My Pottery and Maidenhair Fern

Hello my friends.  I'm late to post today as I took Dayle in for his cataract surgery and we just got home.  All is well.  He's dozy but is glad it's over.  The other eye will be done in a few weeks.  Thank you to those who have been keeping him in your thoughts and prayers.  We love and appreciate you!  

I have been meaning to work on this pot of plants, there was a top-heavy Aloe in there that kept tipping it over.  I also stuck this Haworthia Zebra spiky succulent.  What is fun is that I had a Maidenhair fern plant next to this pot and it appears that some seed spores fell into this pot and the fern has lived in here too.  SO.. I finally got the pot out of the garden window and broke off the Aloe and will plant it in another pot, along with the big part of the zebra aloe.  This is a small new Zebra aloe that I didn't even know was there.  When I ripped out the big part this was left.  OK, you may remain with the fern, mr. Z.

I don't think I've ever showed you this pot.  Let me tell you about it.  I had taken pottery classes for years at Mt. Hood Community College and have lots of pottery around here that I made there.  I loved pottery so much that I set up a pottery in our garage next to our other house before we moved here.  I got a Lockerbie kick wheel and an Olympic kiln.  I bought bags of earthenware clay and bought dried glazes.  I had my own pottery tools from college classes.  I made this little darling by hand-throwing the bowl part on the wheel, then I trimmed the bottom round, cut a hole and hand formed the 3 legs and attached them.  After I bisque fired it I glazed the bowl part and then set the pot on my potters wheel and kicked it slowly and used a brush cobalt and iron oxides to apply the design.  Then a high fire and this sweet pot has kept me company for... 40 years or so.  

The design of the pot and the decorations are from my heart - I still firmly believe that my Native American Indian heritage springs forth from my hands as a gift from my Indian grandmother who I never met.

I adore Maidenhair ferns so I've given this plant permission to flourish in this pot without being crowded by the Aloe.  I should have taken before and after photos.

I'm wondering how this cactussy plant will co-habitate happily with a fern which is known to love moisture.  We will see.  Strange bedfellows.  :-)

The reason I hog-tied my Hibiscus is because I saw this bud, it was jammed up against the window so I turned the plant and all the branches fell into room so I had to wrangle it like a wild bronco and tame it by tying it to a black bamboo from our yard.  I saw a few aphids on this plant.. any recommendations for a home remedy for that?  I'm not a fan of spraying poison in my home.

And look.. a new bloom on the Peace Lily (spathiphyllum) that I brought home from my sister Roberta's funeral a year ago.  I am going to accept that it is my sister sending her love to me.

I lit my little fairy lantern last night so I snapped a photo and you can see our little Mocha laying there and two buds from our Double Delight rose.  KathyB - imagine your puppy photobombing your photos?  You know you want one.  LOL!

My eye surgery has finally been set for 3 weeks.  Man, this getting old sucks.  Stay safe my friends.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)