CottageInTheCourt: Fresh Starts of sorts.......

Someone told the winds that we were enjoying too much mild weather, so it has resurfaced. I am no longer bonding with my winter coat, however I am thinking about what to wear when I find the time to go into my garden and get busy. As most folks that I know who garden and work full time jobs, this time of the year is so exciting and work sometimes makes it difficult to concentrate on what one can accomplish in a weekend. However, in order to get that plant (or plants) we NEED, employment is a good thing and can be balanced along with gardening with a passion as time allows.

I often plant things that are enticing and add surprise to the well travelled paths in my yarden. All winter long I peek at my precious tree peonies to see if they have survived winter winds. I also tend to look at anything that might be budding. This keeps me in tune with where the gaps are that I need to fill in with the plant I NEED and also where there might be problems in the landscape, (ie - drainage, wrong plant -wrong place or total re-design of the site). I know a lot of folks who consider their gardening done in the fall, once the leaves are up and Thanksgiving comes.

Perhaps this is merely because I am a gardenaholic. I am obsessed about gardening, a true Steward of the land and believe in making all things beautiful. With that thought in mind here are some scenes of what surprises are in store for me along the garden paths at Cottage In The Court......

These daffodils remind me of my niece Alexis Speight, a bright spot in the dreary winter landscape....they bloom in her honor ......

Hellebores ....what is winter without patiently awaiting their bloom????

You knew that there would be a Camellia in the mix...my favorite blooming shrub.....

this one was a rescue plant at the end of the season two years ago. It sat for a year and did not show appreciation for being rescued. However last winter it showed off it's beauty in bloom and this year the buds have increased - preparing for another show of the beauty that lies within.

Of course there is nothing better this time of the year than a pot of happy pansies!! I think I will add some yellow dwarf snap dragons for some height and pop of color.....

Yep...cole crops and onions just waiting for the weekend to get tucked into their beds.....

One of my three tree peonies waiting to bloom,,, you have to look very closely

Sweet box......

Herbaceous peonies just started their red torpedo parade this past week, I think they were anticipating a huge snow storm....not the snrain that we did get last Thursday......