Thanksgiving Is Over

For the past couple of weeks, when I have to report to the workplace at 9:00 am, I stop at the stop sign at the bottom of Green Hill Road. Across the street, at the church parking lot, is a bus stop where three little girls catch the bus.

During these past couple of weeks, they've been at the bus stop along with a wild tom turkey that seems to have adopted them, or maybe it's the parking lot that it's adopted.





Anyway, today while out and about, there was the wild turkey, in all his glory prancing around the church parking lot. When he saw us, he chased the big red truck up Green Hill Road. Amazing.

Finally, we just couldn't take it any longer. We had to go get the camera.



We returned to the parking lot and got some amazing pictures of this very large tom turkey that was in full feather display and prancing round with his courting song, pretty as a picture and knowing it. He even allowed us to touch him.

A woman stopped by and asked if the turkey was bothering us. "Of course not." We just wanted pictures. "Yes, he is a wild turkey." "He has adopted the three little girls that live in the house next door." "He's the neighborhood turkey and everyone is feeding him." "We worry that he might wander into the road and get hit or someone will shoot him." "He sleeps on the little girls deck railing."

I have to admit, I do enjoy seeing this turkey around. He is just a beautiful bird, though be it a little strange. He just came around and stayed. I have an idea that when breeding season does start, this turkey will leave the three little girls that seem to love him so. He just needs practice to intice the girls of his own kind.

Yummy Chocolate!!!

I had promised Husband yesterday that I would make my chocolate tapioca pudding today. OK. This morning came and I did remember the chocolate tapioca I wanted to make. While waiting for the recipe to rest...it sits before and after cooking to let the tapioca become saturated, I went looking through the tiny cookbook where this recipe resides and found several other recipes that I had at one time and lost. Some of my favorite recipes and I wasn't aware that all this time I had them.

Once the tapioca was finished I started putting this one and all my other favorite in my personalized cookbook of all the recipes I love the best. No hunting for anything in this book. It is just my recipes that I enjoy cooking the most. I am filling this cookbook up now.

Winter Continuing...perennials

Finally, my last order to date was with Wayside Gardens. This possibly could be the most disappointing of all my orders, since I've had good and bad with them. I kept my order smallish, however, with the idea that I might order some other plants that I want closer to spring, or after this shipment comes and I can see what their stock is like. There have been years with Wayside that I've been impressed and other times when I wasn't. They do seem to run in cycles. Last year I was impressed.

From Wayside, I will generally get perennials. This year I ordered 3 Ajuga Black Scallop (Bugleweed). I've been getting about three of these a year for the past three years. I'm using it as a ground cover around the edges of one of my major flowerbeds. I like this plant and it's grown nicely for me over the past couple of years. I want it thick enough to prevent weeds from coming up and it's been good at this.

I also ordered 3 Hypericum 'Briggadoon'. I have one of these plants from last year and will move it to another major bed where I will use it as a ground cover. Another nice plant as a ground cover.

Then I ordered 2 Aruncus dioicus 'Goat's Beard' for the back of the large perennial bed. This plant will get about 5 feet tall and resemble the other grasses in that bed. It should fill in the edges of that bed nicely.

Then, of course, another Heuchera villosa 'Encore'. I must have about 25 of these now of different varieties but am always looking for more.

Last but not least, I found this Paeonia 'Bartzella' very interesting and want to try it. It's a new variety that is a cross between my beloved tree peony and the herbacious peony. I'm curious to see how this one grows.

For now, these are my spring orders. Now for spring to get here.

Winter Continuing...roses

I've also ordered my roses for next spring. I got these coming from two different suppliers, one of which I've ordered from before and have always been totally impressed with their stock. Vintage Roses http://www.vintagegardens.com/. This company send own-root rose slips that are strong and grow into nice bushes in one season.

There are a lot of folks who don't want to wait a year to get a rose bush, but I've found that to get the own-root slips makes for a stonger, healthier bush that is less prone to the common blights of this area. Own-root roses can live much, much longer than grafted roses. I have own-root roses in the garden that are almost 20 years old now and have been moved all around two counties while I built my home and they are stronger than ever. Most of the grafted roses I moved have since perished.

From Vintage I ordered some lovely singles, Ellen Willmott, Mrs. Oakley Fisher, Vesuvius. Until recently I didn't realize that there were more hybrid tea single roses besides Dainty Bess that is already growing nicely in my garden. From Vintage I also ordered Smoky, virus indexed variety. I find the color of this rose quite unusual, a red with a smoky haze. I'm hoping the virus indexed variety will be stronger and better producing than the one I had before.

From another company I've never ordered from before, I ordered 3 climbing roses, Dublin Bay, a beautiful red, City of York, white, and Summer Wine, peach/apricot. Even though I've never ordered from Roses Unlimited before, they don't come without a great reputation so I'm fairly confident that the own-root rose slips I get will be very nice.

I am considering ordering one more City of York from Vintage Roses so I can compare the two. Besides, I really want two of this rose and two of Summer Wine. However, Vintage doesn't sell Summer Wine.

It's beginning to look like spring is going to be a good season.

Winter Continuing...seeds

It's 18º outside right now. This is the coldest so far this year. This is usual for these parts. Sometimes it gets even colder. But I'm near the Mason Dixon line here, surrounded by two major rivers and am usually warm compared to other parts of this same county.

We're reaching toward the end of January now. I'll have one more free weekend before the gardening fun begins. February starts the conventions and very early shows. March is completely filled now. Somewhere toward the end of March I must start finding time to get outside and start my late winter gardening chores. Things will begin to slow down by the end of April. That's when spring planting begins.

But for now, I think I have most of my garden ordering done for this spring. This year I went to a new supplier for seeds. Well, at least one I'd never ordered from before. Vermont Bean Co. From them I ordered Cranberry and Blue Lake bush beans for fresh and dried cooking, atomic red carrots, a mixture of loose leaf lettuce which we love and look forward to fresh every year. Oh, BTW, my co-workers have asked when I'd bring fresh salad greens in for a treat. I promised them and haven't done that yet.

All my seed packets I've ordered from Vermont Bean have arrived in good time and await planting when the season arrives. They are wintering in the garage where it is cool and dark. I've also ordered 25 Honeoye strawberry plants that should arrive just in time for planting. I've dedicated and entire raised bed in the garden for these little plants and will have some of the best strawberries around next year. In the meantime, I have some of last years crop frozen neatly in the downstairs freezer and they look sooooo good.

I have to admit, I've been pleased so far with Vermont Bean and hope that my strawberries come in good shape.

I'm making arrangements for a party in February. I'm planning on some light food and am thinking of making meatball sandwiches with cheese. Having the usual party food but also having some strawberry shortcake and a pumpkin treat which is my Husband's favorite, using both some of the strawberries and pumpkin that I have in the freezer. I'm looking forward to a really nice party.

It's That Time Again

Many years ago, I went to a seminar that a local, well-known nursery was having. There were several speakers and a number of subjects that I was interested in. After the seminar, I had the opportunity to visit with Mr. Stauffer, the owner of the nursery, with a group of other gardeners. After this visit and an inspection of the nursery's back 40, Mr. Stauffer offered each of us a plant to take home.

"These plants," he said, "are good plants. It's not that they won't be nice in your garden. It's just that they don't show well in pots. If they don't show well in pots, they won't sell."

Since Husband came along with me, I had a choice of two plants. I picked out two daylilies called Barbary Corsair. I took these two tiny daylilies home and chose a spot in my very front bed along the road. Within weeks they more than doubled their size and began to bloom. What little beauties! They were 3", rich velvet plum with a lime green throat. The plants were wonderful and the flowers seemed weatherproof. I really liked it.

When we sold that property, I left those little lovelies behind thinking that I could easily replace them. Of course for years afterward, I couldn't find them. But, now I have and I plan on purchasing a couple of roots for my garden. They are the perfect color and would really match my house. I'm also planning on another called Auroa Raspberry that does appear to match Barbary Corsair with contrast.

This will be my daylilies for this year. Of course, I might have to break down and order a Barbara Mitchell daylily as well. I'll see.

It's time to start ordering what plants I want for the garden now. My roses are ordered and waiting for planting season. I've already heard from both Vintage Gardens and Roses Unlimited about my orders. More on them later.

Winter

Well, it appears that winter made here to the homestead. We have a total of about 3" so far and it's hard to say if we'll be getting to much more.
It did make for a beatiful snowfall and I was awed as usual on my slow trip home from work. The snow is wet and hung on the trees and bushes so beautifully. It clung to my New Dawn rose canes over the arbor and shrowding everything in white.
However, this garden is no comparison to the wild forests around my property. Only nature can make anything that beautiful.
I can't say that it's bitter cold outside because it isn't. Still, even the sight of snow can chill one to the bones. So we stayed indoors this evening curled into a ball on the sofas in various spots keeping warm. Shalimar is taking advantage of the extra soft cushions of the ancient sectional in front of the fireplace. This girl knows what's good.

Florists Roses

Yesterday I received a bundle of 26 florists roses for the house. I also was taken to a rather nice resaturant for dinner. Of course I couldn't eat the entire dinner so a large portion of it came home for tonight's dinner.

Yesterday was my 26th wedding anniversary. Now, to look forward to 27. One year at a time.