Once again it’s that most wonderful time of the gardening year… it’s the first day of Plantness!  Obviously you knew that but when I saw it hadn’t appeared automatically on my phone calendar, I thought good-golly I better make an official announcement!  So here it is.  January 12th is the first day of the ten days of Plantness, a celebration of hope and renewal and a way to get through the ten coldest days of the year (in my zone at least) with an eye on the warming weather which is our future.  The winter solstice has passed, but even with a few minutes added each day the strength of the sun still isn’t quite enough to slow the cooling until about a month later.  For us that’s January 21st when the average temps start to increase again, and by celebrating Plantness we make our way through those last coldest nights to turn the tide and begin to see things warming up again.

This bromeliad was a 2024 Plantness plant.  Two years later and it’s in three pots around the winter garden and care amounts to nothing more than toping off the water in the leaves every week or two.  I’ve never even fertilized.

So on each of the ten days I shall add a new plant in celebration.  That’s basically the point of the holiday, force yourself to add something new each day, and for as easy (and possibly reckless) as that might sound, it’s really not!  It’s the depths of winter and places are closed or pickings are sparse.  The (other)holiday season wore a couple people out.  We’ve been doing it for a two years now and sometimes it takes a kick in the butt kind of attitude to put on a coat and go out into the dark for a little plant shopping after work, but we know what’s at stake.  Giving Plantness it’s proper dues will guarantee an early spring and if taking on a few new plants is what it takes, I’m there.

‘Brasil’ heartleaf philodendron was a grocery find and I still love it.  After a poky start it’s really taking off and probably due for a hanging pot finally rather than any more draping across furniture.

“But wait, I can’t possibly fit in ten more plants, but I also don’t want it to be my fault that winter stretches on forever!”  -yes, that’s a responsible thought but please try harder.  There’s a range of options which count and I think everyone can do their part.  New plants count, but so do plant accessories, plant pots, plant soil, outdoor plant orders, seed orders… plant society memberships, plant books, garden tools, garden accessories… cut flowers… basically if you think about plants when you’re buying it, it works… unless it’s a fake plant of course, that never counts.

A Plantness favorite, this variegated Boston fern, aka tiger fern, was a little four inch pot of coolness from a specialty greenhouse visited two years ago.  

Alright, I’ll admit it’s a little tricky getting out every day so here are a few of the cheat codes for properly celebrating Plantness.  Multiple items picked up on the same day count forward, ie: three things today will cover Mon, Tues, and Wed.  Gifted plants always count towards the receiver, but might count for the giver if purchased in the appropriate timeframe.  Things ordered but not received can count on the order day… or whenever, and pre-Plantness purchases might also count, particularly if purchased on credit and you have yet to pay the bill.  Even gifted plantness items count if they’re given prior to Plantness -because maybe someone couldn’t wait any longer for that first greenhouse run of the new year and had to make space- you can count these early gifted items as well, just don’t ‘officially’ accept them until after the 12th.  Perhaps it sounds complicated.  It can be.  Message me if you need help, and if in doubt, err on the side of caution and just buy it!

A closeup of the tiger fern.  I’m wondering if I separate a few all-chartreuse divisions out, if they would remain stable and if that’s a good thing.

One of the important nuances of Plantness is that longevity doesn’t matter, in fact I encourage people to buy plants which they know will die because as you might guess, dead plants don’t take up windowsill space, so toss the poinsettia and bring home a few florist cyclamen and spring primula…. and then feel free to put them out on the back steps the minute you get bored.

I was way too excited to get this variegated snake plant (Sansevieria ‘Sayuri’) and hope I didn’t scare anyone when I immediately snatched it off the shelf.  Sadly, it’s barely grown since last year and I think it’s me.

I hope you enjoy this year’s ten days of Plantness.  I’ll try and post a few updates as the season goes on but I can’t make any promises.  Please join me though.  My first Plantness purchase, and the reason I didn’t finish this post last night, was a snowdrop order from The Temple Nursery.  The catalog arrived Friday and to even wait one day on sending in an order risks missing out on your choices (so I can’t believe I sat on it through Saturday) but it’s en route now and we will cross our fingers.

A reliable Thanksgiving bloomer, ‘Potter’s Prelude’ is late this year with all the cold.  Our January thaw had me out taking photos of this drop since it’s finally in bloom, but by the time I got around to this end of the garden a snow squall had changed the tone.

Tomorrow I’m working late, so maybe a grocery store stop?  Wednesday I might try and hit Hidden Gardens which is my local wintertime greenhouse treat, and by the weekend my friends and I are planning a daytrip South to bigger greenhouses and more fun.  Fingers crossed a cake will be involved.

Hope you have as much fun with this as we do, and let me know how it goes!  Have a great week 🙂