Bright white ornamental Quince on an otherwise gloomy Wednesday morn …
Have a lovely day!
Tag Archives: Gardening
Hyacinths
I don’t usually cut flowers from my garden. I like to leave them in place for passers-by to enjoy. However, with freezing temperatures approaching, I decided to cut a few hyacinths to bring in the house. Their fragrance is remarkable, so I’m glad to have them inside. Have a lovely day!
The Next Big Chore
I managed to get our roses bushes pruned a few weeks ago, which was a little early for pruning, but I wanted to get the yard spruced up for a wedding. Now the next big chore is pruning the rest of our shrubs: hydrangeas*, crape myrtles, several varieties of spirea, viburnums, sand cherries, beauty berries, boxwoods, mugo pines, cedars and junipers. No wonder that it seems like a lot to do!
This is a hydrangea grandiflora paniculata which blooms best with severe blooming in the spring. It is definitely worth the work!
* Note, spring-blooming hydrangeas should be pruned after blooming. Those that bloom in summer and autumn should be pruned in spring.
Time for More Basil
Back in early October, we had unseasonably cold weather. So I snipped about a dozen branches from the basil plants in my garden and put them into water, hoping to extend their usable life by a few weeks. To my surprise they rooted and thrived in my kitchen. (I was surprised because I have never had luck keeping potted basil plants inside.) To my even greater surprise, I was able to keep them going for six months … well at least one of them. Because I used their leaves all winter, I am down to the last stem on my last branch. They were incredibly easy to keep going. I just changed the water and washed out the jars about once a week. What a wonderful, unexpected run of fresh basil. It is still too early to put new plants into the ground, as basil is not very cold hardy. However, I can start a few pots and just bring them in when the temperatures are about to dip too low. Yay! No need to be without this wonderful herb!
Have a lovely weekend!
The First Garden Flowers of Spring
Oh, joy! Two little Pickwick Crocuses popped their heads up today – the first flowers of the season to come up in my garden. Though they are just wee little things, it is a wonderful sign because once blooms start appearing more will soon follow!
Have a lovely day!
We’re Trying to Make Spring Arrive
We’ve potted up several flats of pansies and violas, trying to make it feel like Spring!
Dried Marilyn
With a day so gorgeous, I decided it was worth a second post. This picture is of a Marilyn Monroe rose dried on the bush. I leave the flowers on my rose bushes at the end of the gardening season as a reminder that once winter passes, they shall bloom lushly once again.
I hope that you, too, are getting to enjoy the weekend!
A Little Hope
The foliage on my amaryllises from last Christmas only just died back a few weeks ago. Since it took so long for them to go dormant, I was starting to wonder whether I would have any flowers from the bulbs this winter. Then a few new leaves started to appear in each pot a few days ago. There is hope yet!
Beauty in an Autumn Garden
With cold weather upon us – it was only in the 30’s F. at lunchtime today – I am not sure for how much longer the garden will be in bloom. So, of course, I am trying to enjoy it as much as I can before winter hits. Here are some photos from this morning. My fingers were numb taking them, but it was still a great pleasure to be out with the flowers.
I am not sure that I can explain it, but I find there to be something romantic about an autumn garden – perhaps it has something to do with its beauty and quietude and all of the memories that it contains.
Several of the roses – Mr. Lincoln and Secret – are especially fragrant now. I wish that I could share their scent with you.
Have a lovely day!
A Touch of Orange
Orange chrysanthemums in the garden this morning …
A Taste of Morning 