A beautiful morning...

It was so lovely outside this morning. I let my chickens outside their pen to "free range" and then I poked around my garden to see what was happening. The chickens tend to follow us and when Kirstin came outside, Tiger and the chickens all congregated at her feet, eying one another.




My camellia has its first bloom of the year. Its leaves get sunburned over Winter so they turn a coppery brown color. I need to fertilize the bush; I think its flowers are getting a little small.




Yellow crocuses are blooming. They are still in the container I put them in years ago, not knowing where else to put them. Hmmm. Will this be the year I put them in a bed? I just figured out where they need to go: in the bed that I see when I look straight out the front door. That bed seriously needs Spring bulbs.



I'm looking forward to these blue Hyacinths opening up. Won't they be gorgeous?



The first daffodil. More will follow soon. They're very sunny.



One of my favorite sights: a cane break. 'Double Delight' is producing a new cane; may it bring me lots and lots of roses.



I love the new leaves of my 'Hyperion' daylily. Somehow they seem happy and energetic. I've got other daylilies coming up, too.






The chickens really liked scratching around my 'New Dawn' rose underneath the arbor. There is good soil there.




Thankfully they didn't damage these bulb tips coming up. What do you call it when you dig up bulbs, leaving some, of course, from a yard where no one lives? Well, that's what I did to get these. I'm not sure what they are, but the flowers are blue. Hmmm. I wonder why I was attracted to them?



I was so happy to see these little bitty green things in the ground. They are the new new growth of my yellow Salvia. My other yellow Salvia, the one with variegated leaves, is also coming up. And so are my ground Orchids. Oh, happy, happy, happy.




How do you like the little pink edge on the new leaves of my variegated Hydranga? I love this bush. I've put coffe grounds at its base hoping for blue flowers this year. But, really, I grow this particular Hydrangea for its wonderful leaves.




A male Cardinal was sitting high up in the branches of the Laurel Oak. And singing. Look at that (Carolina) blue sky. It was just that kind of day.



Tiger was helping himself to a drink of water. He looked up when I came over to take his picture. (Please tell me that you have an unruly stack of pots and containers in your garden, too.)




Guess what else I discovered. Before too long we will have something yummy from the garden to eat. Even though Julie was sure I had killed it, my Rhubarb is coming up. I'm thrilled.




There is something very, very beautiful in my greenhouse right now. You'll know what it is, so I'll just show it to you.


Have a beautiful day!
P.S. There are froggies outside peeping and cro-aking!

Bloom Day Febraury 2011...

Today as I was traversing a country road near where I live I saw a couple of Forsythia bushes covered with their cheerful yellow flowers. My bush isn't blooming yet, but it was exciting to see that Spring is edging closer. In my own garden, the Violas that I planted last fall are starting to look a lot more cheerful.



Several weeks ago, I discovered this volunteer Johnny seedling blooming. I think it is so pretty. Maybe even prettier than the ones that I bought to plant.



So, what do you think?



Inside the house, my Silver Squill has been blooming. The stalks are elongated as it reaches for light, but I think the tiny flowers are very interesting. (You can click on the picture for a larger view.)



Back outside, the first new flower in a long time is.... wouldn't you know it.... a weed. Actually, I am fine with that for now. I'm just happy that things are happening in my garden again. This Cardamine hirta is growing in a nursery container.



The flower I am most excited about is my False Crocus (Nothoscordum sellowianum). Its first bud appeared a couple of days ago and soon opened. Well, in the day anyway. It closes up for night. And now a second bud has appeared. This fragrant plant should bloom for several weeks. I'm glad.



Thanks for stopping by on Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in other gardens.


Have a beautiful day!

Orchids, orchids, orchids...

A couple of weeks ago I got to do something that I wanted to do last year, but wasn't able to. I attended The Triad Orchid Society Show. It was utterly amazing!!!



The first thing I noticed when I entered the door of the Greensboro Council of Garden Clubs building was the incredible scent filling the air. I don't think I've ever encountered anything like it.


In the foyer of the building, 3 different vendors had orchids for sale. Those, of course, were beautiful, but the treat within the main room was absolutely astounding.

{These are Darwin Orchids and this plant is about 20 years old.}

Ten different displays were set up, by individuals or clubs, to the theme of "A Walk in the Park" and there were literally thousands of blooms. They ranged in size from smaller than dimes to ones that were probably 4 and 5 inches across. And in every color imaginable.




The blooms were so varied in shape. It was astonishing. There was so much to take in. I could have spent hours and hours there, just looking and looking and looking.




As it was, I took many, many photographs. The ones you see on this post are only a tiny part of them. Please, please, please visit this gallery that I have set up for you to see more of these gorgeous flowers. (You can click on each image for a larger view.) The page will take a few seconds to load, but the beauty of these wonderful orchids is worth the wait! Enjoy!


Have a beautiful day!

Today in the Garden...

One afternoon last week, Kirstin took this picture of the house as she came home from college. I like how much blue there is. Doesn't Princess make a nice addition to the steps? Today was a wonderful day for working outside so I cleaned up the bed to the right of the the steps, as you are facing the porch.




There are all kinds of pretty green things poking their heads up out of the soil. I am sooo happy to see them! I've got a number of blue Hyacinths in this bed. The Hyacinths in the bed on the other side of the steps are pink.



The rose bush, Pink Gruss An Achen, has teeny tiny little bitty red leaf buds on it. I pruned it and cleaned up around it. I won't prune most of my roses just yet, but this is the warmest spot in my garden. The Iris is coming up and so are some Daffodils.



I haven't opened up my greenhouse for several months now. It has been way too cold. When I opened it up this afternoon, it was pretty hot in the greenhouse. I'll have to be careful that I don't cook the plants now that it is warming up. I think most of the plants survived.




Some of the plants that look brown and dead may not be. It's too early yet to start pruning them to check, but this plant obviously has plenty of green at its base. I'm so glad.



Here's something I didn't expect to see in the greenhouse. A tiny praying mantis. Actually, I saw a couple of them. There must have been an egg sac on one of the plants and, because it is warmer in the greenhouse, they were tricked into hatching early. I don't know how much they will find to eat in there.




I've saved the best for last. Look what I found today. It's a bud of my False Crocus. Julie and I were jubilant. Julie said, "Does that mean that it is Spring now?" I don't know, since it is a False Crocus. Even in its bud stage, we could detect a faint scent. Oh, I am so thrilled for my flowers to be returning.



Have a beautiful day!

Bloom Day January 2011...

It's time once again for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this monthly activity. The Paperwhites and Hyacinth that I recently blogged about have just about finished their blooms, but I sure did enjoy them while they lasted. My Parlor Palm is blooming again.




It didn't bloom all the years I lived in California, but every Winter since I moved it to North Carolina, it has bloomed. The stalk on the right is still little buds and the stalk on the left is more mature.



I think the tiny "buttons" it produces are so amazing in their simplicity.



Outside my garden is pretty much still covered in snow and ice.




Tiger didn't seem to mind rolling around in the aforementioned snow and ice, though! (If you want to see pictures of my chickens checking out the snow, you can go to my Chickie Update and scroll down the page.)




About the only color outside is the glass beads I added to this little wind chime several years ago. In the Spring and Summer, it doesn't really show up, but in the snow, it sparkles.




All the Violas outside are struggling - frozen and/or buried under the snow - except for the ones on the front porch. These are cozy and (relatively) warm in their sheltered area. Thanks for stopping by my garden. And be sure to go to May Dreams Gardens to find other gardens to visit.



Have a beautiful day! And stay warm!

Paperwhites and Hyacinth...

My garden once again is covered with a layer of snow. This time the snow is only about an inch deep. It is topped with ice so when I walk on it, the snow crunches. I do like the way it looks like icing on my stone wall.




Yesterday, it was falling in snow flakes. I love snow flakes. They are so exquisite, so amazing. So tiny and so intricate.



I've been growing Paperwhites (Narcissus 'Ziva') in my laundry room. Their scent is wonderful! Wouldn't it be cool if the fragrance from the Paperwhites would drift into my dryer and make my clothes smell like Paperwhites?



I found the bulbs discounted a few weeks ago and couldn't resist the temptation. I used some of the gravel from my path to fill jars and stuck the bulbs on top. I like to see their roots growing.



Behind the blooms is the new curtain I made for my laundry room window. It's just a simple muslin panel hung on small clip-on cafe rings. I'm pleased with it. And it makes a lovely picture with my Paperwhites.



I'll plant them outside once it warms up (if it ever does! Ha!), even though I haven't been able to get Paperwhites to naturalize here. Maybe in a different location they will do better.




Yesterday at a grocery store, I found a Hyacinth on clearance. There were some mums, too, but the Hyacinth was/is fragrant, so it won out. It'll also get planted outside in the Spring. I've had success with Hyacinth so it should come back each year. It came in a little plastic pot inside of a terracotta cachepot. I put the little plastic pot inside of the blue and white ceramic pot, which I found a couple of years ago.




The plant had two blooming stems on it, but, as careful as I was, one of them got broken. (The poor plant was seriously wilted because it hadn't been watered; just put on sale.) However, the broken stem gave me permission to put it into a make-shift vase and enjoy its beauty and fragrance on my bedroom vanity.


Have a beautiful day!