I'm Dreaming of a Warm Christmas....

Just like the ones I used to know.....

........growing up in Australia,
where Christmas was most decidedly
not white!

But it certainly is this year in upstate NY!

We've had a very snowy December....

and my dear husband has spent quite a bit of time out in the cold plowing the driveway.

I must say the scenery is gorgeous,

but the cold that goes along with it is not so enjoyable.

It's very good weather however, for baking holiday treats.

Dear Alice, are you and Richard coming for tea and shortbread? I made it especially for you!

Or, if you'd prefer, cranberry chocolate chip cookies.

Or perhaps some of that delicious cranberry-orange nut bread? We liked it so much at Thanksgiving I decided to make it again for Christmas. We'll save you some, but you'd better hurry!

The hungry little birds have been arriving early in the mornings to fill their tummies against the cold.

Little Mr. Downy Woodpecker is a friendly fellow and doesn't mind posing for a photo.

From our house to yours.

I hope you all have a joyful Christmas filled with the blessings of family and good friends.

And please dear Aussie blog friends, soak up some of that wonderful warm sunshine for me!

Remember the reason for the season!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - December '08

There's a scarcity of blooms, but an abundance of snow in our neck of the woods on this December Bloom Day, due to another snow storm last Friday. It socked us with about 8 inches of new snow. We were lucky enough to avoid the ice storms and power loss that many in the Northeast experienced.

The only plant putting on a show at the moment is this pretty Christmas Cactus (Zygo Cactus).

I love the way the buds are a purplish pink but the flowers turn out to be more of a reddish shade.

The front gardens are buried under snow. No blooms to be found there on this mid-December day.

The Azalea that was looking so pretty in the fall, dressed in a deep shade of burgundy, is now wearing snowy white.

There's still a hint of purple in the Heuchera leaves....

.......while berries adorn the Burning Bush....

....and the Crab Apple (Malus).

My dear husband set up a place in the cellar, with fluorescent lights overhead, to overwinter some of my plants, so we have quite a nice little indoor garden downstairs.

A few of the Ivy Geraniums are down there (This is Taj Mahal)...

...but most are in two spare bedrooms upstairs. Some of them are blessing us with a few blooms at the moment.

If I look closely I can also find a few blooms on the following plants:

Columnia

Wax begonias - 3 varieties

Reiger Begonia - just beginning to bloom

Angel Wing Begonia

Baby Wing Begonia

Diamond Frost Euphorbia

To see what's blooming all around the world, visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens.

Happy Bloom Day everyone!

Snowy Thanksgiving

Winter seems to have settled in on this Thanksgiving.

No new snow fell for our holiday, but we've had quite enough during the past week to paint the landscape a peaceful, snowy white.

On Tuesday morning the tree branches were decorated with a frosty covering of snow, making the drive to work a magical experience. Our school was on a one-hour delay because of the icy and snowy roads.

During the short trip I saw 3 vehicles that had slid off the road. I doubt they were appreciating the beauty of the snow.

Just a few leaves still cling bravely to the big maple.

This little Junco is one of many birds filling their tummies against the winter chill.

Mourning Doves clean up the seed under the feeders. Good little housekeepers!

The outdoor wood furnace is a workaholic!

The pink garden's spirea bush is a mound of snowy white, it's bright fall colors just a lingering memory.

Jasmine sits on my husband's desk and watches the birds through the window, whiskers twitching.

Goldfinches busily eat the seeds of Rudbeckia triloba...a good thing because it spreads seeds alarmingly, and I have yet to deadhead it. I'll have plenty of seedlings to weed out in the spring, so eat lots little birds! (Click to enlarge for detail. There are 3 birds in the picture)

Yesterday I baked cranberry-orange nut bread.

Yum!

And a pumpkin pie for my dear husband.

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;

All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.

God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;

Come to God's own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

Happy Thanksgiving

to all my American blog friends.

And grateful thanks to all my blog friends the world over, for your sweet gift of friendship.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - November '08

Only a few tough survivors are blooming in our November garden. Most of the garden beds look like the little Rose/Clematis garden in the photo below....in need of much tidying up.

In the middle of this garden is a patch of Homestead Purple Verbena, still valiantly producing a few dainty blooms (Click to enlarge photos for detail). I've grown this annual in our zone 5 garden for several years, and love the way it blooms continually until the really cold weather sets in. It also self-sows, which is an added bonus in the spring. The burgundy leaved Heuchera gives a nice contrasting color.

There's Reuben, faithful furry friend, keeping me company, as usual.

Also still bravely blooming is the white Alyssum, and a little further over, not in the picture, a few clumps of purple Alyssum still look good. That 'Sweet Alice' is one tough girl! She doesn't let the cold weather get her down. :)

While I was photographing the Verbena in yesterday's morning sunshine, I was amazed to see 3 busy little bees buzzing happily between the flowers.

Reuben kept nudging me gently, but insistently, to pat him while I was trying to get a few close-ups. It's a rare occasion when I'm able to do this undisturbed by a furry friend. They need their cuddles. Right here, right now!

The front gardens are devoid of flowers, except for......

...the trusty little Johnny Jump Ups....

.....and a few clumps of Cerise Queen Yarrow - another tough plant. Have you noticed that each of these hangers on are small flowers?

Walking around to the other side of the house I found just one small pansy blooming. It was in the shade so I left it alone and took a photo of the Daisy garden instead, to show you what it looks like now. (Actually I didn't want to get down on my hands and knees in the wet grass). The Stewartstonian Azalea has beautiful fall coloring. I need to do some tidying here too.

For the past month the containers have been stored in the garage, and I've been gradually emptying them. As you can see, quite a few plants are still blooming in spite of the low light.....which is truly amazing to me. The plant above is a light purple Osteospermum (African or Cape Daisy)

Here's another one - Nuanza Copper Purple. I love this color! In the background is Biden.

Here's a closer shot of the Biden, which bloomed non-stop all summer. Also in this container, which has been one of my favorite combinations, is Alternanthera, a lovely, burgundy filler....

...and Nemesia, Rasberry Sachet, another plant I love dearly.

Just look at the afternoon sun shining through those deep red leaves! I've been potting up cuttings of some of these plants. I'll let you know if they're successful.

Here's a lovely Calibrachoa (Million Bells), still looking pretty.
I'm having a very hard time pulling these containers apart while some of the plants still look so good.

Here's Calibrachoa, Colorburst Deep Blue, next to the pinkish purple one shown above.

This lovely Abutilon lived on the front porch and bloomed all summer. It's back inside now, and still blooming!

The Fuchsia, Marinka, still has a few blooms and hopefully will overwinter as well as it did last year.

The red Tuberous Begonia shows off its last couple of single flowers after producing gorgeous doubles all summer.

The Cyclamen has bloomed delightfully for most of the summer but now the leaves are beginning to yellow and the blooms are fading. I guess it needs a rest after all its hard work.

Marimba Ivy Geranium

All the geraniums (actually Pelargoniums) have been brought inside. I hope they'll overwinter successfully, as most of them did last year.

Butterfly Ivy G.

Lambada Ivy G.

Pale pink Zonal Geranium

Taj Mahal Ivy G.

This beautiful pink Ivy Geranium has no name tag, but it's been my favorite this past summer - blooming abundantly and looking lush all season. And it still looks good!

The garden may be looking drab outside, on this rainy mid-November day, but at least we'll have some blooms inside to keep us happy through the long, cold winter months ahead.

Happy Bloom Day everyone!

Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in other corners of the world.