Beautiful Snow

Snow on Jan. 19.

 

It snowed again on January 19, an all-day snow that stuck to the branches, just as I'd hoped. The back yard still had quite a bit of snow left from the previous snowfall on the 6th. I wasn't motivated to go outdoors to photograph the falling snow, so contented myself with taking shots through my windows.

 

The back yard from my studio window.

The front yard from the porch.

The following day was extremely cold, but the snow looked so lovely that I suited up to go take some outdoor shots. The record cold in the past week has been incredible, with my thermometer hitting single digits every night and recording -8 degrees in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday. I'm hoping that my plants all survive, but with these temperatures, some may not.

Hah! Some maps still show this as USDA Zone 7, but this is clearly not the case--as I was told by long-time gardeners when I moved here, the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains is definitely in Zone 6!

 

Back yard on Jan. 20 from my studio window.

Lilac bushes in back yard.

Redbud and Seven Son flower tree in back.

Back yard with snowy veggie pagoda.

I saw many animal tracks crossing and criss-crossing the back yard, all; the way up to the front yard, where I'd set up the bird feeders.

Nelly Stevens holly and hydrangeas.

East woodland garden.

East woodlamd garden with deer barriers.

 

All the trees and shrubs draped in snow looked so beautiful, it was hard to decide what to photograph. Here are some of the best shots, in no particular order. It looks as if the snow will continue to cover the ground until the end of the month.

Little Indians bed with Buddleia bent over.

The west yard looking towards the back.

Green Giant Arborvitae.

West yard garden.

Front of house from the street.

Front walk.

West front yard with Natchez crape myrtle.

 

 

 

Thus far this January has been one of the coldest in our area in quite a few years--let's hope we'll get a good thaw in February!

Gardener's Bloom Day, January 2024

Dried Hydrangea blossoms with snow

 

It's Gardener's Bloom Day once again, sponsored by Carol Michel's Blog "May Dreams Garden." What a lovely surprise to wake up to see about an inch of snow on the ground this morning! It's been two years since we had any significant snow here in my USDA Zone 6b garden. I believe we're supposed to get another 1-3 inches tomorrow, let's hope. I love having a bit of snow cover at this time of the year, it seems fitting and proper.

 

Princess holly, lavender and barberry shrubs.

It was about 23 degrees outside when I took these shots with my phone--why won't these phones work when you are using gloves? My hand was an icicle by the time I got back inside!

 

My cut-leaf Japanese maple 'Viridium'

Muhly grass with dried perennials.

The Little Indians bed.

The west bed with sedge and grasses.

I love the way some plants look when they're dusted with a bit of snow, but there are definitely no blooms here to be seen, unless you consider these "snow blossoms." Indoors, however, I always have a few flowers to console myself with. My collection of indoor plants is a weird mix of exotics and very eclectic, so here we are.

My Gardenia Tree (Tabernaemontana divaricata 'Flore Pleno') likes to bloom at this time of the year--I suspect this may be its blooming season in its native habitat in southeast Asia. The flowers have the most marvelous perfume for the first 6-8 hours after opening--after that the perfume fades.

 

Gardenia tree (Tabernaemontana divaricata)

 

My home-grown orchids continue to bloom: the oddly colored hybrid I bought at a roadside stand in Florida is probably a hybrid of Oncidium and another species. I brought it into the master bath after the flowers opened to enjoy its blossoms. The other orchids have been blooming for a couple of months now. The plant stand in the family room below is where most of my orchids live--as you can see I have collected quite a few over the years, mostly as presents, and a few from my botanical art classes. My students love to paint orchids, even though they're really difficult flowers to render.

 

Mystery orchid in the master bath.

Miltassia orchid flower spike.

Phalaenopsis on plant stand in family room.

Here are a few other blossoms: an Anthurium one of my sisters gave me, and a Brazilian begonia. I bought the latter because it was touted to have perfume, and I'm a sucker for perfumed flowers, but it has disappointed. This specimen, at least, has no scent that I can detect, but likes to bloom during the winter, which few begonias do.

Pink Anthurium

Brazilian begonia.

 

Someone gave me a waxed Amaryllis for Christmas but the downstairs of my house is so chilly it's taking its time to open. I thought it would be interesting to document the process of the buds opening in a painting, so that's what this last photo is about.

 

Waxed Amaryllis and painting.

I'm saving the center of the painting for the fully open flower, which will probably happen later this week. I'd love to save the bulb to grow, but have no idea if these bulbs will survive if potted once the blooms have faded. I have about four pots full of red Amaryllis bulbs that re-bloom every spring, but I don't know if these waxed ones will grow if freed from their wax covering. Have any other gardeners reading this tried it? If so, I'd appreciate any advice!