Well, I'll admit, it is not a pretty picture . Poor babies were crying for help!! So on this rainy blustery afternoon, I took pity on them. I have a wonderful garden window in my kitchen above the sink that faces east. It is the perfect spot for violets. The window was my dream when we remodeled years ago and I have not been sorry. It brings so much light and space into my very tiny kitchen. Before we had to cut down the trees that were outside of it, I watched birds and squirrels while doing the (ugh!!) dishes. Now all I have to look at besides my plants are the neighbors!
Back to the violets. I had about ten plants in three pots. Some were ones I had started years ago from leaf cuttings and they have multiplied. An experiment that worked! The others were gifts from some time back.
I got out extra pots and filled my sink with soapy water with a little bleach added. While the pots were soaking(to get rid of the nasties) I unpotted, separated and cleaned off all the dead stuff...a technical term.
With my pots all clean and dry, I put a used dryer sheet(a tip off a gardening show!) in the bottom and added fresh gravel for drainage. New potting soil was added next. I made sure the soil in the bags was dry and loose this time. This past summer when I bought potting soil for outdoors, it was like mud in there when I opened the bag. I did use it but was sorry. It dried like concrete around my plants! The violets were added and I think I heard sighs of relief! I put the pots on those little clear plastic drip trays and am planning on getting aquarium gravel to put in there. That done, I will add water to the gravel. I remember reading that violets like humidity. (Can you tell I am not much of a true violet authority?)
Now all seven pots are back on their newly cleaned shelves just waiting for the sun to come out. They do look happy. And so will I be when I have to do dishes again. Now, if I just had the houseplants done!!
