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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, January 22, 2016

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!

24 comments:

  1. I kind of like the idea of the paperwhite blooms all crammed together... the fragrance still escapes! Of course I've never grown these myself...

    I didn't think you had a "calm" part of the garden. There's always so much great stuff going on!

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    1. That fragrance is pretty strong so I enjoy it in the greenhouse where a fan circulates the air.

      Calm is relative, right?

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  2. I love the large variety of colorful pots. And I'll take some monkey puzzle branches, if you have more to give away. My garden is such a terrible mess too right now. Haven't done a thing except walk around a bit out there since November either.

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    1. It's nice to have a time when we can ignore our gardens & they won't hold it against us too much. Happy to give you some branches!

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  3. Had to laugh at your description of heinous pots! So much is revealed in winter that we never notice in summer. But living in zone 4/5 I am always jealous of all that is happening in the gardens in your area at this time of year.

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    1. We are very lucky to live here where our gardens certainly slow down a lot but there are still observable things happening every day. Of course, living in a colder zone gives you the chance to completely forget the garden and enjoy the snow.

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  4. What fun visit! You know we don't come to inspect the housekeeping. We're here to see promises in the premises.

    Better the paperwhites have to stretch a little, which they are sure to do, than grow up tall and lanky and fall over the edge of the container. They'll be fine.

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    1. You're so kind! You're also right about the paperwhites. They did stretch up and no one is fond of the tall, lanky falling over foliage.

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  5. "too many different colors of pots"..."the crazy quilt of mismatched pots is heinous"...nonsense! I love the riot of color. Calm, matched, colors just wouldn't do in your garden.

    I did regret not taking some of those green branches. In fact I almost did a drive-around to all the monkey puzzles nearby hoping to find some downed branches. I never did get around to it.

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    1. You're very sweet to say that about the pots. I so admire the more coordinated look of a properly "styled" group of pots but as I fall in love with different colors of pots all the time, never sticking with a theme, It won't work for me. Restraint is something that will be practiced in my next garden.

      I still have monkey puzzle branches that you are welcome to have. Just let me know how many & I'll bring them to the Seattle show.

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  6. You forced daffodils and I did the same with hyacinth, but mine are smaller than yours Peter. Yes, you're right - the glasses have not to be too high for flowers.

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    1. I saw the hyacinths on your blog and am excited for you! I've some of those too but the pots are still outside. They're starting to grow because of our warm January so I should bring them in to enjoy.

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  7. A fun tour...I can only imagine zone 3. I love the hellebore. You have a great collection of pottery. You need to hire Loree to group them for you. I think she is a genius with pot grouping!

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    1. You are so right about Loree and her pot grouping! Maybe next time she visits, I'll ask her to point while I move pots. Mine look o.k. when plants are covering most of them but winter reveals the awful truth. Instead of doing anything about it, I just stay inside and wait for spring to rescue me.

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  8. I like all of the color of the pots, especially the green, purple and blue group.

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    1. Thanks, Linda. The pots alone look a bit odd to me but when the plants leaf back out, it makes more sense to my eye. Ah winter.

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  9. I also like mismatched pots - they make up for the limited floral color this time of year.

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  10. I like the planters and the dragon that is keeping them safe. What caught my eye though is a very interesting-looking chair in David's corner. Or at least the back of the chair; it looks intriguing. BTW, isn't the Tacoma Home and Garden show happening this weekend?

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    1. That's the back of a metal bench that I got at Lowe's several years ago. The whole thing looks as if was built of twigs but is impervious to the weather. The Tacoma show is the 28th through 30th I think. There were so few plants there last year that I thought of not going but now that it's here, I'm in the mood to see what they come up with so will attend on Saturday.

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  11. I enjoyed these photos and the pots are all interesting. Matchy-matchy is overrated. Glad to see the hellebores and bulbs coming up. Spring can't be too far off.

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  12. I like your crazy quilt of pots! How boring if everything were the same. :o)

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  13. Ah, spring is springing. Nice collection of random photos! I love all the flower buds and new shoots emerging!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.