Take Three

 If you were to look into that secret place where I hide my blog drafts, then you would see  take one:  a year in review type post which halfway through hit the editing floor.  Those always seem so interesting when I read them on other blogs, but boring was the word that came to mind as I got about one third of the way through mine.  Perhaps it's because I seldom include "people" photos in my posts.  How many times do my dear readers want to see pictures of my knick knacks, old books, vintage what-nots, etc?  Next ....

Take two:  a photo of a vintage greeting card with a New Year's theme.  Hmmm... been there, done that (more than once).  Boring once again.  That one slowly fluttered to the editing room floor too.  I can see I'll be busy sweeping up the pile in there.  That is once I get the rest of the Christmas decor put away.

For better or worse, take three is what you're getting here today.

A review of the year in my garden.

I thought it might hold a little appeal to those of you who are dealing with snow and also to those of us who are gearing up for the next gardening season.

 Since there isn't much to do in the garden in January, I used that time for some indoor gardening in the form of tending to my houseplants.

February brought the first color to the garden in the form of daffodils.  Always a welcome sight.

 In March things really start to take off.

Perennials are coming back to life as the cherry trees and dogwoods put on their glorious spring show.  

 April brought the first lettuce and radish harvest from my wee vegetable garden.  More pink in the form of knock-out roses, azaleas and dianthus or "pinks", as my mom used to call them.

The first chickadee family of 2012 was born right here in the fluffy nest that their parents so lovingly created for them.  

 Pink seemed to give way to white with a touch of blue in May.

Peonies, Easter lilies, magnolias and the beginning of the hydrangeas.  Springtime in the south is a beautiful thing ... not only to the eyes, but the nose as well.  The sweet fragrances permeate the air (along with the pollen).

  

 When we weren't working in the garden in June, we enjoyed watching the birds from the comforts of a new glider perfectly situated for ideal bird and butterfly watching.  The new retractable awning proved to be a good move for shading this very sunny patio.  A little wren thought so too and promptly built her nest where the awning met the brick wall.

 

 July found me escaping the heat with a bit of indoor crafting.

An old pallet was turned into an adaptation of the American flag, thrift shop glassware was turned into a garden sculpture and the old blue bike was decked out for the Fourth of July.

 In August the butterflies are frequent visitors to the butterfly bushes and perennial garden.  They add such beauty and graceful notes to the garden.

 For some reason I took very few pictures in the September garden.

This was just to remind me of a combination of annuals that worked well for me near a little water fountain.  The pink flowers are Penta.  I started planting them a few years ago and have found them to be great performers and the butterflies love them.

 In October the Morning Glories were in their glory and the front porch received a face lift with the help of some pumpkins and a new potted arrangement of baby mums, ornamental kale and some interesting pumpkins from the farmer's market.

 While doing the fall clean-up in November, I found a lot of hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.  Their colors looked particularly vibrant against the clear blue sky and the beauty of the changing leaves is always a welcome sight at the end of the gardening season.

 December brought indoor gardening in the form of Christmas Cactus, Amaryllis, Tulips,  Hydrangeas and one very special surprise in the outdoor garden... one very pretty white bloom on a clump of confused narcissus.  I think of it as my White Christmas snowflake here in the sunny south.

And that, my friends, is a wrap!

I'm looking forward to this fresh new year and wish you all Happiness & Good Health in 2013.

With Love,