Each Little World

Holiday decor

Last month, a long-time artist/gardener friend had a big sale of his artwork at a gallery space he created in his home. Artists never stop making new work and eventually they need to move it on to make room for new work; thus the sale. Mark bought a large print and I opted for this painting. I found the scene very calming despite its intense coloration. 

I added this ornament being pulled by a toy farm tractor as a nod to the holiday. The big green glass ball already had the pink bow on it. Clearly it was meant to join the painting. 

We are starting to come out of our cold spell. I'm a bit worried that it may get warm enough and rainy enough later this week to melt the snow cover. I'm thinking of going out looking for a couple of curbside Christmas trees to bring home. I will cut the branches off and have them ready to put over new plantings when the temperatures plunge back into winter. 

Happy Holidays

Wishing you and yours a pleasant and safe holiday

and an improved new year.

Holiday baking

I wasn't planning on trying a new cookie recipe this week until I saw this one in the NYTimes for Chocolate, Orange and Pistachio Shortbread. What's not to like with that melange of flavors? Mine look just like the newspaper photo and taste lovely. 

The recipe suggests using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. I don't have either and so I used my hand mixer until the dough got too thick. Then I used my hands and mixed the rest of the flour and the chopped sweets into the dough as though I was kneading bread. 

Letting the dough chill overnight in the fridge made it easy to slice even with big chunks of chocolate. The directions were easy to understand and follow, making this a recipe that I will be making again — and again.

Snow patterns

We've been having a lot of rain/snow mix that has everything looking lovely. We've cleared what we could off of trees and shrubs as it has mostly been a heavy wet snow. Now the temps are plunging so nothing's going to melt quickly. 

I'm enjoying the snowy patterns on the driveway. This is where snow started to melt on the stone pavers. By the end of the week our high temperature is not going to get out of single digits. Ugh.

December doldrums

Today marks one month since our friend Janice (right) died of cancer. I met Janice back in 2007 or 08 when I first started going for coffee on Saturday mornings to EVP on Speedway.

Janice was a drama queen in the best sense: Statuesque, stylish and impassioned. Always ready to protest, party or talk plants; we did plenty of all three over the years.

I can't begin to add up all the Saturdays we sat around sharing coffee and conversation. Nor can I quite image all those Saturdays to come without her. 

This week marks another unhappy anniversary: Friday will be one year since my sister Meg died of a rare auto-immune disease. This photo of her is so old I haven't a clue as to the date or location. But it's always been a favorite of mine. Her daughter, Sarah, is probably a similar age and looks strikingly like her mom does here. 

Meg's birthday is Christmas Day and my dad's is Christmas Eve. Despite having done a fair amount of holiday decorating, I am definitely not in a party mood and the 10-day weather forecast — rain, snow and cloudy skies — doesn't suggest there's any sunshine coming to push me out of my doldrums. So this is it for my blog posts this week. 

Snowy silence

A  mostly quiet week as far as the weather is concerned. It continues to be chilly with mostly gray skies and just a dusting of snow to remind us that it is December.

10:00 a.m. UPDATE: Still fairly silent out there but that's because a freezing mix was coming down when we got up this  morning. It's turned into very wet and heavy snow that's been coming down steadily. Mark is outside trying to carefully get some of the weight off the small trees that keep their leaves. That makes them susceptible to breakage. He just did the big Korean maple in the front garden and is looking to see what else might need some attention. I took the photo through a window.

End of November/early December views

I am loving all the green still visible in my garden, despite snowfalls and temperatures below freezing. I am especially fond of the contrast between the green Carexes and flopped over ferns at the top of the slope and the swath of golden Hakonechloa grass at the bottom. When the Hakonechloa blows in the wind, it's perfect.

Autumn ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance') are still looking good and standing up compared to many of the other ferns. You can see these in the first picture at the top left of the hill, if you click to enlarge the photo. If you don't grow Autumn ferns, it is worth pointing out that the autumn coloration is on the new growth of the fronds when they emerge in the spring, not in the autumn despite the name.

On the left of the hill in the first photo, the Carex sidersticha 'Variegate' (above the Hakonechloa) is all flattened and brown from the snow and cold. Meanwhile Carex plantaginea in other garden areas, though not on the hill, looks as spiffy as ever.  

Luzula 'Solar Flare' with a noid Hellebore. The foliage on this emerges very yellow green though it's less obvious in December. 

Moss always gets center stage when there is not so much other greenery competing for attention.

OMG! You can see the exobitant price on the name tag of this small fern — Cheilanthes lanosa 'Mighty Tidy' — out in the Moon Garden. Hairy Lip fern has made it through two winters and is slowly increasing in spread. Though only 6" high, it's ultimate width is supposedly 1'. I like it because it likes full sun in rocky, well-drained soil. Not the usual location for a fern.

Another rock garden fern; this one likes shade however. Dryopteris affines crispa — Dwarf crisped golden-scaled male fern — is a Z5 plant and should do well for me. I've been growing the full size version of this fern for more than ten years. Here's hoping this miniature version will do as well.

Polystichum setiferum 'Divisilosum' is new this year from Fancy Fronds. It has settled in nicely and still looks lovely. I am hoping this one makes it through the winter as I am pushing the zone here. I took a chance as this was nicely priced. It arrived as a good sized healthy plant well-worth the money.

A Week of Flowers: Day 7

This meme has me so excited for spring that I actually ordered a few Primroses online. Nice to know a flowery treat will be arriving in the mail in a few months. This is Primula auricula 'Argus.' I am experimenting with this variety and am hoping to see them again this coming spring. 

A hot pink version of Primula kisoana with Tiarella. I am a big fan of P. kisoana because they don't go summer dormant. Their foliage is lovely and makes a good ground cover for shade. 

To see what other garden bloggers are sharing during this "Week of Flowers," visit the blog of our host Cathy at Words and Herbs. 

A Week of Flowers: Day 6

Once upon a time this bed was full of Hostas. I removed all but two of them in 2021 as the loss of a neighboring tree put this area in too much sun. More light, coupled with hotter, drier  summers led me to fill the space with Calamintha nepeta ssp. nepeta and Allium 'Millennium.' The new planting looked fabulous all season and was an absolute bee magnet. 

I also put in a small plant of Geranium wallichianum  'Crystal Lake' which worked its way up and through all the Calamintha to add its small bright blooms. 

To see what other garden bloggers are sharing during this "Week of Flowers," visit the blog of our host Cathy at Words and Herbs. 

A Week of Flowers: Day 5

Oops! I am so used to posting on M-W-F that I completely forgot I was going to share my flowers every day for a week. Here are a few early summer drama queens to help me get back on track. Lilium 'Forever Susan.'

L. canadense

L. martagon 'Claude Shride"

To see what other garden bloggers are sharing during this "Week of Flowers," visit the blog of our host Cathy at Words and Herbs.