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Once again I have found myself in a reoccurring situation. Old habits die hard. I have been neglecting my outdoor plants for a long time now. It's been so long I can't even say it out loud. It's embarrassing. Everytime I go out onto the deck, or leave the building I am faced with my shame. It is especially shameful with people come over to visit and see it too. They don't say anything, but I know what they're thinking. I'm not one of those people that apologizes for the horrid state of my living quarters when visitors come over, even though everything is immaculate. My living quarters are never immaculate so that just doesn't happen. Things are so bad, it's at the point that I don't want to go out and clean up because then people will see me and know I'm responsible. Well I'm not technically responsible. I am only a renter and I clean up the yard and planted a garden because I want to do it. But that's another story.
So today I was out on the  deck taking photos of a plant I picked up off the street. I'm a garbage picker too. The plant is a cactus I found siting next to a garbage bin in the freezing cold. It's beat up and teetering on the verge of death, but I couldn't leave it there. It was actually part of a pair, but the second plant was too far gone. So as I was taking the photos outside, I couldn't avoid the fact that the place was a mess. Plants were showing extreme signs of neglect, dead foliage was all over the place, something needed to be done. I remember a month or so ago mentioning in the forums that all I have to do to prepare for the approaching winter season is clean up some dead foliage, prune stuff back, lay a bit of mulch, and clean out some pots. I made it sound like it was going to be a breeze. In comparison to the amount of work I've had to do in past years it is somewhat easier. However, after spending hours, pruning plants, cleaning up debris and cleaning out pots (I've got dry dish pan hands now) I'm not so snarky anymore. I'm not even done. I still need to go out tomorrow for round two.
Well despite my neglect of the outdoor plants, my indoor plants are looking great. Except for the tree in the hall that has passed hands between my brother and I several times now (I gave it to him, he neglected it, I took it back), everything looks good. I'm going to use my success inside as an excuse for my neglect outside. In fact that's probably what I've been doing subconsciously all this time.
Back to the plant I picked up off the street. It's a rescue attempt that I hope will be a success. The cactus has very large, long, curvy leaves that sort of look like elongated oak leaves, only succulent. I saw a beautiful specimen at the The Niagara Parks Greenhouse in Niagara Falls this past July. It kind of reminds me of a dinosaur. Looking in my cactus and succulent book, it appears to be a member of the Epiphyllum genus with flowers that closely resemble those of the Christmas cactus. However, I don't think it will be flowering anytime soon. I am writing up an article detailing my methods for restoring it to healthy conditions that will include updates as to it's condition. Since today was the first day, all I can say is that it looks better all cleaned up but whether or not it will survive and grow into a healthy plant is yet to be determined.
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