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Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

roses in water



What a boost to have fresh flowers in the house throughout the winter. Yesterday this half dozen of soft peach roses looked so pretty at my grocery and for just four dollars! Now that the garden has gone to sleep for the winter, the grocery store cut flower season has started. No matter where cut flowers are bought, they are all being grown in South America with the exception of local summer flowers at farm markets so the grocery is as good a source as any. 


For years I have avoided buying cut roses. When I have received them for a birthday or anniversary, they usually did not open fully and their heads would appear too heavy and droop. I cut them at sharp angles with sharp pruners and always had food in the water but it made no difference.  I recently decided to try again as I miss having their beauty in the house. I am now using some new (but old to those in the know) techniques with success and roses are now my new favorite flower!


I cut the stems fully immersed in water. Once I have placed them in the vase, I cup my fingers and very gently open the bud to reveal the petals somewhat. They seem to like this as they now have been opening beautifully to reveal all their loveliness! Am I the only one to not know how to properly care for cut roses? Thank you Google.

stylish serendipity photos

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

first light



Look at what was outside our bedroom window this morning.....a cloudless sky. With the exception of a five minute glimpse last Friday, this is the first we have seen of the sun in eleven days.





Along with it came the first hard frost, thankfully I harvested hydrangeas a few days ago in anticipation. Lots of little bouquets inside to enjoy...




stylish serendipity photos


Friday, November 2, 2012

little gifts

This morning I prepared some small gifts to give. As I was doing that, I received some small gifts too. I am giving wristlet key chains in cute patterns made by Abby Frey to ten of my soccer lady friends that I have been sitting with all these years as we watched our sons play. Pairing them with pretty sticky notes made by Michelle Brusegaard. The boys are seniors, their final season has just ended. Sad.


As I was wrapping the presents, I spotted a splash of pink in the border out the kitchen window. Needed to put my boots on and check it out. A brave pink clematis, clinging to its tuteur, decided to put on a show right before its bedtime. It stands out among the leaf covered bed. 


Green Jewel Echinacea at the other end of the bed is still hanging on too, despite a week of temperatures in the 40's, ten inches of rain and several days of high winds from Hurricane Sandy. We leave a blanket of leaves on all the beds to protect and enrich the plants over the winter. Most years we are covered in snow most of the winter, with the exception of last year when we experienced several melts. We will see what this year brings. The perennials and ground covers pop though in the spring, the leaf cover decomposes, enriching the soil.


As I am writing this, another little gift just appeared! Can you tell what it is?


Sunlight! 
Something we have not seen in 8 days! Have a warm cozy weekend everyone! Hope you see some sun! 



stylish serendipity photos

Monday, October 22, 2012

this morning in the garden...fall color!
































stylish serendipity photos

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Carolyne Roehm

 Tip for today....head on over to Carolyne Roehm's newly formatted blog. She no longer sells items, she just shares her beautiful gardens and home in huge stunning photographs. Carolyne displays nature's bounty in a spectacular way, no matter the season. Difficult not to pin every image.... actually most images are probably on Pinterest already! Here are a few favorites from recent posts but check her out for yourself here.


She revamped her greenhouse.

Her sunflower displays are elegant mixed with sterling silver.

Summer colors in her library, since changed to red. Check out the blog to see the changes.

She has a gorgeous dahlia garden! I admire this as I do not have the energy to be a dahlia gardener!

all photographs from Carolyne Roehm


Thursday, October 11, 2012

fall bulbs

Have you planted your fall bulbs yet? We finished ours last weekend. They can be planted into late November for those of us in Zone 5 until the ground is frozen. Bulbs are another one of Mother Nature's gifts for the gardener. If we make time in the fall to dig some holes, we are rewarded with pretty blooms to brighten chilly spring days. 


Since we share our land with deer, rabbits and chipmunks, we must choose bulbs carefully. This year we added more daffodils to the woods edge on the east side of our property, some bearded iris and more allium to the back and front borders.

We have hundreds and hundreds of muscari (grape hyacinth) planted near the paths of our property. We always plant them in clumps, holes dug with 7 or so bulbs in each.


 No tulips for us, they are eaten the day their foliage pops though the soil by the deer. They also weaken over time as their roots reach further down into the soil so they really look best the first spring after being planted. We invest in deer proof daffodils instead. We cannot have enough daffodils. They are such a happy sight, full of promise for better weather ahead after our long winters. They look pretty sprinkled throughout the woods before the maples leaf out.

For bulb planting tips, visit Martha Stewart's  bulb planting 101.

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