Let's start this up again- December 14, 2014

Welcome to my garden blog, this winter 2014-15. There will be a picture contest starting in a week. I am gathering the pictures from the four corners of the computer, trying to pick just which ones to satisfy some elusive standard. Actually there are some gems coming, including the pictures for some weeks that will be a little different.

I can’t but notice that I have not written anything in 5 months.
Writer’s block has been widely recognized as a reason for non activity. Sometimes I suffer from something different. I can have writer’s overload. I want to write but am overwhelmed by too many subjects and too much to write about. I then cannot decide on which one. This only gets worse as time goes along with inactivity.

I want to tell you about the wonders in my garden, including the ones that happen inside now that inside is about the only game in town.
I want to tell you about the wonderful gardens we have visited this year.
I want to reflect on what was new in the garden this year.
I want to tell you about what exciting things there are to anticipate this coming spring.
So much to say and so little time to devote to this adventure.

I will try over the next 3 months or so to touch on some of those subjects.
Mostly I will bring you pictures and try to brighten your winter.

Garden News
All the plants that needed to made it inside this fall, got in without incident. We had a late first frost, about Halloween, which gave me plenty of time to bring in the hundreds of plants that are now filling up every corners of our house.
The jade plants only got bigger over the summer. Most of the orchids, with an extra month outside, are in spike at the moment.(They have bloom stalks growing.) That means that there will be flowers all winter, of many different varieties.


Barn quilt square.
Just look at my birthday present from Julia this September.

You have heard it here first. Barn quilt squares are coming to town. And why not? They are colorful. They can be unique. They are Mr. Plumbean’s Big Orange Splot. How many of your understand that reference?

And then there is indoor excitement. Why do we garden? We garden to experience the surprise of that first snowdrop. There is that first time the cactus blooms. There is the wonder of the flower that lasts and lasts, perhaps changing color over time.
This happens indoors too.

Here is this wonderful Christmas cactus that came inside loaded with buds. All it really took was getting to stay outside while the days grew shorter in October.

It bloomed for Thanksgiving.

So with a little bit of hesitation as I figure out how this format has changed in six months I am ready to go. I hope you will join me in the next 4 months.

Philip