BUSY LIKE AN ELF…LITERALLY.

My eHow posts have kept me busy, but I am having so much fun with them – trying to inspire their readers to try something ne, while at the same time, helping them attain great results. As a product and graphic designer, I really enjoy these sort of tasks. They really haven’t been a ‘time suck’ since I take loads of photos anyway, and the subject matter is a little more ‘everyday gardening’ than what should appear on these pages, so I don’t feel that it interferes with my content which I create for you.  Here is my latest post on eHow to make a berry bowl for the 21st century –  which I call ” How to make a more sustainable berry bowl”. I wanted to say “‘Partridge berry bowl” but then realized how dangerous and irresponsible that could be.  As always – eHow is a social media driven site, so feel free to comment on it, or click on the ‘share’ tabs – it helps me get kudos’. Which in turn, helps me pay the heating bill on the greenhouse!

 It snowed here last week. Part of me was hoping that we would get the 16 inches predicted – the other part of me was hoping for a dusting ( because Joe’s broken leg would mean that I would have to snowplow and snow blow everything). Our 8 inches was just fine. Enough to make it look like December at least.

In the greenhouse, plants are still blooming during these shortest days of the year, and the scent of Viola odorata – these French scented violets sure makes the greenhouse smell as if it was 1825. It’s amazing how strong they can be, yet how mysterious the scent actually is.

 My berry bowl post inspired Joe to bring back this pot of commercially grown Wintergreen, or Teaberry as my father used to call it ( you know, like Teaberry gum). It’s so interesting that now there is commercially cultivated Galtheria procumbens ( it grows in the woodland behind our house). I am going to keep this in the cold greenhouse, and then plant these steroidally large ‘Teaberries’ in the shady, acid rock garden where it might enjoy the company of blueberries and our native Mayflowers.
A bit of the Massachusetts woodland growing right here in my, um…..Massachusetts woodland garden.

No snowy greenhouse motif is complete in December or January without the insanely rampant vines of this Australian native – Hardenbergia violacea. Come January – the color will be so intense, that I will see the purple pea-like flowers from the house. The almost seem to glow. This vine was common in old New England conservatories in the 18th and 19th century. Not a great houseplant, it might do well in a sunroom or a protected, glassed in porch which does not freeze.

Just a view down one of the paths in the greenhouse. The last of the Nerine sarniensis blooms along with a golden-leaved osmanthus ( the holly-shaped leaves), and a well budded Daphne odora. I can’t wait for that to bloom in a month as well – the scent, just like warm cinnamon buns. Or cold ones.

Everyplant seems to have a famous relative, and in the world of Camellias, this Japanese variety is about as famous as a camellia can get. ‘Tama no ura’ is the parent of countless “Tama’s”. I am so impressed with the quantity of flowers that I have with my plant. It’s really trying to get my attention – probably because it knows that I have a big order coming from Nuccio’s this week. So big, that Mr. Nuccio actually called me on the real telephone.