. HARDWOOD TREES THAT ALLOW SUNLIGHT THROUGH, IN WINTER, WILL CAUSE SUN-LOVING PLANTS TO DIE IN ITS SUMMERTIME SHADE.

THE STRAWFLOWERS AND DAHLIA BLOOMS WEREN'T LONG-LASTING. THEY NEEDED MORE FULL SUN, WELL-DRAINED SOIL, WITH A HIGHER RATIO OF VERMICULITE, THAN THE MIRACLE GRO, MOISTURE CONTROL, POTTING SOIL. THE FRENCH LAVENDER GREW, BUT THEY WERE IN GLAZED EARTHENWARE POTS. THE CHEAPER, PLASTIC CONTAINERS CAUSED THE PLANTS MORE TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATION STRESS.

I SHOULD HAVE FLUFFED THE ROOT BASES OUT FURTHER DURING RE-POTTING, AND BOUGHT A ROOTING HORMONE, ALONG WITH SEAWEED CONDITIONING/ROOT SHOCK TREATMENT. THE MIRACLE GRO, MOISTURE CONTROL SOIL DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH MYCORRHIZAE WITHIN IT.

***THE BUBBLEGUM PINK PETUNIAS WERE APHID-INFESTED. BY THE TIME I FOUND OUT, IT WAS TOO LATE TO GET LADYBUGS, NEEM POWDER, AND BIO-NEEM OIL SPRAY. IT'S BEST TO GET LIVE LADYBUGS A WEEK BEFORE PLANTING TIME, WHICH STARTS MID-JUNE IN DENVER METRO, COLORADO.***

***THE AMAZING COLEUS, IF WELL-WATERED IN THE SUMMERTIME, CAN BECOME MOUNTANEOUS IN SIZE, LIKE A TRI-COLORED, EXOTIC SHRUB. EVEN MORE RESILIENT THAN PANSIES, IT CAN LOOK COMPLETELY WITHERED, AND WITHIN AN HOUR OF GENEROUS WATERING, LITERALLY POP BACK UP. WHAT A MIRACULOUS RECOVERY FOR IT. I FIND MYSELF CAPTIVATED BY SUCH A ROBUST PLANT. IT ACTUALLY FLOWERED.***

***THAI BASIL AND DIANTHUS WERE FRAGRANT, ECONOMICAL SUCCESSES, IN THE CHEAPER, PLASTIC CONTAINERS THOUGH.***

https://youtu.be/jFlNo1NjAEQ

***75% ARTIFICIAL PLANTS AND BLOOMS ARE BEST, FOR THE BEGINNER'S CONTAINER GARDEN, IN COLORADO'S EXTREMELY DISPARATE, FLUCTUATING, DAILY TEMPERATURES. BIG LOTS AND SUPER TARGET HAS A EXCELLENT SELECTION OF BUDGET-FRIENDLY TOPIARIARIES, BUT TRY TO BALANCE GARDENING/INCREASING CURBSIDE APPEAL, WITH DISTRIBUTING CARE PACKAGES, IF YOU WANT TO MAKE IT TO ANOTHER ELEVATION, SUCH AS HEAVEN.

GOD IS THE REAL "SANTA CLAUS," AT THE TOP OF THE "MOTHER CABRINI SHRINES" EVERY MID-JUNE, REMINDING US OF ETERNAL LOVE, BUT ONLY THROUGH GOOD WORKS, AND CARRYING ONESELF WITH GRACE. HUMILITY ENCOURAGES TRUE, EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE, AND IS A SIGN OF STABLE LEADERSHIP SKILLS.***