Bringing outdoor plants inside for the winter brightens our rooms
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- November 5, 2017
- 1273
With the advent of colder temperatures, our gardens are not looking healthy. The zinnias closest to our house are hanging on for dear life, and that keeps our house happy. While it is so difficult to say goodbye to our outside gardens until spring, to be completely honest, I have gotten rather weary of weeding.
Most of the plants that have lived on the deck have had to move inside for the duration. This makes the house happy and leaves the deck looking bereft. Finding space for all those plants inside, near windows, is difficult at best.
This house boasts lots of big windows. Unfortunately most of them face north. Every one of those plants needs lots of sun. That’s why they love living on the deck. The house can only offer what it has, and the plants just have to suck it up and make the best of it. Several of them thrive while a couple of them get a bit sullen and droopy.
This year I sprayed every plant with bug repellent before it moved inside. Last year we had a bunch of tag-along bugs move in with the plants, which didn’t please our bugaphobic house one bit. We chased stink bugs, lady bugs and spiders all winter long: not fun.
The pre-move-in bug repellent spraying seems to have worked, at least so far. There are doubtless a few insects that escaped the spray and are biding their time before sneaking forth to terrify our house. Let’s hope none of those survivors are stink bugs.
Bringing outdoor plants inside for the winter brightens our rooms and delights our house. Some plants even bloom while inside, and that is such a bonus. Others go a bit dormant, but if they can hang on until spring, our deck will welcome them back with lots of sun. Actually, at the moment the hibiscus is blooming, and I swear our house is smiling.
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