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| 'Minor Monarque' tazetta narcissus |
Guess you can't keep a good bulb down. I just planted this 'Minor Monarque' in mid-October and it's already blooming. Well, just one stalk is blooming anyway. Every fall I plant some heirloom daffodils and other bulbs in the garden. This heirloom is an oldie that has been around since the early 1800's. It's supposed to be sweetly scented but frankly, it's been too cold for me to get on my hands and knees to get a whiff.
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| Ice in the pond near my glass ball treasure from Seattle |
Yes, it's been mighty cold and wet this last week of the year. I've really become accustomed to the milder winters lately so I'm not a happy camper.
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| You can see how the winds blew waves into the ice |
All this below freezing weather has left a sea of dead sticks in my garden that I'd love to clean up. But I'm too wimpy to brave the cold wind. I'll put some bird seed out, but that's about it.
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| Ice bloom from my lantana |
For a couple of days now I've had these beautiful ice "blooms" from my lantana plant. This occurs when the water inside a plant starts to freeze and bursts through the "skin." I always debate about cutting frozen plants back. Some say cutting them back may encourage new growth that'll get zapped with the next freeze, and others don't cut them back for aesthetic or bird food reasons. (I usually leave seed heads for the birds but I think the plants are past that now.) So some day when the weather softens I may get out there and tidy up.
I've been thinking about the coming gardening year and what I hope to accomplish. I'd like more structure in my garden and plan to add some more shrubs. As I normally do, I'll look for wildlife-friendly plants, and I'll allow myself some slack when it comes to weeding, blogging and reading blog posts. I look forward to the next Garden Bloggers Fling in San Francisco, and I hope to make it back to England in the summer and tour some new-to-me gardens. How about you? Do you have any gardening hopes for 2013?
My wish for all of us is a year of peace, and I hope you have good health and happiness in 2013!
This post was written by Jean McWeeney for my blog Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog. Copyright 2012. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.
The same to you, Jean, and if you are visiting gardens anywhere in Gloucestershire, please do come visit. Otherwise, I hope to see you in San Francisco. Best wishes, Victoria
ReplyDeleteYou and I are in the same boat. I did a little snipping this weekend, but I am no where near what I need to get done!
ReplyDeleteThe lantana image is beautiful! Take it from a northern gardener--I don't do anything outdoors in the winter, other than snap a few photos when the snow falls. My big plans for next year's garden is to complete all the projects I had planned for 2012:)
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best in the New Year, Jean!
Oooh it does look so cold. We've had just a bit of ice on the birdbath here but I've never seen that on the lantana.
ReplyDeleteOn the advice of experienced local gardeners I usually leave everything until spring. It gets messy but it's nice to have a break.
Happy New Year!
BRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr - looks chilly! I don't blame you for wanting to stay warm. The ice sure does look spectacular though....from afar ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Jean! 2013 will be the year I add (and learn more about) shrubs/bushes. Need more structure! Stay warm.
ReplyDeleteThe Ice Bloom on the Lantana is amazing...I've never seen them do that before!
ReplyDeleteHi Jean. Love your photo of the briliant blue ball in the icy pond. My 2013 garden hopes are the same as always, "Remember to water and deadhead." ha ha
ReplyDeleteThings probably look very different by now. I've got snow and ice, but I've also got beautiful paperwhitess, and the tulips I potted up are sending up shoots.
ReplyDeletePat, no ice here right now but spring has definitely not started yet. One or two more daffodil blooms though.
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