Checking In: Fall Photos, Winter Dreams.

There's no excuse for my lack of posting. I truly did get carried away with the holidays! My garden may be deep beneath more than a foot of snow, but it's still in my thoughts all the time.

I keep a basket by my bed filled with magazines, a sketchbook, and a pencil. Almost every night I put myself to sleep by daydreaming about next spring, and all the magical things I can do once I'm out there again.
I hauled in all my tropical and tender plants in early October when nights got too cold. I took longer than I should have letting my dahlias dry out, and mistakenly stacked them in a bucket where they molded quickly. So, I lost all my dahlias! It was a tragic moment for me, but the only thing I can do is budget for more this spring. Otherwise, I have been pleasantly surprised that most of the plants are enjoying the indoors. My passion vine blooms in the dining room periodically (last week included), and my amaryllis are preparing to bloom. I forced some bulbs that I found on clearance at Farm and Fleet this fall. I laready enjoyed one batch of paperwhites, and have hyacinth and larger daffodils growing now also. I have some serious prayers on a jasmine vine that has not bloomed in years. It looks promising for a bloom this spring, as I've been feeding her bloom burst diligantly.

Paperwhites in early December:

I did find some fall photos I hadn't shared yet. Autumn was nothing to frown about. It was wet, which kept me in more than I wanted, but thanks to dry late summer and early fall we had spectacular color:

I found some fun pumpkins on a field trip with my son:

About town:

Despite the cold and the snow I stumble out into the garden once in awhile and walk around, check on things. I make sure the bunnies aren't destroying my young apple trees, and I fill the bird feeders every other day. I have recently added a finch feeder, and I have already seen some finches there. I'm excited for spring. I have been browsing onlne catalogs, and pouring over the David Auston catalog! I have plans to di up some more boring grass and put in a new little flower bed. I have been praying this week cold snap (high today is 1F, and later this week, there's a low of -18F) won't kill my roses. I hope the blanket of snow protects them.

I should be posting more regularly again, as I have more interesting things to think/talk about. Until then, stay warm, and happy garden dreaming!