We've all gotten them - dish garden gifts - to commemorate an anniversary, birthday, or other special occasion. We had one sitting on our front porch that had been given to my mother-in-law when she was planning to move here. She stayed in Maryland and we kept the plants. Over time a couple of the plants looked ok and a couple more looked pretty scraggly. The dracaena and croton were growing, although the croton was getting a bit leggy, but one of the the dieffenbachia was dying.

Last weekend when the gardening bug bit, I decided it was time to clean up the plants on the front porch and either give them a proper burial or nurture them into growth. The dracaena moved to the new garden (more about that later) while the croton and both dieffenbachia stayed out front. While one of the dieffs still had leaves, the other was barely a stub but I decided to give it a chance. I cleaned up the flower box, added new soil and placed both dieffs in the planter with a basil plant, two chives and a croton. As the croton gets larger, I will move it to the side garden but for now it's gaining strength where it is. The soil is richer and everything is frequently watered. Oh, and the dieff that I gave up for lost? Take a look at the picture on the frog's right. It's got green! And, see the little sprout behind it? That's one of the tulip bulbs from last Easter - the brown bag trick seems to have worked after all. Happy Gardening.