I have to be honest, this past month has been a rough one. We had a house fire five weeks ago, lived in a hotel for four of those weeks. We just moved into a downtown apartment this past week to stay several months until our house is habitable again.

I would have preferred to rent a house with a porch and a yard. (The apartment has neither of those things). That way our country dog could relax and I could have a place to keep my container plants, but apparently it is next to impossible to find a short-term lease in a college town. Thankfully, friends of ours own a property management company and were able to offer us an apartment. Otherwise we may have been stuck in a hotel room for several months.

Most Plants Survived the Fire

Despite all this and due to the regular rain we’ve been experiencing, my container garden was doing fine on the porch. It, thankfully, was not damaged by the fire. My porch is always overloaded with plants in the summer. This year was no exception, with flowering annuals, perennials, trees, carrots, melons, succulents, and select houseplants crammed in every corner. In addition to the normal plant clutter, I also moved all the houseplants that were indoors during the fire outside to the porch, dead or alive, in hopes of bringing them back to life after being choked by thick smoke.

Some are already showing signs of life, pushing out new leaves past the charred remains of the old ones. I am often amazed by how resilient plants are and this experience has been no exception. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there.

Plant Thieves

Someone noticed our house was vacant and stole, in addition to several items from the house and shed, roughly half of the plants from my porch.

I mean, the electronics are bad enough, but my plants?! Now I’m mad.

I was successfully growing carrots for the first time ever and someone stole them, pots and all. Gone are my gorgeous Fuchsia, Geraniums, Amaryllis, Cuphea, Japanese maple, Cacti, Impatiens, and the list goes on. I was so attached to some of these plants I feel like someone kidnapped a friend. As a former cactus killer, I had kept several alive for more than five years and now they’re at the mercy of someone else’s green (or brown) thumb.

In case the thief strikes again, I’m going to relocate the remaining plants, including this Tillandsia, or Air Plant, which was a gift from my husband after a trip to San Diego. It’s a little rough around the edges due to the fire, but I’m pretty sure I can nurse it back to health. One of my friend’s porches is about to get a lot more crowded.

So, for the next few months, you may notice my blog posts being inspired more by other people’s containers than my own.

A note to the thief, in case you happen to read my blog: Please take good care of my plants. They made me happy and I miss them already. Make sure to bring them in when it gets cold, and please don’t overwater.