The City Girl's Guide to Country Gardening Lesson 10: Miracle Plant Recoveries

Sometimes, plants die without the hope of return. When Brent kills Josh's prize fava beans on The Fabulous Beekman Boys, drama ensues.

So, remember a few weeks ago, when Amy from GreenGardenista.com advised us on how to avoid garden center spending sprees?

Well, I've been doing really well on that front. I think I've only bought one plant since then, and it was a perennial. (It helps that my step-dad keeps giving me tomato plants for free. Thanks, Pat!) But before I became a recovered nursery shopaholic, I had splurged on a variety of what I think are different types of coleus for our part-shade bed. I was drawn to these lovelies because they sport leaves in various shades of pink and red, and while I generally prefer flowers to all else, I'm trying to learn to appreciate foliage too, because I know there are some places in the garden where those plants will do best. (It's hard though. Foliage is pretty boring, right? I mean unless we're talking spectacular fall colors? Otherwise it's just green and more green.)

So I bought all these plants with pink leaves and then I abandoned them on the porch for um, awhile. So long that by the time I finally got around to planting them, the bed looked like this:

Sad! I was all, "is this even worth it?" But Amy said, very firmly, yes:

Plants can make some miraculous recoveries. I've received some mail-order perennials that looked completely dead, but when I provided some good soil and daily water they have rebounded beautifully. You don't have to lose hope unless the plant is completely wilted, pink, and molding. Keep the hope alive, and put the plant in some soil, and give it daily water in an area with good drainage. Look for signs of hope for two or three weeks, and if after that time the plant shows no promise you can discard it then.

So that's what I did. And, as you can see from the stunning I-think-its-coleus up top, it's working!

Here's another sad before picture:

And, a faith-restoring after shot:

Even if you aren't prone to plant neglect like me, we'll be in the dog days of summer soon, when everything can start to look wilted and spent in the heat. So follow Amy's advice and be scrupulous with your watering to keep things green (or pink) and help them rebound if they start to suffer.