WELL, I MISSED YOU. I've been away from my garden, my garden blog and my blogging buddies for far too long. But today, I was able to get outside and cut back some of the mess from last year. In other words, I made a tiny dent. Teeny tiny. I've got a lot of work ahead of me but, if you're a gardener, you know it's not really work.
I also took my camera outside and snapped some photos.
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| This is Bergenia cordifolia ‘Tubby Andrews.' I thought it reverted to green but it's got its is true colors now. |
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| This is Hebe 'Pink Elephant.' It shows its brightest colors during the winter months. Love it! |
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| Fuzzy buds on my Star Magnolia, Magnola stellata 'Royal Star' |
The Euphorbias look especially beautiful during the winter months.
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| Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' |
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| Euphorbia 'Tasmanian Tiger' |
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| An unknown Euphorbia variety |
The Nandinas (Heavenly Bamboo) are also glorious during winter.
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| Nandina domestica ‘Wood’s Dwarf’ |
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| Arabis variegata |
This is how my Tetrapanax looks right now. Pretty sad but there is a tiny leaf waiting to unfurl when spring gets here.
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| Tetrapanax papyfifera ‘Steroidal Giant’ |
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| Moss is alive and well in my garden. It's growing here on a vintage wood ladder. |
My only indoor/outdoor kitty decided to come out to say hello to a volunteer (smashed) catnip plant. I think he wanted to make sure it was still there.
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| Zip and the catnip. |
Unfortunately while Zip snoozes indoors a gopher has been making himself at home in the garden, evidenced by several holes like this one.
Finally, below I wanted to show you the driftwood my sweet sister got for me last fall. It is very special because it came from one of our childhood haunts in southern Oregon. Thank you, Laura!
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| Special driftwood... |
That moss is so wonderfully lush, it looks like a fur coat. I love Euphorbias in winter too, I agree thy look their best now. My Tetrapanax looks a lot like yours. I'm glad you got out in the garden today, we were promised a little more warmth today, but it never materialized, so I stayed in.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back Grace and you've got plenty of lovelies in your gardens. I think my favorite was the Hebe 'Pink Elephant.' But I also loved your Euphorbias.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week ~ FlowerLady
Ha what catnip plant, our cats destroy any plant quickly.
ReplyDeleteAmazing what we can find outside at this time of year if we go looking - I was pleased to see some daffodils poking up.
The Hebe is such a pretty contrast of colors.
What a coincidence, I saw the same fuzzy buds yesterday and touched them : )
ReplyDeleteLove the kitty, he seems to love his plant.
Love the pink elephants too ....wishing you a beautiful new week xo
Your special driftwood made me smile. We brought a large (as in had to tie it to the bumper of our Chevy Tahoe to get it out of the woods large)piece of driftwood back from on of our canoeing trips to Rainbow Springs many moons ago and it's been a fixture on the front of our house ever since. I love it, but not everyone gets the beauty of driftwood. And when there's memories attached ~ it's all the more beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYour hebe is beautiful, and your nandina is gorgeous. But that moss! It looks alive! If you had said it was some creature, I would have believed you!
ReplyDeleteYou have been missed Grace....love the driftwood....
ReplyDeleteIt feels like spring is very close this last week, I was out tiding a bit as well, you're right so much to do...can't wait
ReplyDeleteI always think your plants look so exotic! Look at that MOSS??!! Our moss is green and flat and slimy!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have a tour, thanks, Grace.
For a laugh, do a Google search for "Chipmunk Hot Tub". Let me know if you try it!
Sis
Love the Hebe 'Pink Elephant'! That sure is a popular name for plants now. What a colorful plant.
ReplyDeleteWe had good enough weather to get out in the garden lately too, hints of spring. I bagged up all my last year's tomato plants and realized I need to be deciding on this years varieties and planting them.
It's wonderful to see some plants when everything here is still pretty grim.
Grace, your plants look very healthy and 'a bit sad' one! The cat is enjoying warm weather and the grass he loves to eat.
ReplyDeleteOf course I missed you! I love all the variegated foliage mixed with pink in your garden. Looking forward to your clematis!
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing some gardening colour to feed my green heart. The photo of your Tasmanian Tiger would make a great poster. So lovely to see things blooming away on the other side of the world.
ReplyDeleteB.
Of course we missed you!!!
ReplyDeleteLooking from afar, your garden-plants are fabulous, colorful, healthy, even during winter stress times.
Sending love across the miles,
Sharon
Well, I am just short of stunned I am able to grow something that you grow, Grace. Tubby Andrews may have been weak and somewhat stingy of leaf at my place, but it was growing last time I checked. Bergenias are a bit of a favorite with me, maybe it's because they contrast so well with all the grasses I plant. Unfortunately, the moose also seem to adore Bergenia. Phooey!
ReplyDeleteChristine in Alaska, where winter means snow
Oooh that hebe is lovely. It's a hardy one here? I love that it gives its color when we need it the most: February!
ReplyDeletenew fan! heather f. sent me over to say hello! so fun meeting other gardeners! xoxo, tracie
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! I love to see what others have in their gardens that don't do well where I live...in the harsh heat of South Central Texas. We can grow tropical plants but our unpredictable winters can sabotage them. Oregon looks so lush...even in winter.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! I love to see what others have in their gardens that don't do well where I live...in the harsh heat of South Central Texas. We can grow tropical plants but our unpredictable winters can sabotage them. Oregon looks so lush...even in winter.
ReplyDeleteI marvel at the simple & common things in your garden. These are rare and not available in real life in my region.
ReplyDeleteTruly remarkable - even as simple as those moss - they seemed to captivate timelessness & beauty.
Nice pics, Grace. It is getting to be that time of year, isn't it? I've looked for that Tasmanian euphorbia but haven't found it yet.
ReplyDeleteGrace, I envy you being able to get out in the garden. It's still too cold here, but I keep going out to peer down and look for new growth; and on the weekend, I could no longer contain myself and cleaned up some spent foliage from last year (the better to spy new growth)
ReplyDeleteThere's a huge star magnolia along my walk to work and its buds seem to be at exactly the same stage. It makes me wonder if this is a plant that responds to amount of light in spring more than temperature. -Jean