What the?

I must be the least observant person in the world. Every day I walk past the Dracena marginata I took a cutting from and rooted, without noticing it's in dire straits. It is difficult for me to believe that I neglected to water it last week... unless I neglected to water *all* the houseplants? Most are large with large pots, so a missed watering does not bother them much. But this poor guy. I watered it today, in hopes that it will revive.

The seedlings are not fairing much better. The weather has been mild - highs in the 70's, lows in the 50s - but many have given up. Of the remaining few, they are *still* not putting out true leaves. It's a good thing my livelihood does not depend on my not-very-green thumb.

I mowed for the first time this season, and began the never-ending chore of weeding, starting with the bed by the front walk. While working, I contemplate what I would like to grow there along with the 'Autumn Joy' sedum. There are a few clumps of "naturalizing" daffodils as well as some 'Golden Bells' carpet daffodil, a row of 'Sunny Twinkles' allium, and maybe some surviving winter aconite. The bed gets morning sun. I'm on a plant diet this year - not going to buy anything new - but I can move stuff around, like the grape hyacinth? They need to be divided anyway.

I recently read a novel called Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane. It's about friendship, but the main character May Attaway is a botanist. Her father is a retired English professor who wants a tree planted in his memory on the university campus where May works on the grounds crew, so he keeps leaving her "tree sheets" to elicit her opinion. Also, a fair amount of plant talk is seamlessly woven into the story. I've been wanting to plant another tree in the backyard, so the tree sheets and their accompanying sketches were of particular interest to me. It's a fun and easy read as well.