Rescuing Geraniums

Two summers ago, I bought a pot of geraniums on impulse one evening when we went to the supermarket for ice cream. The strain was an eye-poping bright red with just a little orange. The pot spent the summer on the front porch, then I brought it in for the winter, took slips off it, and last spring transplanted them all to a little space by the back door -- which of course gets more traffic than the front door.

Yesterday I lifted eight plants and brought them inside. This house doesn't have enough light for houseplants to survive. The one window that does bring in enough light is upstairs, far away from sight, far away from my mind. So I am trying the old way of keeping geraniums over winter -- hanging them upside down from the ceiling. I'll put them on the sunporch -- it's not heated, and I can keep an eye on them there. I'll pot them as early as I can, probably in early March, and put them in the coldframe.

I pulled the last of the basil plants because they had taken the frost hard, so, yes, I'm proud I'd harvested them when I did.

We had another frost overnight, so I imagine the nasturtiums are done. I enjoyed them so much. They are underused in our gardens these days.

I'll be quilting today, and I hope to get some writing done. Carrying a novel in one's head causes headaches.