Red-flowered Camellia sasanqua
Well for over a month now this little red-flowered Camellia sasanqua has been blooming its little heart out for us. And as of this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day this the one and only fully legitimate flower we have to report. One gold star for the Fall-flowering Camellias. The lovely little (and I stress little) Camellia Japonica that we had flowering last month has had all it’s branches chewed off by deer. We’ve had temperatures down to near 20 degrees and most flowers that were hanging on until the beginning of the month have gone South for the Winter. We do have a few plants that are volunteering buds that might be ready to pop if we get so much as short warm spell.
Red Japanese Quince (Chaenomeles japonica)
This Quince has already flowered once this Winter and is just aching to flower again.
Daphne odora 'aureomarginata' in bud
The Daphne has the virtue that it hangs around all Winter looking as though it’s ready to pop into bloom and although it will bloom early it usually waits its turn till early Spring. The foliage looks great almost all the time though and provides an nice backdrop to the flowers and buds.
Inside the house however we are blessed not only be the beautiful Cattleya that I posted about earlier this month but an Amazon Lily that is having a banner year. Last year it pushed up a single flower stalk in January. This year,in honor of the kids coming early for Christmas it is in full flower.
Amazon Lily flower clusters
This is a good-sized plant that prospers under a regimen of all Winter in the well-lit living room and Summer on the shady deck. It usually flowers twice a year but this year we’ve hit the jackpot.
Amazon lily (Eucharis x grandiflora) from below
The flowers last for a month and at the end you have to put up with beautiful glossy foliage — what is there not to like? Especially on a cold and wintry Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. 🙂
First Snowfall
First snowfall touches the branches of the dogwood in the front yard
We had our first snowfall this weekend. It was no more than a couple of inches but it did cause me to bring into the basement the last of the plants that I had left outside (the jasmine, a lantana, and a hibiscus). Temperatures dropped below 25 which is my threshold for those plants that I had known from Southern California. The clean white snow shows everything to good advantage so I went around taking a few pictures before it all melted.
Flowering quince in the snow
Tulip Poplar in the snow
Blueberries wearing snowy cottonballs
Adirondack chairs in snow
I know I should take those chairs in for the Winter but they look so good out there on the hillside.
Our neighbor's pond
Looking up the pasture from the bottom of the hill
December brings flowers
Well, maybe the title exaggerates a bit. But the first of the orchids has come into bloom and it’s a lovely Cattleya.
Cattleya orchid under the kitchen lights
The orchids seem to thrive on living out on the deck in the summertime and then coming to a table the sunlit laundry room for the winter. At least one of the other orchids is budding up nicely.
I went out this week on an annual run to purchase a living Christmas tree. As for the last 5 years or so, I drove to Taneytown, about 40 min away, to visit Sewell’s Farm where they specialize in both cut and live Christmas trees. I was disappointed that despite what the web site said they didn’t have any White Pines or Douglas Fir, only Colorado Spruce, Norway Spruce, and Concolor Fir. I ended up with a Colorado Spruce which I think will actually be quite nice for a change. I don’t like the prickly branches of the spruces, but the Colorado is nicer than the Norway and they are actually very pretty trees. The bluish tint and the way the needle’s curl seems to make them appear decorated even before we’ve started. Plus they smell very nice as well.
Colorado Blue Spruce for Christmas 2009
Putting up a live tree is an ongoing tradition for us which I described in posts last year (Our First Christmas Tree and Christmas Trees Redux). Every year is a little bit different challenge of lifting and shoving to get it in place, but we like sharing the Christmas morning with a living tree.
We had a great Thanksgiving celebration up in Boston. But on our return I found that we had been visited not just by deer (that happens all the time) but by a very angry deer. Our poor Coralbark Maple was totally demolished.
Deer devastation of the Coralbark Maple
Detail of the deer damage
I haven’t got anywhere on the property where I’ve seen this kind of destruction. It’s almost as though they were angry that they couldn’t get into the garden anymore. I had only just planted the maple this year. I doubt that I can take back to the nursery and say that it just didn’t grow… 🙂