This past week shuffled in the first frost of the season. The frost kills the top of plants, although it does not similarly affect the roots. In theory, we can keep planting until the cold freezes the soil, which can take weeks or months after we dip into freezing temperatures.

Unfortunately, this does not bode well for the prevention of my spare not-dead mint plant from taking hold of my iris plot, after some Halloween trick-or-treaters must have knocked the bottle over. This mint honestly should be dead, since I never transferred the seemingly unsuccessful propagation cuttings out of the jug of water and into soil. And yet….

I’ll admit I am mildly terrified of the spearmint taking hold in the garden. This plant is best kept in containers because otherwise it will overtake everything and never die. Mint is forever. Which sounds like a clever method of revenge against one’s adversary. In case anyone needs some ideas.

I also brought in various outdoor plants to overwinter safe and frost-free until next spring. The aloe plant looks much larger than I remember it initially being, compared to my regularly indoor aloe plants, which have remained tiny. Either my intentional watering patterns leave much to be desired for this plant, or the aloe prefers the heat, airflow, or other outdoor elements.

I had already brought in the Purple Heart because it did not seem to like the outdoors, and has grown better in its new indoor environment.

The basil plant I left outside because it looks as good as gone. 

And I also left the outdoor Tradescantia zebrina (the one I thought was dead from fungus gnats, but ended up flourishing under the bird feeder). Half of me wanted to see how hardy this indestructible little bugger is. The other half didn’t want to venture onto the cold porch to retrieve the forgotten plant in the morning. So far, not dead yet!

Finally, the new fig trees were brought inside. This pair was gifted to me by a fig tree enthusiast. They are of the ‘Brown Turkey’ variety, and supposedly have the fortitude of weeds. We made a cutting from a section of mature fig trees, including the base and some roots; trimmed down some of the longer branches; placed them in a couple pots of rocky soil and compost; drove them back to my place, with the top halves branching through the open windows of the car, which was quite a sight; and settled them in for the winter. From what I was told, the leaves will die and fall off, and the plant will go dormant until the weather warms up, thus negating a need for much sunlight or watering. I’ll give each a cup of water maybe once a month, but otherwise leave them be and hope for the best. Wish me luck!