The Garden Worm blog Digging up the best dirt on gardening!

January 13, 2013

For the record

Filed under: Our gardens,Winter — Judy @ 2:02 pm

Not even two weeks ago we were slogging through 2+ feet of snow around here. Today we have a record temperature of 67 °F and the snow is almost completely gone. Do you see any in this picture?

Snow is gone

A few days ago, as a harbinger of things to come, it was raining like crazy and we saw a beautiful full double rainbow while we were out. I had to take some pictures when we got home.

Rainbow

Unfortunately, the second arc did not stick around very long.

Rainbow

Even the snowdrops are about to bloom

Snowdrops

and the daffodils are up almost three inches!

Daffodils poking up

It is wonderfully warm today, but it won’t last. Are you enjoying this brief respite from the cold too?

 

Really?

Filed under: Miscellaneous — Judy @ 9:46 am

Found this in my email this morning.

No words

An “illuminated multi-color solar powered LED planter?” Sans plant, of course. Really, HD? Have you no shame? BTW a real plant would be embarrassed to be seen in that.

January 3, 2013

Winter is here

Filed under: Our gardens,Winter — Judy @ 2:25 pm

Winter is definitely here. The weatherman predicts that we will have had over 3 feet of snow after Thursday. We shall see. In any case, it has been snowing a lot, and the sun has been shining a little, both lending themselves to making some pretty winter patterns.

Lumps on the veggie containers on the deck:

Snow on the deck

Odd zig-zag snow patterns on the pergola:

Snow patterns on the pergola

The birdfeeder wears a big hat!

Birdfeeder

That hanging branch on the ash tree has been up there for three years!

Twig on ash tree

The neighbor’s house and trees make shady patterns on the snow:

Sun patterns on the snow

A lone hummingbird’s nest hangs on for dear life at the top of the tree:

Lone hummingbird nest

The Norway spruce wears a thick snow dressing:

Spruce dressed in snow

And the white birch looks pretty against the blue sky:

Birch

Now that the Winter Solstice has passed, the sun is getting a bit stronger and giving us more light during the daytime. I’m not tired of the snow yet and it is still pretty! All is good.

January 2, 2013

Winter Show 2012 at the Phipps

Filed under: Shows and Tours,Slideshows,Winter — Judy @ 2:10 pm

We visited the Winter Show at the Phipps at night this year. What an incredibly beautiful display! All the twinkling lights, the gorgeous poinsettias and other flowers, and everything tucked in and around their usual wonderful plantings.

The entrance area in the Palm Court had an elaborate Victorian-style hearth that was homey and welcoming. Big balls of mistletoe and holly hung from the ceiling there. In the Serpentine Room, a seasonal display of doors with wreaths elaborately decorated in various styles by the staff horticulturists was delightful and the gaudy, glitzy, glittery poinsettias of past years were replaced by a wonderful introduction to the so many beautiful poinsettia varieties we would find throughout the Conservatory.

New this year was the Winter Light Garden located outside in their Perennial Gardens area. Regretfully, we had checked our coats before touring the Phipps and the night was very cold so we didn’t venture very far into that garden. We could see the glowing orbs, the “dripping” icicles on the fabulously lighted trees, and a brilliant fountain of twinkling lights from where we stood for a few minutes. Of note, in keeping with the Phipps’ commitment to environmental sustainability, all of the lights throughout the displays were LED-energy efficient lights.

The 1893 World’s Fair-themed Garden Railroad was decorated for Christmas and operating to the delight of the many children visiting. The Sunken Garden was filled with poinsettias and the overwhelming scent of paperwhite narcissi. The elegant Parterre de Broderie, which apparently is a popular place for intimate weddings, would have made a gorgeous setting with its soft rose-colored poinsettias and twinkling lights for a winter event. The Victoria Room featured a traditional fir tree beautifully decorated with thousands of lights and ribbons and ornaments that reflected in the surrounding water. And finally, the seasonal display in the East Room was a cheerful woodland where bears dressed in shaggy bark cavorted among the white poinsettias and red cardinals appear to flit around a yellow moon with Santa’s silhouette.

We enjoyed this year’s show immensely and hope you will also enjoy this slideshow of photos Kelsey and I took while there. Note that it is a large file so please be patient as it may be slow to load up.

Phipps Winter 2012 Slideshow

 

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