Random Friday

Welcome to my first random Friday post of the new year!  Here's a collection of pictures from my garden that didn't make it into a post yet.  It's a bit of a winter walk around the yard but since the garden is quite a fright from being ignored since the beginning of November,  you don't get to see very much.

Here in David's corner is a big red  pot, one of two that flank a large mirror on to the right. The pots came from a close-out sale this fall and were really inexpensive!  They got filled with soil and I was going to throw in some plants from the big sales to come at nurseries when fate in the form of a wind storm intervened.  A neighbor's Monkey Puzzle tree lost a couple really large branches of which they were eager to be rid.   Instead of plants, the pots got these branches.  Two large bunches of red-twig dogwood branches are waiting on the back porch to add color to the greens.  Wonder if that'll get done before spring?

The storm also blew in a special visitor from the south.  Ms. Danger herself (post here) stopped by for a visit and took this picture, used with her permission,  of part of the haul.  I was sure to have these visible and offered to take them in her cool new vehicle.  However, she didn't want any of the green ones but instead took a few of the brown branches picked up after storms last winter.  If you find yourself in need of some of these, let me know as the windy season isn't over yet!

Out  in the greenhouse, the first of the paperwhites

 are blooming!  Learn from my mistake and if you plant these in glass cylinders, make sure that the tops can still make it out of the vase.  The larger of the two is so tall that the flowers are going to be a bit cramped inside.  Oops.

Last night, those in the taller vase were starting to open too as were the first of the jasmine flowers and a few brugmansias.  Sure smelled sweet in there!  

Back outside the Galanthus are popping up everywhere and will be covered with cute little white flowers in a few days!

Barbara Sanderson's "fiddlesticks" glow beautifully in the winter sun.  (You  know, that minute and a half when the clouds parted last weekend.)

Magnolia buds promise a nice show later. 

Camellia japonicas are full of buds ready to pop open in February.  

Messy, messy, messy and too many different colors of pots!

A bit more peaceful.

Happy Hellebores almost blooming.  It's wonderful that in our climate, some of the plants respond so quickly to the increasing daylight.  Growing up in zone three, there was no such thing as winter -blooming plants.  How lucky that I ended up here!

The awful, naked truth!  During the summer, most of these pots are covered by the herbaceous perennials which they contain.  However, at this time of year, with the foliage gone, the crazy quilt of mismatched pots is heinous.   

Happy weekend!