Walking to the car earlier today, I was thrilled to catch a whiff of my Sweet Box (Sarcococca ruscifolia). It has been a little shy this winter but the recent warmer weather (40s and 50s) coaxed it out of hibernation. It's exactly what the doctor ordered. The flowers may be small but they're powerfully fragrant. I've got three stems in a vase next to me and I'm in heaven.
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| Sarcococca ruscifolia with fresh blossoms and berries from last year's blossoms. |
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I'm so glad the weather has stayed warm enough to keep
the foliage, petioles and stems on this Eucalyptus aglow.
Last year it died all the way down to the ground.
(Eucalyptus nicholii ) |
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| Love it! |
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Years ago, not long after buying Bergenia cordifolia 'Tubby Andrews' I thought it had reverted.
I was wrong. In winter the green and cream leaves take on pink tints. |
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This golden Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Crippsii)
has red berries that remind me of dried cranberries. |
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| Such little works of art. |
Guess what this is:
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| If you look closely in the center of the photo, you'll see frog eggs! This definitely means spring is coming! |
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| I'm so excited! |
Finally, I took a few random photos of Nala, one of our four felines.
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| A cross-eyed yawn. |
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| Yes I'm beautiful. |
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| What is that thing? You're starting to annoy me. |
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| I'm definitely annoyed now so I'm going to ignore you. |
Thank you to each one of you for your kind words in my last post,
You guys are the best!
All those plants are gorgeous! WOW! Those red stems! I wish we could grow that here. Pretty, pretty cat. They sure can make their feeling known!
ReplyDeleteAs always dear Grace it is a treat to see what is growing in your lovely gardens. I enjoyed the pics of Nala too.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful week ~ FlowerLady
I love the personality of cats and you captured it well Grace...so look at your garden all green and still going. I do envy you that...you will see spring soon. For me it has been so cold here, I think ours will not be early but right on time near the end of March.
ReplyDeleteThank you for my morning smile. I love the last photo of your cat. How cool to see frog eggs, and new blooms!
ReplyDeleteI went for a quick visit to my local nursery the other day , Came back with Sarcococca confusa , couldn't resist that Fragrance. I've got a sprig indoors !
ReplyDeleteLove it! Nothing smells more refreshing than pleasant smelling fragrance from flowers. Does your
ReplyDeleteEucalyptus give off a fragrance too? I've never grown that but I love that smell too. The kitty is quite elegant and poses well. Will the frog eggs turn into tadpoles? I used to love watching them scurry around in ponds. Hopefully spring is on the way! and you don't get any hard freezes.
All your photos are lovely but I was particularly impressed by that cypress. Nala is, of course, more beautiful still and her tolerant demeanor befits a diva used to being photographed.
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrific bunch of pics! I have a large Hinoki Cypress bordering my Perennial bed and I am very happy with it. Your kitty is pretty cute....
ReplyDeleteSpring, here we come! Can you believe the weather we've had Gracie? While the rest of the country is in a deep freeze....
What a terrific bunch of pics! I have a large Hinoki Cypress bordering my Perennial bed and I am very happy with it. Your kitty is pretty cute....
ReplyDeleteSpring, here we come! Can you believe the weather we've had Gracie? While the rest of the country is in a deep freeze....
We are mid-winter, here. I do anticipate the thrill of Spring, though!! <3 your bergenia! ��
ReplyDeleteSigns of spring! Yay! We're having a January thaw here in the center of the country. Nothing as mild as your weather, but a nice respite from the bitter cold days. Many chirping birds when I went out to do errands. Your kitty is beautiful I enjoyed the captions!
ReplyDeleteI'm considerably less charming when annoyed than your Nala.
ReplyDeleteYes, that sarcococca is the best smelling! I noticed our puppy sniffing the air the other day, she was smelling it too :)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you're seeing frog eggs!
Grace,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see I'm not the last person in the world still including Bergenia in my garden. If you've got them, they must still be worth planting!
Tubby Andrews was anything but tubby in my garden, rather puny, in fact. Yours looks glorious. Maybe I'll relent and give him another try.
Christine in Alaska, garden under snow
I brought some sweet box in the house this week, too. I forgot how powerful it is! Nala has the same annoyed face as our Rodney kitty. :)
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