Winter Whites

Spider Lilies

Are you a lover of white flowers? I'll confess, I am not. I see so much white, in the form of mountain snow, that the thought of planting white flowers never really snaps my socks.

Moth Orchid

But, hey, I'm a Libra, and we're perpetually undecided.

So, after visiting Lona's pretty blog yesterday (she had an entire post of stunning white flowers) it got me thinking about how much prettier our gardens can be when we entertain the notions of others.

Christmas Azalea

Left to my own devices, things would be a sea of pink and blue. But, my daughter loves white so I'll include a couple zzzzzzzzzz, ever so dull, white perennials in the flower beds just for her.

African Violet

And, if you catch me on a good day, I might grudgingly agree with Hocking Hills ~ they pop like nobody's business against my sea of blue.

Christmas Cactus

What I didn't realize, until yesterday, is that white pops indoors just as beautifully.

And, that I am clearly in the minority when it comes to white flowers!

Because all the pretty blossoms in this post are past holiday gifts from white flower lovin' friends.

Plum Bonsai

Full Disclosure!
* I'm not nearly as popular as it might appear. :) Some of these whities are 5 or 6 years old. I expend a great deal of effort trying keep gifted perennials alive. Yep. I'm just that insecure. I have nightmares about the awkward moment when some friend pays me a visit, glances at the sunny window, and demands:

Hey! Where's that white something or other I bought you? 

Oh, it died.

And, you call yourself a garden blogger???

Yikes.

12th Month

 

11 months out of the year, my Christmas Cactus is the ugliest houseplant imaginable. But that 12th month? Oh, that 12th month makes up for everything.

I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving holiday. That's the whole point of this holiday, right? The biggest stresser is conjuring up a new, flimsy excuse on why, oh why, you need an extra slice of pie.

And, now? Let the madness begin...

Paper Yellows

Depending upon the holiday task at hand, I am either light years ahead of the game or so far behind it’s doubtful I’ll ever catch up.

Paper Yellows (be still my heart) opened this morning, gracing a dreary indoor landscape with some much needed color.

Their original career path ~ cheery Christmas gifts ~ is certainly not gonna happen. They'll run out of steam long before then but I can’t really blame them for the extra-early flowering.

‘Twas I who jumped the gun on the planting of the indoor bulbs.

Amaryllis bulbs

Yeah, yeah.. ugly now but just you wait a month or two! 

If only I had stuck with that program. After a burst of energy with the Narcissus (Paper Yellows,) I slipped right back into my procrastinating ways.

A month blew by. Now I find myself staring at a basket of Amaryllis bulbs, wishing I had a magic wand. They take their sweet lazy time at giving forth a flower, so I may have to give up on the idea of gifting these blossoms and keep them all to myself. Hmmm… are you spotting a pattern here…. ?

Elsewhere in the sunny window, holiday lovers are coming to life...

Edna, my ancient Christmas Cactus (since college!) is raining bright fuchsia blossoms. {top pic}

Not sure if that’s because she’s highly delighted for the holidays or if she’s feeling intense competition from this new little brat we purchased last winter:

New baby Christmas Cactus

Darling Sybil is demonstrating her schizophrenic holiday behavior, too. Somewhere, deep down, this 4 year old Poinsettia knows she's supposed to turn red for Christmas:

Terribly Confused Poinsettia

I just don't have the heart to lock up my poinsettias in a dark closet for 10 cruel weeks so they'll drop their leaves, go berserk and come back thoroughly red. Around these parts, we settle for red/green halfsies, instead.

Happy, happy...

Pre-Holiday chores got y'all stressed out?
Click here and be magically delivered to Grandma's house.

50 pound turkey? Check. Bushel of sweet taters? Check. Crispy, crunchy runner beans? Oh, yeah. Half dozen pie pumpkins? Hmmm. Pumpkin Pie? That was soooo last year.... try baking up one of these goodies instead!

Bourbon Pecan Sweet Tater Pie
- 1 frozen pie shell
- 2 cups roasted sweet potatoes, peeled and shmooshed
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1.5 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 3/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon
-------------------------------------------------
- 1 cup toasted pecans (stove top, minute or two, teflon pan)
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup

Uno: Pre-bake your pie crust for about 10 minutes @ 425 (F).
Dos: Toss the top list into a large bowl. Grab your trusty mixer and beat until fluffy.
Tres: Pour into the pie shell and bake @ 375 (F) for 20 minutes.
Cuatro: Mix up the nuts, butter and maple syrup. Pour over the pie. Pop it back in the oven for another 25-30 minutes.
Cinco, cinco, seis: Have a slice. Or two. Or, three! Hey, it's the holidays. Enjoy it while ya can.

Here's to a lovely weekend, this proverbial calm before the storm. And, happy Thanksgiving to one and all.


* If you click that top link, you'll receive your very own Thanksgiving card from me to you, designed by Jacquie Lawson, a goddess among card creators, even if she does make me pay for a subscription.
** This yummy dessert is adapted from a recipe I discovered on allrecipes.com. Mine, naturally, contains more booze. (Just kidding. That was a test to see if you're actually reading this post...)
*** The Spanish bit is from an old song, from an old band, and if you cannot recall it, then clearly you have better taste in music than me. :)

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day ~ November, 2010

John Cabot Roses (post blooming extravaganza.)

Oh, dear little blog... how I have missed thee. And, my garden, too.

I believe this might be the longest break I've ever taken between blog posts. And, while I do have a great excuse, it doesn't make for a very good story.

Scabiosa ~ Look close. Not just flowering in this frigid world. Bravely putting forth new buds! You grow, girl.

A scary ear infection (Geez! Those things are painful) had me down for the count. I slept away an entire week thanks to Dr. Kevorkian, Jr. ~ that HMO whiz of mine ~ who's answer to any dilemma is... Here! Take more pills.

Euphorbia adds a crazy bit of color to this icy brown landscape.

So, I'm sorry I haven't been over to visit anyone's blogs. And, I'm still not better. But, I am fed up. Enough's enough. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we've got company coming.

Plus today is Bloom Day! And, I gotta participate! Even if I don't have a single thing worth showing.

Some high in the sky apples, keeping the birdies happy and the horses frustrated:

One tricky little mushroom masquerading as a daisy:

And, Helianthus perennial sunflowers. Which, in my humble opinion, look just as pretty in winter time:


Pay a visit to Carol, author of May Dreams Gardens, who is also the crafty inventor of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

Wordless Wednesdays: Autumn in the High Country

Locals: Find these gorgeous autumn colors along the High Line Trail. For more Wordless Wednesday participants, click here.

Tick. Tock.

The clock on my desk keeps ticking in earnest.

It proudly displays the time... and also the date. As I stare at this gadget I'm quite befuddled on how to proceed. Throw the clock away? It's obviously broken. Ticking through the last months of this year at far too quick a pace.

Orchids ~ all smiles ~ they get to blossom indoors. 

Outside is a whole 'nother story.

It cannot possibly be November 1st. Can it? (Please, don't answer that.) 'Cause I'm not even half way done with my autumn chores.

Surprise snows buried all sorts of tacky garden art.

Winter came in the pesky way it does sometimes ~ too early. Chopping an entire month off gardening. And, horseback riding. And, pretty much everything else this autumn lover loves to do.

Peering out my kitchen window onto the uninvited guest: gloomy weather joined me for morning coffee far too often this month.

Surprise snows, followed by sudden melts. Bad Dog and I slip-slide along the hiking trails like little piglets wallowing in the mud.

During the blur that 'twas the month of October I was gifted with these gorgeous Iris ~ in honor of my birthday. Inching ever closer to the 5th decade, I am now... officially...

... older than I was the last time I had a birthday. :)

I hope y'all had a marvelous weekend.

MURRRRDER!!

I hear them whispering behind my back. Nosy neighbors, witness to crimes unimaginable. And, now they're stirring up trouble:

"It's murder I tell you, murder most foul!"

"This killing spree began early in springtime. We saw with our own eyes how she tortured those little flowers..."

• There was Death by Dehydration. (RIP beloved Canterbury Bells.)
• Death by Shameless Neglect! (I'll never forget you, dear Hibiscus.)
• Death by Strangulation! (Who's got time to pull all those weeds?)
• Death by Scary Critters! (No tippy toeing through the tulips for this little lady.)

 
Death by ignoring which growing zone I actually live in!
Goodbye my little cabbage. The icy fingers of a frosty night squeezed the life right out of you [and the rest of my heirloom veggies.]

++++++++++++

Suddenly, without a sound. Without a warning of any kind...

A crime of passion that should have the neighbors gossiping well into the next decade.

The premeditated murder of every jolly little houseplant that had bugs or refused to bloom... Such senseless brutality!

Whodunnit?
I did it!

I was a lazy, lazy gardener this summer. Forgetting to water, forgetting to weed. I didn't fertilize my flowers even once all summer long. I planted a lot of goodies but my lazy ways upped the body count, big time.

In loving memory of all the little flowers who died waiting for Kate to turn on the sprinklers. I promise to do better next year.

PS: I hope you'z all prepared for a hideous Halloween :)