A Garden Stroll in Winter

First Snowdrop

 

The weather has been quite mild here during the past week--a welcome break for December--so I went out to take a stroll through my winter garden to assess the deer damage thus far. I was so happy to see the first Snowdrop of the season popping up, incredibly early! A few more in the patch are breaking through, but this one had the only fully-formed bud.

 

Bergenia

I originally planted three Bergenias 'Winterglow', (I believe it was that variety) but the deer managed to destroy two of them. The last surviving one I put behind a mesh barrier, and it's holding its own, but I haven't seen any blooms for several years. Let's hope that the plant has recovered sufficiently to bloom this coming spring.

 

Holly 'Nellie Stevens'

Just above the Bergenia, the Holly 'Nellie Stevens' continues with its lovely display of berries.

Dwarf Nandina 'Fire Power'

I bought a dwarf Nandina for the front entrance the first year we lived in this house, and liked it so much that I bought a second one for my woodland garden, shown here. The shrub has grown well and the deer don't seem to care for it.

 

Gautlheria 'Fiesta'

 

The three Gaultherias 'Fiesta' that I planted last spring have proved to not be very deer-proof--a lot of the leaves and all the berries have been eaten back a lot! This specimen is the one in best shape. I'll have to buy more wire cloches to protect these plants or I won't have anything left by spring!

Hellebore 'True Love'

No buds on either of my two Hellebores, but it's too early for them yet. I must obtain a plant of  the 'Niger' variety that blooms at this time of the year. The foliage of Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' makes a nice contrast with the leaves of Hellebore 'Flower Girl' in the woodland garden.

Hellebore 'Flower Girl' with Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip'

The Clary sage has re-seeded itself in the Herb bed, ready for next season's growth. Nothing much else is of note at this time of the year in my garden, and the coming chill doesn't exactly invite one to stroll outdoors.

Seedlings of Clary sage/

I wonder if we'll get any significant snow this winter--the past few winters have brought us very little in the way of snow.

Silent Night

Front walk

 

I like to take a photo of our house with its Christmas decorations every year. This year's circumstances with my husband Herb recovering from a fall in November that fractured his pelvis, there's been less time than usual to decorate, so our Christmas lights are somewhat minimal--the Williamsburg window candles and a few strings of lights on the porch and shrubbery were all I could manage. 

 

Full front

 

When it comes to Christmas, it's not the pretty lights and decorations, it's the spirit that counts. May the celebration of the birth of Christ the Savior bring you peace. 

Peace on Earth to men and women of good will, and a Blessed Christmas to all!

December 2024 Bloom Day

Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata hybrid)

It's an icy and snowy afternoon outside in my Zone 6B Virginia garden on this December Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams blog. There is not a living blossom to be found out there! And not much in my indoor garden either. Above is what my Thanksgiving cactus looked like earlier in the week when it was sunny, but by today, most of the blossoms have fallen off and only a few buds remain.

Still, the winter season has its own beauty, and this corner of my yard with this combination of the 'Goshiki' Osmanthus with my 'Nelly Stevens' holly full of berries and the dried flower heads of Hydrangea are very attractive if you overlook the deer barriers. It's too cold and miserable out there to take many photos.

 

Goshiki osmanthus with 'Nelly Stevens' holly

The back yard from the deck

 

My funky bonsai collection is still outside on the deck, but I should move it into the garage soon for their winter home, where they'll be safer from the elements.

 

 

The large old Bearss lime tree is putting out lots of blossoms and setting fruit, but the rest of my houseplants seem to have gone on strike.  Usually I have at least one orchid sporting flower buds at this time of the year, but last summer I separated two of my most overgrown ones and gave the orchids to my sisters. The leftover plants will need another season of growth before they can produce any blooms.

Bearss lime blossoms.

One of my 'Optimara' African violets has a few blooms, but sadly, it's riddled with mealy bugs, despite having been sprayed with insecticidal soap just a couple of weeks ago. I tossed a bunch of my African violets in the fall because of the severe infestation, but I hate to toss the few plants I've left--I've kept these 'Optimara' varieties growing for over thirty years by taking cuttings!

I don't even know if Optimaras are produced much in the horticultural trade any more--I don't see them being offered in nurseries or catalogs. I may have to try some biological controls like insect predators for mealy bugs. If anyone has tried this on indoor plants, I'd be curious to know what results you obtained, please comment.

 

'Optimara' African violet

That's it for this December Bloom Day...soon the winter Solstice will arrive and the days will start to get longer once again, while I dream of spring.

Another Weird Pumpkin

Two Pumpkins, colored pencil, 11" x 14"

 

Ever since I encountered a peanut pumpkin (Galeaux d'Eysines) a few years back at a local outdoor market display in autumn and spent the following year growing one and painting it, I look for a weird-looking pumpkin to paint at this time of the year--it's become sort of a tradition for me. 

This year I found a wonderful Jarrahdale pumpkin in Richmond while I was there taking an art class at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. The Jarrahdales come from Australia, where apparently all native pumpkins are green in color, rather than orange. This particular specimen was very imposing at over twenty pounds, its three large lobes presenting a range of lovely warts and bumps to depict.

I spent a couple of weeks drawing my specimen in graphite, and re-drew it several times, trying to capture its unusual form, until I had something with the proper proportions that seemed life-like. But it needed something more...eventually I settled on superimposing a small, bright orange pumpkin next to it for contrast, and that seemed to make for a much better painting--the tale of two pumpkins!

 

Grisaille underdrawing with dark sepia colored pencil.

Once I had drawn the pumpkins on my presentation paper (Bristol 300 plate vellum finish), I started shading my drawing with a dark sepia colored pencil, gradually darkening the forms. Using this grisaille technique, I then started adding some color, building up it gradually in layers. The main color is Faber-Castell Earth Green, a dusty gray-green shade.

 

Building up the color.

I'm not sure my piece is quite finished yet--I may yet darken further some parts of the drawing at the top. I thought of trying to add a native Australian flower or plant behind the Jarrahdale, but I don't think it needs it-- the juxtaposition of the great big dull-colored pumpkin against the small bright colored one seems to be enough to tell the story.