Vintage Nineteenth C. Holiday card showing Camellias
My plant window over the kitchen sink in Holiday garb, this year, all white and green. Cyclamen, Stock, Hellebores, Cedar, Nerine unduata (with 6 buds!) and more.
On this very snowy Christmas Eve in New England, I just want to wish all of my readers and supports a safe and healthy Holiday, what ever one your family, friends or faith celebrates. Being of Lithuanian heritage myself, and raised Catholic, we later found out as adults that our traditional Kuchas ( sp?) and evening dinner on Christmas Eve, was actually a revised ritual that started as a pagan change of seasons, celebration, and typically was celebrated on the winter solstice. Well, since we we’re busy keeping our precious plants alive all night, on the solstice, it’s probably best that we celebrate tonight, as usual. ( Unless, of course the plants could speak at midnight..hmmmm). Anyway, thanks to all of you who expressed concern over our latest heating issues. Tonight, all is well, and nothing was loss, except a few dollars on space heaters, lost sleep and perhaps a fuel company. This, we move on and try to forget about it.
Here are just a few shots of the house, the plant window, some vintage Holiday cards that feature anything other than Poinsettias since that is a rather recent introductions to the world of Holiday plants. Traditionally, it was the white and red Anemone coronaria which were forced in Northern Europe, England and early America for Holiday flowers, as well as , of course, the Christmas Rose, or Hellebore, the Chrysanthemum, White Violets, and Cyclamen, and I err on traditional, for it is less mass market, and more meaningful, in many ways. Also, greens cut from the cedars and spruces, some early Camellia from the greenhouse, and anything else in berried form like Holly, rose hips and some citrus. Well, off to make more arrangements, since we have a full house this evening, roasts to start, topiaries to bring in from the greenhouse, garlands to draps, floors to sweep, as you all do too.
Here’s to a very Merry Christmas to every one, whatever your religion, being rather non religion beyond mother nature, ourself today, this is more about the solstice, tradition and the food ( of course, the plants too!).
White Anemone’s at Christmas, more authentic than silk poinsettia from a craft store.
A VIntage Italian Christmas card from the Nineteenth Century showing how winter blooming Hellebores represented Christams. In old England, a bowl of evergreens, Holly, and Hellebores was most traditional, as we’re white Anemones.
My friend Jessica, a designer as Hasbro, and I made Holiday cookies last night. Yeah, I still need to do the dishes!
The yellow-Japanese spruce, ‘Skylands”, really shows it’s golden glow in the new snow.
Japanese pines have the best cones.
The bees are nestled in for the winter
Rosa hips are still clinging to the branches
The Hemlock grove out by the duck house, looks best after a new snow. I find Hemlock forests very comforting, especially after a snow, so cozy and they remind me of my childhood hiking with my dad, or in the summer, when I would go on long hikes in the dark, mossy hemlock forests with my friend Mike. Those were the days. Now…off to cook.
