We only got a little snow, but it has been so cold for the last few days.

 

My dinosaur kale isn't happy, BUT!!!  It isn't dead.  Yay!!!

 

HAPPY WINTER!!!

 

Look at this beautiful Amaryllis that my friend gave me.  It has four flower buds on this stalk, and another stalk coming up.

 

I love these bulbs.  They can be "forced" to bloom,  or they can be left to bloom naturally.  And the bulbs last for years if allowed to rest between blooming.  I usually let my bulbs rest over the winter when they don't get much sun anyway.  Then in the spring when it warms up enough (over 50 degrees at night) I put them outside and they bloom and grow leaves.  They spend the summer and fall outside so their leaves can grow and make food for the bulb.  Then when nighttime temps drop below 50 degrees, I bring them into the basement to rest until next spring.  Then we start over.  

 

This one was forced to bloom at Christmastime.  That just means that the grower started watering the bulb around Thanksgiving, and in the course of a month it sent up this stalk and then bloomed.  My other Amaryllis bulbs will bloom in the spring when I put them out.  

 

I will be sure to show you all the Amaryllises when they bloom.  Each one is special and beautiful.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Roxanne's Camellia japonicas are blooming.  This is the prettiest one, I think.

 

I took this picture yesterday, and I hope that our overnight temps didn't frost its blossoms.  I will have to check later.

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

Funny that this would show up on my radar today.  It is so true.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Yay!!!  Got all my seed catalogs for next year's garden.  I love to look at them and read about so many different crops that I might be able to grow.

 

Sometimes the catalogs arrive after I have already planted my seeds.  Too late!!!

 

This way I have time to think about what I might grow in my garden.  And I have time to actually get seeds before planting time:  middle of February.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I know you aren't going to believe this, but when I went out to the garden yesterday to get kale for supper, I saw cilantro growing!!!

 

True, I planted seeds back in October, but who would've thought that it could survive the winter weather.  I guess it hasn't been all that cold yet.

 

Maybe I'll spend a little time in the garden this afternoon;  I love warmish winter weather.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Well, I guess winter has come to the mountains.  

 

Here's my beautiful frosty sage.  It doesn't love the frost, but it will survive.  And start growing again next spring.  See all those tiny leaves along the stems?  New branches will leaf out above each leaf when it's ready to begin the new year.  

 

You can't see it in this picture, but there is another Praying Mantis egg case attached to one of the branches.  Yay!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is one of our fall/winter cabbages.  I planted seeds in May, transplanted them into the garden in June, and harvested one of them yesterday.  

 

I've never bought Savoy cabbage in the grocery store, but I have always admired how pretty they are.  So this year I bought seeds and planted them.

 

After the frost on Monday, I harvested this one, and made cabbage rolls using ground turkey, onions, carrots, celery, and rice.  We used the big, outside leaves for the rolls, and cooked them in homemade chicken stock.  WOW!!!  Were they good!!!

 

I'M A HAPPY GARDENER!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Great news!!!  It warmed up some, we got some rain, and the arugula is back on track.  YAY!!!

 

It sure looked sad on Monday, but yesterday it perked up, and this morning it looks beautiful again.....

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I'm not sure about this, but it looks like the basil exploded from the inside with the frost on Monday.

 

No other plants in the garden looked like this, but all that white is ice.  And if you look closely, it looks like the ice is coming from inside the stems.  

 

Interesting.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!