Tea Party Tuesday * Rosita, the Red Hibiscus

"Rosita-September 2014"

Welcome to Tea Party Tuesday! I'm so glad you've joined me today. Let me pour you a nice cup of tea and we'll chat a while. Milk? Sugars?

Rosita is my husband's red hibiscus. He's raised her from a tiny plant one foot high. Since we live in Texas, where it's hot, hot, and hotter, I only allowed him one plant to care for.

Seriously, one is all he really has time for. But then he talked me into letting him buy a small Easter cactus family that he named "La Familia."

At least "La Familia" is low-maintenance.


Not Rosita.

Oh, no. Not her. You see, if left outside, Rosita would freeze her little roots off with the first cold front in November. The solution?

We must move her inside like we did last year. Only now, Rosita is twice the size she was last year and will occupy most of our morning room.

Still, she's therapy for my husband, so letting her live another year is the least I can do.

He compliments her.

He checks her soil to make sure it's moist.

He prunes her faded blossoms and tells her how much he looks forward to her next rush of blossoms.

Sigh...if only he'd do the same for me.

Then again, I really can't blame him.

The difference between Rosita and me is only this -- she's silent.

Never says a word.

Never talks back, criticizes, or complains.

What's not to love?

I get it. Perhaps I should take a lesson from Rosita and keep silent once in a while.

Or, I could forget to bring her inside....

Do you winter over plants inside where you live? I'd love to hear about them. Thanks for joining me today. I had fun.

Cheers!

~Nancy Jill 

Look for my new book "Murder at Mirror Lake" coming in November 2014.

When Jillian and her garden club friends decide to take a fall color tour in New England, they have no idea the resort they choose as home base will soon be a setting for murder. And more than one.

Who killed the hotel's head chef in his own kitchen and why? His cuisine was excellent but his personality left a bad taste. Together with Jillian's Yorkie companion Teddy, and the help her garden club, Jillian works with Lake Placid's top gun Police Chief Mark Taylor in uncovering the killer.