Hero Plants That Survived My Post-Surgery Neglect

When I came home from the hospital after a total knee replacement last July, it was 105 degrees outside. The next day, just as grossly hot, the power went out. No air conditioning, and no ice for my knee. In the weeks following, triple-digit heat was the norm.

Between the blast-furnace heat, my pain and relative immobility, I fell into complete disregard for anything outside my front door, including my poor plants. I remember thinking, “All of you guys are on your own. Live or die. I’m AWOL.”

At week two a kind visiting nurse took pity on my crispy potted roses on the front deck and watered them for me. That was the last time they, or the ornamental beds in the front yard, got water for weeks.

About a month after surgery, I turned a corner pain- and mobility-wise. Temperatures had dropped to the low 90s (thank the stars for small favors). I ventured out onto the front deck with my walker to survey the damage I had wrought on my plant friends.

Amazingly, there were signs of stubborn life everywhere. My focus on planting hardy, drought-tolerant perennials had paid off.

Yes, all of the spring leaves on my roses were toast. But the canes were green as ever. So much for roses being fussy and tender.

My Russian sages (Perovskia—which by the way are not from Russia or in the sage family) were still sporting silver leaves and about half of their tall, arching sprays of teensy lavender flower bracts the bumble bees adore.

Speaking of true sages (Salvia), I have several varieties, and all were still hanging in there. Their small sweet-pea-like flowers were gone; but their leaves were still green, albeit a little droopy.

The Spanish lavender (Lavendula stoechas), which in spring was covered in purple blooms, was doing what lavenders do best (besides smell good): brave the heat with little or no water.

More plants that refused to give up the ghost are my two lovely Japanese maples (Acer palmatum); crepe myrtles (Lagerstroemia); groundcover Lithodora with its tiny star-shaped blue flowers; blue fescue (Festuca spp); Bluebeard (Caryopteris); Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) and plantain lily (Hosta).

It’s early November as I write this, with its blessed cool temperatures and baby blue skies. We’ve had a couple of light rains. Last month, with temperatures in the 80s, my plant buddies put on another show. A last, lovely flush of roses, sages bursting with blooms, and now the crepe myrtle trees, big showoffs, saying farewell to the season with their blazing orange leaves.

I am humbled and so grateful to regain my love for and sense of responsibility to my little corner of Mother Nature.

I have two more joint surgeries in 2025. Next time, I’ll buy and set up timers on sprinklers beforehand. And next time, I’ll get my butt off the couch sooner after surgery, to sit in my favorite front deck chair in the morning sunshine—no matter the coming heat—and water one potted plant, one gallon, one step at a time.

Rachel Oppedahl is a UCCE Master Gardener in Tuolumne County. UCCE Central Sierra Master Gardeners can answer home gardening questions, from rainwater tanks to drought-resistant plants.