The Parsley Patch

The snowy white amaryllis on the piano has started to bloom. I wasn’t sure it would as the bulb had start to get soft and rot in the vase. This is the first success I’ve had with growing an amaryllis this way as they always tend to rot and die before blooming. Quite lovely reflecting the light on the snow from outside.

The full Oak Moon has risen and the total eclipse has occurred! What a solstice eve this was and with my new Canon G12, I had a blast taking pictures despite the frigid temperatures and high wind. The converging of the Full Oak moon, the Winter Solstice and total lunar eclipse only occurs once every 300+ years so it was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

[View with PicLens]

While hanging the flags for Christmas a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Graham Thomas was trying to bloom! As we approach the Winter Solstice, he is getting confused and must be thinking it’s the Summer Solstice!

I’m reminded of an old Peter, Paul & Mary song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” in my dismay at the lack of seed catalogs in my mailbox. By this time I usually have a whole stack of all the best and wonderful seed and perennial catalogs for spring, but I only have three rather small and insignificant ones. Are they just late? Are they not coming? Has everyone given up on print media? Will there be no seed starting season? One’s mind can wonder and wander far with horrific scenarios of what has happened to the seed catalogs!

With a brand new Canon G12 camera in hand, I wanted to rush outside and snap a few pictures for my first entry in May Dreams Gardens’ Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day where garden bloggers band together and post what’s blooming in their gardens each month. Winter had other plans and decided to lay down an unexpected blanket of white snow in the morning, but that did not deter me.

By afternoon the winds had dispersed much of the snow and the clearing sky revealed an intense blue that was the perfect backdrop for the giant Norway maple in the back yard.

I’m not without blooms though! The Amaryllis on the computer table is in full bloom and perhaps is leaning in to spy on what’s happening in the blooming world online! A mottled-leaved poinsettia is tucked behind the monitor.

May Dreams Gardens brings garden bloggers together on the 15th of every month for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day to showcase what’s blooming in gardens around the planet.