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It has occurred to me since I wrote “Just Add Water”, Parts 1, 2, and 3, (which mainly focused on my “garden sphere experiments”), that this title would work just as well for a post about the back yard plants. Yes, I have realized that if you want plants to grow properly, you have to water them.

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Case in point: Sunny the Sunflower from July of 2017. Need I say more? So when I saw these sunflowers at Lowe’s the other day, I knew better than to buy them. Somehow I think they breathed a collective sigh of relief when I continued on my way.

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In “Sago Saga” from August 2019 I explained how I thought the sago palm was getting too much sun, so I made it a little shade. Which worked okay until it got blown down by a storm last winter.

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But now I’m thinking maybe it just wasn’t getting enough water. Because it’s looking pretty good now, and has even grown new leaves.

I’m sure the nearby plants are enjoying the extra water, too.

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Now this part I don’t get. I put two star jasmine plants side by side. I can only imagine they are getting the same amount of sun and water. But one is dried up and the other is fine.

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Fortunately I’ve never had problems with the star jasmine by the front porch. Which seems a bit odd, considering I almost never water anything in the front yard. I planted them in around 1992-1993 and they bloom like this every May.

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Now that I’ve purposed in my heart to water my plants more consistently, I’ve been really happy with the way these two are coming along. Panda and Foster discussed them recently in “A Look Out the Window”.

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It’s been a few years since I put mulch in the back, so recently I went in search of some.

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When it comes to mulch, you have to be “big girl” and figure out how you are going to move the stuff. A little red wagon is just what you need.

It could still use more, but I’m about “mulched out” for the time being.

In case you noticed the cinder blocks on the cart in the picture from Lowe’s, first let me tell you that they are not anywhere near the garden section. All the other bricks and stepping stones seem to be in the garden department, but not these. For cinder blocks you have to go all the way to the other end of the store, past Lumber, to the cement aisle. I would have taken a picture of how far it was, but there was a man with a cart behind me and I was walking slowly enough as it was.

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I had used these two for decoration on the patio, and just recently made them into planters. Once I had two done I decided I needed more. Two was about all I could lift and push around in my Lowe’s cart, or I would have gotten more. This is no offense to anyone, but at those types of stores, you can be a small, white-haired, 62-year-old lady in a dress trying to load mulch or cinder blocks onto your cart and the employees can look right at you and not offer to help. But it may not be in their job description so I’m not going to worry about it. You just have to be “big girl” and get on with it.

Alyssum is a good choice for planters, but they aren’t very drought-friendly.

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Almost done with the second two! You might notice the alyssums look a little dry. Did I mention they’re not drought tolerant? We’ll have to work on that. In the meantime, here are some more pictures of what watering can do for your plants.

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And here’s an exciting news break: I’m now working on putting marbles in random locations. They’re fun, and they don’t need to be watered!