Sunday Stroll: Blooms and Buds

We got more than half a foot of snow since Friday night. It was falling lightly when we went to last night's party down the road. The snow started up at breakfast time today. By this evening we could have as much as another foot. The temperature is 11 degrees, not counting windchill--it's very blustery outside.

Even so, we made it to church. It was a very white drive.



"What do you want for Christmas?" the Chap keeps asking. To respond with "Nothing, really," isn't especially helpful. With so much activity at our feeders, in the past 48 hours I began answering, "A 50 pound bag of safflower seed, a 25 pound bag of cracked corn, and several suet cakes."

So after church we stopped at the local farm store and stocked up. I'm happy, and our wild birds will be happy!

Because of the severe climate outdoors, I'm strolling my indoor garden today.

My many-years-old cyclamen is showing seasonal colours.



As is the crown of thorns plant the Chap gave me for Christmas some years ago.



I'm afraid the house got so cold during last weekend's power outage that I lost a couple of plants. My heirloom Christmas cactus (which bloomed before we left for London) is no more, and the arabica coffee plant (a gift from the Chap many years ago) was also killed.

But I'm making more plants. In this indoor greenhouse area, I'm rooting the cuttings I took when visiting my parents last month: sasanqua, banana shrub, and sweet/tea olive from their gardens.



And here are the wild holly cuttings I took from Nell Gwyn's forest outside Nottingham.



The Lodge will be brightened by more blossoms very soon.

Rosemary.



My white azalea.



And the insanely fragrant sweet/tea olive--not from my parents' garden, but purchased commercially.



To see where the other strollers strolled, hop over here!