{"id":5061,"date":"2013-12-17T22:11:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-18T03:11:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T17:56:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T21:56:36","slug":"simple-joys-on-snowy-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2013\/12\/simple-joys-on-snowy-day\/","title":{"rendered":"SIMPLE JOYS ON A SNOWY DAY"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nWe all can become stressed during the Holiday season, trying to be perfect ( my big problem), driving everyone else crazy with to-do lists, things the bake before it is “too late”, even trying to rather simple tasks such as getting t packages out to the post office can seem overwhelming – but sometimes, letting things go a bit, taking the time to appreciate the moments, can make a crazy time of year, much more bearable. I mean, who cares if there is a half of a Hubbard Squash frozen on the back porch – I mean, who knew that the temperature was going to drop to January sub-zero levels over-night? Sure, it was -5\u00ba this morning, and sure, I am having some nasty greenhouse heating issues, but we have so much to be thankful for – like the first flocks of goldfinches on our thistle feeders, bright violet calicarpa berries at the same time as red holly berries, even soft, white fluffy snow guaranteeing  a white Christmas here in New England. So\u2026a few images from a walk in the garden on this snowy, December day. Just appreciating the little things, and who cares if I never got to make those wreathes. Maybe next year.<\/p>\n

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Calicarpa berries along the perennial walk, still purple, most likely because they froze solid before the had a chance to turn brown, which they will, as soon as this deep freeze is over.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Our native deciduous holly, or Winter Berry – Ilex verticilata, along our front porch. It has never looked so good. Must have been the result of a wet, rainy summer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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The afore mentioned Blue Hubbard – ready to go out to the turkey coop for an early, winter snack. Half was roasted for pumpkin pie, the rest ( it was just too much for us to eat!) will be shared with the animals. Last night our temperatures dropped to -5\u00ba F, so our back porch, which acts as our refrigerator, is now more of a deep freezer. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Lydia and Fergus’ puppies! Three girls left. Their brother flew off to Amsterdam last weekend.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Goldfinches are everywhere this winter, and not only on our thistle feeders. These are enjoying some sunflower seeds.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Tom ( our not so creatively named turkey) and Rebecca wait for some corn, as I shovel my way out to the coops.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Some more traditional looking holly, in front of a very frosty greenhouse this morning.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Who needs to put up Christmas lights when light snow on the bright, golden-needled evergreen like Picea  orientalis ‘Skylands’ looks like this?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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This river birch was planted by me in 1979, it is now nearly 8o feet tall with a trunk diameter of nearly 24 inches. Sure, it is planted too close to the foundation, but it is still quite solid.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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The alpine troughs are asleep, for a long, cold, winters nap. Only some foliage from a Pulsatilla remains.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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In the greenhouse, a tropical rhododendron ( alpine form from Borneo) blooms for the first time. These high elevation cloud forest plants seem to thrive in the cold, damp conditions of my greenhouse.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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We all can become stressed during the Holiday season, trying to be perfect ( my big problem), driving everyone else crazy with to-do lists,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSIMPLE JOYS ON A SNOWY DAY - Growing With Plants<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2013\/12\/simple-joys-on-snowy-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SIMPLE JOYS ON A SNOWY DAY - 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