My Poor Plants

The current state of our winter garden, house-bound but warm!

	One day when we were wandering through the grocery store getting items for the Cooking Club, we happened upon one of those little displays which featured 'live' basil plants. Thinking it might be nice to have a source of fresh basil on hand, we decided to purchase one. And this was that plant: our first kitchen basil. Which sat near a window sill for the longest time, drinking in all the sunshine and water it could stand. It has waxed and waned as conditions and circumstances changed, sometimes flourishing with many leaves, sometimes looking like it was about to kick the bucket. We generally leave it inside the house so as not to bring in any bugs which might be attracted to its fantastic scent. And it seems to be doing all right this winter.
	Last year, for one particular recipe, we needed a bit more basil than normal, so we purchased an additional basic plant for the classroom. It stayed in the classroom for a week or so, then came look looking sad and forlorn. It looked like it was reviving itself over the course of the Christmas break, but then started looking sad again, and did not respond to the tender loving care it was receiving. So I put it out in the plant fixit shop where I do all my winter composting to see if something can be salvaged from this sad-looking little plant.
	Our original strawberry plant hung out (literally) all summer long on the deck, dangling from a very strong cable which had been wrapped around the beam of the pergola. I don't remember where the original plant came from; the planter had been sitting under our deck for the longest time, filled with dirt but not really growing anything since the last time we'd used it many years ago with our last pergola. In the beginning of the summer, it was doing quite well, then some varmint (we strongly suspect the skunk) started digging in it, so we had to hang it up high where he couldn't get to it. It has faded back a bit since winter set in but we're hoping it will recover soon.
	This started out in the summer as a runner from our main strawberry plant. I just happened to have a nearly-empty pot sitting next to it, perfect for colonizing, so the strawberry planted itself and I just kept watering it. I'm not sure how well it will fare inside but we'll see how it goes.
	This cutting came from a massive sweet potato plant which started growing in the pantry and we never had time to eat it, so I just put it on the windowsill in the kitchen and the vines just kept getting longer and longer until finally I had to cut most of the body (and make sweet potato fries out of it; or was it part of the sweet potatoes we had for Thanksgiving? I forget) so all that is left is the top of it plus all the vines. I really need to get this thing replanted in some proper dirt!
	Cheryl said she wanted to get some ferns going in the front landscaping so I got this one from the local plant store. It's a Boston Fern, said to be nigh on to indestructible (which is good considering who is trying to take care of it!) and has only complained a couple of times when I forgot to water it for a couple weeks and all the inner fronds turned brown. We'll just see about that 'indestructible' claim!