Quiet Christmas

We enjoyed a quieter Christmas this year like so many families.  We enjoyed a delicious meal with our sons and I loved setting the the table with a tartan tablecloth and my favorite Christmas dishes.

 I usually place the Christmas tree in the corner of our dining room across from the front window since our dining room is in the front of our home, right off the entry hall.  Our tree is full of meaningful ornaments filled with decorations my sons made when they were little, gifts and special ornaments from places we've visited over the years.  

I use my mother-in-law's sterling silver and a few other family pieces for our table and it makes me feel they are with us.  

Things we have collected over time make a home so warm.  This year I think we all focused on our families and blessings through a difficult year.   I spent a lot of time in the garden this past summer and now this winter I'm focused on projects indoors. 

 Hoping everyone has a safe and healthy holiday season!  Wishing everyone a Blessed New Year!

 

 

 I'm joining Marty's Inspire Me Tuesday at 

A Stroll Thru Life  

 

 

Fall Plantings

 My favorite season is here and I'm trying to get all my new plants in the ground and in larger containers before the first freeze arrives.  

I visited my favorite nursery in Tulsa and found a beautiful camelia that is supposed to be hardy to zone 7.  It's a Southern Living plant and the variety is 'October Rose' .  I have always loved camelias since growing up in the south.  Their flowers are a welcome sight in fall and winter when few things are blooming.   

Flowering kale and cabbages are so pretty all winter long.  I pair them with purple pansies in pots and around my patio.  

This year I planted brussel sprouts for the first time and they are starting to size up.  I hope I can harvest enough to cook up a few servings.   

It's chilly here today but will warm back up for a few days so I should be able to get everything planted into the ground and mulched.  

I'm going to miss all the annual flowers I planted right off the patio.  They have done so well and I love the combination of colors and textures.   

 

I love putting together containers that will carry through all winter long.  I added a rosemary plant (I use lots of rosemary in cooking) carex, flowering cabbage and pansies.  

Hope you are enjoying cooler temperatures and the beautiful colors of fall! 

Pollinator Buffet

It's been several months since I posted...how does that happen?  Life has been a challenge for so many of us this year and I have taken solace in my garden.  Now that the temperatures have soared into the mid 90's I'm not spending as much time outside, but I'm making sure everything is watered so that when cooler temperatures arrive everything will get it's second wind!    I'm so ready for fall but still enjoying the blooms throughout the garden.  I went to a plant sale in Tulsa for some pollinator and hummingbird plants to specifically set up a little buffet on my patio table for viewing.  

 I love looking out my breakfast room window each morning while enjoying my first
 cup of coffee.   

 I purchased pollinator favorites of purple coneflower, red sage, firecracker cuphea, creme drop phlox, lavender and blue face angelonia.  



It wasn't long before a female Monarch arrived and she did lay eggs on the milkweed out in the garden but I've not seen any caterpillars yet.     

Huge bumble bees visit daily as well as the hummingbirds.  

This red and purple cuphea with it's batface is one of my favorites too.  

 Most of what I purchased are perennials and will be planted out in the garden this fall but until then I have loved my morning view!

Purple Coneflower

May Flowers

This past month has been a challenging one in the garden with freezes, hailstorms and wind! 

I finally purchased all my annuals for my garden but haven't gotten them all in the ground yet!

I have a goal of getting everything planted this weekend even though we have possible thunderstorms on the way again.

We did take a trip to Tulsa and visited a wonderful nursery that had online ordering and curbside pickup last month.   I was so excited to get some azalea shurbs, coral bells and hostas for my new flower border.

Since then I was able to safely get to the nursery with social distancing and a mask here in Oklahoma City to purchase the rest of my annuals and perennials

 for this season.

The weather is warming and things are really starting to grow and bloom.  My roses are still blooming and the knockouts outside my breakfast window are covered in blooms.

I planted some alliums last fall to see how they would do in my garden.  The bulbs are large and a bit pricey but I love the look and will be adding more to my garden.

My new flower border is filling in nicely in just one month.  

 April

I took this photo today and it's still a work in progress but I'm pretty pleased with how it's growing.  I will add some daffodils and tulip bulbs in the fall.

Hope you are staying safe and enjoying

 some garden time! 

Tulip Time

Spring bulbs always make me happy and I wish each year I had taken the time to plant more.  Last fall I managed to get a about 30 tulip bulbs in the ground and what joy that $10 bag of bulbs has given me during this shelter in place time.

The redbud trees have been beautiful in full bloom and I had a few small volunteers in my garden that I have transplanted.  So nice to get free plants!

I started a new shade flower garden and have started to plant it up but need to do on online order and get curbside pickup so I can complete my shade garden.  I am wanting more azaleas, hostas, coral bells and hydrangeas for perennials.  I brought out my overwintered geraniums from the greenhouse along with some lemon coral sedum to fill in some areas. As you can see I still have lots of room to fill.

The patio garden has 
has had a sucession of blooming plants and I have enjoyed it so much from my breakfast table each morning. 

The weather has been cold and rainy the past few days and I'm looking forward to sunshine and warmer temperatures this week.

Stay safe and enjoy your time at home 
and in the garden! 

Hurry Spring!

This week we have all been challenged with social distancing and self-quarantines.

Since my husband and I are considered "senior citizens" we have been staying home and trying to keep ourselves occupied.  

I started to clean out flower beds and planted a few cold hardy plants but now it's been raining for several days and expected to continue for the next week! 

What's a garden girl to do but bring the outdoors in.  I had to make a trip to Home Depot and found this lovely pink jasmine 

and a deep blue pot of hyacinths. 

The scents are intoxicating but we are enjoying some color indoors.

I've not grown pink jasmine before but it's an evergreen vine that is hardy to zone 8.  I will need to grow mine in a pot so I can overwinter it in the greenhouse. 

I'm also reorganizing my spring decorations and dishes so that I can use them more often this season.   I'm planning a girl tea for my best friend and her daughter for Easter and I can't wait to use some of my favorite dishes. 



Hope everyone is staying safe
 and well through this trying time.  

Lenten Rose

I have fallen in love with Lenten Roses (hellebores) and have been on the lookout at my local nurseries for double blossom varieties. 

I finally found the Winter Jewel Painted hellebore at my specialty nursery here in Oklahoma.

They are pricey but since they multiply and are very tough plants I feel they are worth the price.  I planted my first hellebore two years ago and it started blooming when temperatures were near freezing.  

The blooms last for months and the foilage is evergreen.  Such a nice all season plant for the shade.

If you haven't tried hellebores I encourage you to plant one this year.  They are hardy in zones 4-8.