So My Garden Grows

Amaryllis, left out this year instead of being brought in to be forced in the winter, are blooming now.





The last of the Iris, a beautiful white was blooming against the fence, here


The white iris always makes me think of Victorian ladies at Garden parties trailing their frills and twirling their parasols. Last evening as I went looking for yet more information on the language of flowers, I discovered that the Iris is one of Mary's flowers and it is also the fleur-de-lis, symbol of France. The blue iris in particular symbolize Mary's fidelity.

I have also recently discovered that Hawthorne, a healing herb that is beneficial in its leaves, flowers and berries and is actually a tree, symbolizes hope in the language of flowers. I hope to use some of the dried leaves and flowers from my own Hawthorne tree along with myrtle leaves and berries from bushes that I grew from seed over twenty years ago in wedding potpourri. Probably I will use them in peace potpourri as well.



Years ago, when my family first moved into this house, my father cut down our Hawthorne tree. He was not familiar with what it was and felt that it was planted too close to the house. It is too close to the house, but it grew back in a forest of little shoots. He did not have the heart to kill it out completely and there it stands, this curious tree that grows as though it were split in two with one side flowering pink and the other white. It was only in the last six years or so that my friend who is a master gardener and herbalist identified it for me. It provides life-giving shade in summer's heat and a tonic for me. I have come to love it so!

Finally, the shamrock continues to bloom. Never mind that many would consider them a weed, I consider them a plant promising good luck, because of their association with Ireland and St. Patrick. I always feel blessed when they are blooming.



Gratitude is with me tonight for these joys of my garden. Spring always makes me feel as though a little taste of heaven has come my way, especially when I look out my back windows and see the pink roses blooming along the fence and the poppies now making their color splashes in the planter box.

My apologies to anyone who got the pre-proofread version without the last photo and the corrections that I could not help myself from making. I am more tired tonight than I realized.

Amaryllis

The amaryllis has indeed bloomed red. It is gorgeous and stunning and huge! A most magnificent flower and the bulb is producing four flowers. Here is one of them, captured against a white backdrop. I took the picture Monday with the help of a friend.



I cannot say enough about the beauty of these breathtaking flowers. The bloom stalk grows about 30", which makes them much bigger than any other flower that I have ever grown. They are native to Chile and Peru and in the language of flowers they mean splendid beauty or proud beauty or pride. Stately is another word that comes to mind to describe them.

Outside, daffodils are blooming and more bulbs are poking up through the soil in their pots. I am eager to see them bloom, but grateful too for the rain which we have gotten.

A rain barrel would have been a good investment, I think and I will be planning to install one, or perhaps even two next year, if all goes well. The drought in California is serious, even though we have had this luxurious rainfall. We needed about six previous ones and four more to follow to get us out of the deficit.

The economy doesn't seem to be turning around either, but that is a different post. For now I will feel gratitude for the glory of the amaryllis and all that it signifies. Spring will come and we can hope that things will get better.

Rainy Day Projects

Rain has changed from plinking on the roof and the kitchen stove fan to actual, steady pouring. Water has pooled in the depressions in my patio concrete forming puddles and we are receiving a rainfall that will finally be measurable. Hurrah. It is a good time to be indoors and to do indoor projects.

Friday I made chocolate cupcakes for Valentine's Day using my oldest, old time favorite chocolate cake recipe, Hershey's Chocolatetown Special Cake. It makes two layers or twenty-four cupcakes. The recipe used to be printed on the side of the cocoa container, but isn't there now. It can be found on the web though and when I googled I found a number of links.

Only when I went to put the cupcake liners into the tins did I discover that I had no paper liners. Since I can't just run out to the store, I had to be creative. I had a can of non-stick spray a friend had passed on to me so liberally sprayed the tins and put in the batter. The cupcakes are good, released well from the pans, but I think the flavor is negatively impacted by the vegetable spray and the spray left an oily film where it hit the pans in between the muffin cups. Here is a picture of cupcakes before frosting.



Today I finally frosted the cupcakes which I had not already eaten as shown in the photo.



Here is one cupcake looking almost photogenic.



Wish I could share them with everyone. I have a long way to go as a food photographer, but I think that this is one time in my life that I will not buy a book to teach me how to do it better! Too many books already, way too little time.

Today the mystery of the last Amaryllis finally revealed itself. It is definitely red. Definitely gorgeous too and difficult to photograph because it is above my head!



I would love to know why blogger always puts the photo above the text and not below it. Below seems so much more logical to me, since we write text from the top down.

I am grateful for the rain, which is truly a benediction in our lives today and for the cupcakes and the flowers, including the daffodils which are looking chilled and lonely outside today.

Tulips, Let Love Bloom

To the right you can see a slideshow loading of various objects for sale at my Cafepress shop with a design that I am especially pleased by, "Tulips, Let Love Bloom". The colors are bright and cheerful, the design is suitable for Valentine's Day but will last throughout the year. It would be particularly pretty at this cold and dreary time of the year.

There are other designs there too and I particularly love the peace design that I made to honor my father and the love in many languages design. Now if I could just figure out how to promote myself more effectively and more efficiently.

Today we are getting drizzle instead of the rain we really need.

Today is also the day when I deal with re-arranging the Christmas decoration boxes. Every year I plan to do this so that it will make taking everything out and putting it up easier the next time. Every year, I do it again. Some year I may get it "just right". (Then I can die and go to heaven--if I haven't died already before I make this milestone achievement.)

I love the old, old calendar, the one that says the Christmas season ends on Candlemas, February 2. That gives me plenty of time to savor the decorations which do brighten the house during the dreary, short day month of January.

The downside is (why is there always a downside?) that by the time I have everything tucked away again, the rest of the world is getting ready for Valentine's Day... Oh well. Ash Wednesday is usually right around the corner too.

Two Amaryllis buds are starting to bloom on the kitchen counter. These are always so much fun to watch, for they literally change on an almost hourly basis. Another pot has a short bloom stalk--totally unlike all the others I have had which go so high that I have to move them away from the underside of the kitchen cabinets. It will be interesting to see if it just gives up on growing and goes right to blooming.

I am grateful for company for lunch today and cooking a nice meal to share as well as the flowers that will bloom soon.