My showy Hellebores, an Obelisk, and a Chocolate Pudding Recipe.

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Hellebore in March.

The saying goes “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” but the first few days of March were quite wonderful for us! We’ve had mild days, with more sun than we’ve seen all of January & February combined. The nights are still cold, but the evenings are ever brighter. With the nicer weather, the Hellebore plants really started to come to life with lots of blooms. The flower faces down to the ground, so I was happy to get the above picture, even if it meant that I was nearly on the ground myself!

Hellebore.

They are a lovely flower to have in the garden since it blooms during that time when there really isn’t too much going on. There are many different varieties, too. I’m told that the flowers of the new varieties don’t face down, but face up!

Hellebore.

I’m happy with my pink variety. It seems happy with me, too, as it was big enough for me to divide last year, and now I have two plants.

Hellebore on a sunny day.

There are some other signs of life in the garden, too. My Clematis “Bagatella” Dorothy Walton (photo taken in August 2012)

won’t bloom until August, but it has a bunch of new shoots. I had been looking at getting something pretty for it to climb. There were some lovely obelisk structures in one of my gardening magazines, but they were quite pricey. So I was delighted to find something very similar in TK Maxx (TJ Maxx in the U.S.) at a very reasonable price!

My bargain obelisk.

Clematis ‘Bagatella’ (Dorothy Walton).

Pleased as punch, so I was! I think it is just lovely, and fits the bill perfectly! Now I can’t wait for the Clematis to bloom. The Clematis has a story of its own. It is one of the first plants that I bought when we moved into this house. My neighbor from the States (that’s you Sally L.!) had the most beautiful Clematis in her yard. So it was with thoughts of Sally’s plant that I made my purchase. The problem was that I didn’t know where to put it, so I just stuck it by the fence. My thinking was that it would climb the fence and be lovely. Except it nearly died there. It was terribly unhappy. So I moved it and it limped along. Although it did have one lovely flower last year, it then seemed to have “wilt” from too much rain. We dug it up, gave it lots of compost, aerated the soil, added some food and hoped for the best. It seems the best is coming, as it really has taken off with lots of healthy shoots. I am hopeful!

Now on to an unrelated topic. I had to share this with you: A chocolate pudding recipe that uses avocado! I tried it just out of curiosity; that and the fact that I happened to have an avocado on hand when I came across the recipe. It really tasted good!

Chocolate Avocado Pudding from Joyous Health.

You could definitely taste the avocado. It is rather strange, and my kids were divided. I liked it, and would consider this for a healthy snack.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding from Joyous Health.

What do you think??? Would you give it a try?

Happy & Healthy Gardening to you!

Dana

http://889yoga.com/blog/uncategorized/chocolate-avocado-pudding-recipe/

Chocolate Avocado Pudding recipe from Joyous Health

1 ripe avocado, peel and seed removed
1/3 cup raw cacao (Use the best quality you can find. I used Navitas — it has a beautiful rich aroma and taste)
1/4 cup raw honey (I used local buckwheat Nude Bee honey)

Place all ingredients into a food processor or high power blend and blend until nice and smooth. If you want a thinner consistency, add 2-3 tbsp of almond milk. Sprinkle some raw cacao nibs on top! Blend and enjoy! Serves 2 generously. EnJOY!

An Irish Robin, a Stone wall, and a February look at the garden!

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Mominthegarden

An Irish Robin in a Hawthorn tree.

We have been enjoying the most glorious weather lately. There is a definite spring in everyone’s step that wasn’t there during the dark days of winter! What a pleasure to be in the garden on such sunny days. I’ve been pulling up ivy and brambles (haha! the never ending job!), and then loosening up the soil. I’m happy to have extended the flower bed in front of the ditch wall for this growing season! Now deciding on which flowers to plant might be just as difficult as was preparing the bed. There are so many flowers that I want to have! And that, my dear friends, is what keeps me motivated to keep pulling the ivy and brambles. 🙂

Clearing a new flower bed.

A closer look.

It doesn’t look like much, does it? But that one section took ages to clear. Those ivy roots run deep!

It certainly is a process.

O.K., this ugly picture is just to get some sympathy! That is what it looked like beforehand, and what the rest of the row looks like! Yuck!

I was delighted to be joined in my work by a couple of very friendly robins. I was surprised by how close they came to me, and that they stayed with me while I pulled out ivy. They weren’t bothered by our cat Lucy, either, who was sitting nearby. Thankfully, she is a better mouser than bird catcher.

The robin coming very close to where I was working.

The Irish robin is much smaller than the American Robin.

Too cute!

Robin on the compost.

Tackling the ivy is something I can only do in small doses. So to break things up, I took another look at the rock wall I was making as a border in front of the ditch wall. I really like the stones. My husband has honestly told me that he is not fond of the wall here. It’s possibly too much to have more stones in front of the ditch wall. I’m keeping an open mind while I put it together. I love the puzzle aspect of it; finding the perfect stone for each place. I’m making it sturdy enough to be walked on (because I know that little feet will invariably be walking on it!). My problem is that I love stones with a rounded shape to them, and I find them harder to work into the wall. For the most part though, it is flat along the top, which I think works well. I’ve been visiting the fields around me to gather all sorts of stones (with permission from the farmers first, of course! They really do laugh at my requests at this stage!). The entire process of gathering, sorting, and building the wall is what I find rewarding. Who needs to go to the gym when you can haul rocks?

A rock wall in the making.

As for the rest of the garden, there isn’t too much going on. My husband planted some raspberry canes which our neighbor James kindly gave to us. I am patiently waiting for my husband to finish tidying up the new raised beds. One of our apple trees is now too close to one of the beds, so that will have to be moved. I really appreciate my husbands help in the garden. It’s just a pity there weren’t more hours to our weekends!

February View of the Garden. New raised beds (raspberry canes on the left).

Pulmonaria.

I had forgotten how wonderful the sun is! It was a long time since we’d seen it. There are just a few flowers in the garden, and they were delighted with the change in weather!

London Pride.

Sunny days, and brighter evenings – what more could I ask for?
Happy end of February!

Dana

Snowdrops and A Granola Cookie Recipe

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Snowdrops from Wexford.

Hi there! It’s me, Mom in the Garden! It feels like I’ve been hibernating the past six weeks, or maybe just hiding from all of the rain we’ve had in Ireland! The sun has graced us this past week, and brought new life along with it. The difficulty I face with my blog now is figuring out where to start again. I suppose I could start with saying Happy Birthday to my blog! The beginning of February marked my first year of blogging. I have loved it! I really enjoy taking pictures, gardening, and putting it all together. I do appreciate all of the wonderful comments from you, too! Thank you for visiting, commenting, or following my blog. It’s lovely to meet so many gardening enthusiasts from all over the globe!

A love heart … representing the fun I have with my blog!

Lavender and a pretty bow. Well, just because!

I’ve been making mental notes the past month of what seems like a million different topics, and sorting through them in my head is proving difficult. I have a couple of recipes, a garden tour, some boxwood trimming, a few flowers…

Snowdrops.

Yes, I agree, that’s a lot of snowdrop pictures! But they were the first signs of life in the yard, so I had to capture them (and capture them, and capture them…). The snowdrops were given to me by my friend Susan. They come from her home place in Wexford, which in my book, makes them extra special.

Signs of Spring!

I love seeing the green shoots of flowers to come. To me, they are signs of hope! I like to plant even a few bulbs every year to have something new to look forward to. Last year I had a bunch of daffodils in containers https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/fragrant-and-pretty-daffodils-to-calm-a-hectic-day/ and planted them here (photo above) in the fall. I was quite a sight taking this picture. It’s right near the road, and I was crouched quite low photographing the snowdrops and daffodils, trying to get that perfect shot! I think my neighbors are getting used to my peculiar ways. 🙂

This look says it all.

Lucy, our cat, is my gardening and photography companion. She sits near me, and keeps me company without complaint, most of the time anyway.

I’m straying from my original plan! A recipe! I promised my friend Susan the recipe for Granola Cookies. It’s the least I could do for my gardening bff! I used Martha Stewart’s recipe which she calls Breakfast Cookies. I am quite fond of Martha, and only made one adjustment of just using dates for fruit, and my family loved them.

Granola Cookies (Martha Stewart’s Breakfast Cookies).

A full plate of Granola Cookies (Martha Stewart’s Breakfast Cookies).

Perfect with a cuppa. (Our days had been quite dark!!! Imagine a candle for breakfast time?)

My favorite “cream for one” jug.

It’s good to be back. I hope you like the recipe!

Dana

Granola Cookies from Martha Stewart (she calls them breakfast cookies)
http://www.marthastewart.com/921948/breakfast-cookies

Ingredients

2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 sticks (16 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups packed dark-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped (slivered)
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened dried coconut
1/2 cup raisins or currants (I used dates only for the fruit)
1/2 cup finely chopped dried mango
1/4 cup finely chopped dried papaya
1 cup banana chips (I skipped bananas)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (172 C). Whisk together flours, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Beat butter in a large bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add sugar; beat until well combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla; beat until just combined.
Slowly add flour mixture, and beat until well combined. Add oats, almonds, seeds, coconut, raisins or currants, mango, and papaya, and beat to combine.
16 cookies (using about 1/2 cup each, they are large!), and place on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Top with banana chips. Bake until golden and firm, about 13-15 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cook’s Note: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Flower Friday

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Mominthegarden

My favorite flowers!

We are having quite a wet, gray winter. Or maybe it just feels that way at the moment, but none the less, I would enjoy seeing some sunshine and flowers! So I’ve put together some of my favorite pictures of flowers from the past year. I hope you enjoy them and they bring a little sunshine into your lives!

Dana

Burgundy Ice Floribunda Rose.

Silver Anniversary Hybrid Tea Rose.

Queen Elizabeth Floribunda Rose.

Tulips.

Anemone Mr. Fokker.

Zephirine Drouhin (1868)

Poppies.

Marigolds.

Afternoon sunlight on black-eyed-Susans.

Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susans).

There, that feels better! 🙂

Winter harvest of Organic Parsnips (And New Neighbors … of the mooing variety!)

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Freshly dug Halblange White organic Parsnips.

Winter harvest: One box of parsnips. Woo hoo! O.K., it is a full box, and I didn’t have any last year, so I call that progress. Eventually, I’d like to have different vegetables and fruit growing in the garden throughout the year. But I’m going to give myself a little more time on that one! I planted lots of carrots to have with the parsnips, but only a few of the seeds germinated this year. Last year we had a bumper crop of carrots, this year not so much. That’s how it goes in the garden!

Yellowstone organic carrots (and some garlic).

That is me holding the carrots with my pink gloves. I was a bit camera shy after working in the garden. 😉 The carrots were delicious and sweet and I was happy with their size. Want to see where I hung my garlic to dry?

Garlic being left out to dry.

Another one of those not so pretty pictures, if you ask me! These are hanging at my back door. Well, they were hanging there while it was dry. I moved them inside to my utility room (laundry room) after a while. They are still braided and hanging in there – minus the clumps of dirt hanging from them. I cut those clumps off as soon as I could manage it! I just pull off a head as I need it. 🙂 The parsnips have now joined the garlic in our back room as it is rather like a cold storage room. I suppose it is a good thing that I don’t have a dryer, so there’s no variation in room temperature. It’s just plain cold, all of the time!

A little less muddy after a good rinsing, the parsnips were a nice size.

We’ve used the parsnips a few times already. I find them to be a sweet vegetable. We like to pair them with carrots. This year we also tried making parsnip chips (like potato chips/crisps). When I say “we”, I mean my husband! They were quite tasty. One thing we learned was to not overlap them on the tray when baking as that prevents them from getting crispy. Here is the link he used: http://www.inspirededibles.ca/2012/02/oven-baked-sweet-potato-parsnip-chips.html

Parsnip chips made by my husband.

We harvested the parsnips, although we could have kept them in the ground. My son and husband were tidying up our raised beds and decided it was best to move them. I’m now in the planning stage for deciding what we want to plant this growing season! The time goes so fast! It’s already time to plan out the beds, and order seeds.

My teenage son helping out with the beds.

Neat and tidy! Ready for the next planting season!

They worked some of the more aged compost into the soil. That will give it plenty of time to break down before the growing season starts. (You can see some parsnips in the bottom right corner of the picture above.)

Now, about those new neighbors! The field behind us was harvested of it’s sugar beet a while ago. The cows were brought in to finish off the plants. And they are doing quite a job of that! The kids and I enjoy watching them, especially the two calves. Really, we do! The farmer surely thinks we’re a bit nuts…

Hi there.

The black calf was born in the field.

How many pictures of cows did I take???

Yeah, I know, they are just cows. But I like them, and they seem to be posing for me!

These two are eating my thorny weed pile!

This one came right up to my fence.

I like that I have some items from the garden that I’m still using. The garlic should last me through the spring. The parsnips are also going to keep us busy for quite a while. Want to hear a confession? My pumpkins are hiding in my utility room too…

Pumpkins. And they’re even orange!

Yep. Pumpkins. In perfect condition. They aren’t the baking variety though, so I’m at a loss for what to do with them. I think that eventually I’ll get the seeds from them, and try to grow some more! 🙂

A frosty Iceberg Floribunda Rose.

There’s the “end of post” flower! So much going on, even in the winter! I love having something so enjoyable to keep me busy. Have you picked out what you are planting this year?

Dana

A little girl’s pink room on a sunny day.

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Our littlest one’s very pink room!

Today was such a lovely sunny day. After a couple of weeks of gray darkness, the sun was a welcome change! Over the Christmas break, my littlest one and I cleaned her room. You wouldn’t think an eight year old’s room could get very untidy, would you? Well, it took us an entire day! I had to capture it on camera while it still looked good.

An antique “zig-zag” blanket.

We worked together in organizing her clothes, toys, books, dolls and room so that everything has a place. Yeah, I know, I’ll be happy if it lasts even just a little while! I love her room. I think the pink is fun and cheerful. She has some things from my childhood in there, too (antiques!?). The blanket on the bed was made by my mother when I was eight. We called it the zig zag pattern.

A ceramic music box.

This music box little girl has been around for quite a few years! My mother painted her in ceramics when I was a little girl. I loved pink back then, too. My sister was given a blond girl with a blue dress, which matched her personality. Happy memories!

Made with love.

There is a painting in her room, too. It was painted by a local woman from where we used to live in Manlius, New York. I have three paintings by Terry Garwood as I love her style! It’s not surprising that there are flowers in the painting, is it?

Painting by Terry Garwood.

I also love baby pictures. This one is special because she is wearing a sweater that my grandmother had made when I was a baby. I still have that sweater – packed away in my cedar chest!

My daughter is wearing a very special sweater in the top right picture.

Those are fairy lights at the top of the picture frame. She used to use them as a night light, but prefers the dark these days; a sure sign of her growing up. 😦

There was a light breeze coming in through the open window today.

It really was a gorgeous day today. I had all of the windows open in the house! I love her curtains, so simple and sweet.

Sweet little girl curtains.

Here is the view from her window to the side of the house:

The driveway & garden from the littlest one’s bedroom window. We have a big garden project underway: my husband is building borders for our beds!

It just felt like a pink kind of a day. Even the tulips given to me on Sunday were opening up!

Pink tulips.

Pink tulips in the sun.

I hope you have the chance to soak up some “pink” today!

Dana

Happy Birthday to me with a Chamaecyparis nootkatensis “Pendula” tree!

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Mominthegarden

: Chamaecyparis nootkatensis “Pendula”.

The proverb “good things come to those who wait” came to mind as the Yellow Furze nursery delivery truck pulled into our driveway. Ever since taking notice of trees around me; their shapes, colors, sizes, I’ve wanted one of these “droopy” trees. As it turns out, my neighbor James has a mature Chamaecyparis nootkatensis “Pendula” in his garden. I was able to see what it looks like after 25 years (it is beautiful!). So for my birthday, which was back in September, I ordered this conical tree. It just arrived today! I didn’t mind the wait since September, though. That gave me time to put some newspapers down to kill the grass. I used our “turtle sandbox” cover on top of the papers to keep them all in place, and to give me the round shape. My husband kindly dug the hole for the tree. I love it. I think it fits in perfectly.

Marked area ready to be dug up.

My new droopy tree!

My favorite thing about it is the droopy look of the branches. It has a character all its own! I don’t mind the small size for now. It will grow in time, and as it does the garden will grow with it. Such simple pleasures! 🙂

Tagged.

The other saying that keeps popping up in my head these days is “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Yeah, maybe you can guess that I’ve been working on pulling down the ivy from my Hawthorn trees? It really is mentally challenging! The brambles and ivy are completely entwined with the trees and surrounding front and back areas. I wasn’t sure if I’d find any more of the ditch wall, but surprisingly a few sections of it have been uncovered!

The new (pink!) gloves my kids gave me for Christmas to protect me from the Hawthorn thorns! And a view of the back of our trees where all of the brambles & ivy seem to thrive!

I would love to write about how easy it is to pull up the ivy, and cut the brambles, and that the hawthorn “thorns” weren’t sharp at all. Yeah, except that would be lying. 🙂 For me it is enough that my husband has taken note of the laborious work entailed in freeing up the Hawthorn trees. If the rest of the row of trees looks as good as the first tree I cleared last year, we’ll be delighted with the results!

Uncovering part of the ditch wall!

Boy do I wish I had a finished “after” photo to show you though! (This is where I chant “Rome wasn’t built in a day”…)

Looking for some encouragement here … Go Dana, Go Dana, Go Dana…

A dark day, but we can see through the trees!

And here is what I still have ahead of me 🙂

This is what keeps me going – The first Hawthorn and section of the ditch wall which I uncovered from ivy.

I found a little bit of color in the garden today. These primroses weren’t recognizable when I moved them into my little “nursery” garden from the front gate garden this past summer. The slugs *love* primroses! I threw them into the nursery to see if they’d survive, and it seems they did. The slugs still enjoy eating them, but at least they are recognizable for the moment.

Primroses.

Primroses, with a bit of a slug signature.

I’m so happy with my little droopy tree (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis “Pendula”)! Yes, I think it is worth waiting for what you really want. I hope if you’ve been waiting for something special, that it finds its way to you!

Dana

Christmas floral arrangement from home grown flowers.

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Mominthegarden

Annabelle hydrangea, blue hydrangea, allium, and twisted willow for Christmas.

I’m supposed to be cleaning, writing Christmas cards, baking, laundry, the list goes on! So instead, I’m escaping it all by using my creative side. Going to that floral arranging demonstration has inspired me! I love creating through flowers.

True blue.

Here’s the deal though: I have to work in an imperfect world, unlike Mr. Perfect Floral arranger. The branches sorta went where I wanted them (nope, not at all). The dried flowers kinda matched (learned that you shouldn’t put white and red together, so I’m guessing that it’s still too much of a contrast for white and blue?). But really, the Annabelle flowers are off white, so it should be ok, right? And the container, well, it’s just not right (width, height, the fact that it’s an ice holder). But all of that aside, I was quite happy with it! 🙂

Christmas is in the air!

The blue Christmas balls (is there a nicer way to describe them?) are the old fashioned glass ones. I love the glass ones. I don’t like the plastic ones, although they are perfect for my kids to decorate with! But the glass ones are special to me. I have them in the container, and hanging on the branches along with small sparkly silver ones. At the bottom of the container, I have glass marbles which help to hold the stems in place.

A touch of silver.

The allium has been in my back room since the summer. It didn’t really look that great, honestly. The kids had been asking me why I didn’t just throw it out. I was hoping I’d figure out something to do with it! A little silver spray paint (on one of the blue hydrangea flower heads, too) and they were completely transformed!

I really appreciate that a few dear friends had their hands in my creating this arrangement. The hydrangeas are Susan’s. They dried really well after she gave them to me! Also, I must mention the branches again. My lovely neighbors, Margaret & James (Mr. Manure man!) have the most wonderful garden. The branches are from their tree, which I believe is a twisted willow tree. There was a bit of a debate going on whether it is a contorted witch hazel, or twisted willow. I’ll do a bit more research to figure it out, because I really want to plant one in my yard!

A nice big space in the kitchen just for my creation!

I’ve cleared out of the kitchen anything that wasn’t needed during the holidays. Unfortunately, the blue bowls in the above picture don’t have another home, so here they sit. Do they kinda sorta match the arrangement???

An inside view.

Oh dear that picture looks out of focus. There is no sun here today. Those outside pictures were taken at 1 P.M. even thought it looks like it’s evening! It seems the flash created a shadow, making it seem quite fuzzy.

Christmas cake all wrapped up and ready for the oven!

Now it is time to tackle those other jobs on my list! At least the Christmas cake is in the oven. I was quite proud of my “wrap job” this year! It is much neater than I’ve ever done before. I think that wrapping it is definitely the hardest part of making a Christmas cake! There has got to be an easier way…

I hope you get to do something fun and creative in between all of your “must do” things! It definitely puts a smile on my face!

Dana

Holiday floral arrangements by Richard Haslam.

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Mominthegarden

Christmas wreath by Richard Haslam.

I love flowers. All kinds, all colors, all seasons. So I absolutely loved watching Richard Haslam creating his “contemporary floral arrangements with a twist” last week. Back a few years ago when I wasn’t completely swamped with my three kids’ activities, I was a member of a garden club. I had so much fun learning how to create floral arrangements! (Thank you Spade & Trowel Garden Club of Manlius, NY!) I guess I haven’t created any arrangements in a very long time, because I miss it. The local garden club in Ardee hosted Irishman Richard Haslam for their Christmas arrangements demonstration. What an enjoyable evening! He has won two gold medals at the Chelsea Flower show, among other honors. What I really enjoyed was how he spoke to the audience, and how personable he seemed. His arrangements were fabulous. I was really hoping to win one in the raffle at the end of the night, but no luck. I’ll have to make my own!

Richard Haslam’s Christmas wreath.

I liked his idea of first putting silver garland around the wreath, and then adding baby’s breath (lots of it). Who doesn’t like orchids? I think it is a lovely alternative to the traditional Christmas wreath! I’m afraid I don’t know the exact names of a lot of the flowers, he went too quickly for me to get that information.

Richard Haslam’s pink Christmas arrangement.

This pink arrangement had a few levels. I think it looks completely different depending on the angle. Definitely not your standard Christmas arrangement.

Richard Haslam’s pink Christmas arrangement.

Richard Haslam’s Christmas arrangement using cane.

I loved this black, red, and green arrangement! He said the fanned material was cane. He opened it up and tied it (perfectly, of course) in front of us. I love the unusual look it gives!

Richard Haslam’s floral demonstration with cane.

It doesn’t look like much in the picture above, does it? But quick enough, he had it up and lovely! The flowers had their own tubes of water, which he had painted black.

Richard Haslam’s creations.

His table arrangement was surprisingly tall. He explained that you usually only spoke to the people next to you anyway!

Richard Haslam’s carnation table arrangement.

That red stuff looks fabulous. It is hiding his oasis.

Close-up of Richard Haslam’s carnation table arrangement.

Yeah, a little different, right? Even as he was creating them, I was wondering how they’d turn out. But I think I like them more for being that bit different. (ok, maybe I’d have left out the red cane sticks here and just stuck with the carnations?)

Keeping with the red theme, here is a great way to display roses!

Richard Haslam’s roses.

I loved this one! I’m allowed to say that more than once, right? He lined the roses up on a table and then cut them accordingly. It was such a “duh” moment for me, as I usually cut the flowers while holding them, put them in the vase, adjust, try again, and again! How simple it really is once you learn the tricks.

Close-up of Richard Haslam’s red rose arrangement.

Hey, that’s the ivy I’m pulling off of my Hawthorne trees! It looks lovely here.

Roses by Richard Haslam.

Behind the roses, you can see the next arrangement. It has white roses, silver painted leaves, and is massive!

White roses Christmas arrangement by Richard Haslam.

Close-up of white roses arrangement by Richard Haslam.

Three arrangements by Richard Haslam.

Purple and pink mantel piece arrangement with candles. All I can say is that it worked! It is beautiful.

Mantel piece arrangement with candles.

Pink & purple mantel piece arrangement with candles by Richard Haslam.

I love those colors!

Pink & purple mantel piece arrangement with candles (and ornaments).

Multi leveled Christmas arrangement by Richard Haslam.

This arrangement was really nice as individual arrangements. The finished product was quite impressive, but I’d prefer just one level.

Close-up of Richard Haslam’s arrangement.

Gorgeous Christmas flowers.

Some of the final arrangements by Richard Haslam.

It was nice to get out and see some creative arranging to get some new ideas! My friend from book club invited me to go, and I’m so glad I did. Thanks Ciara!

Do you make your own Christmas arrangements? If so, happy creating! 🙂
Dana

A frosty end to November.

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Mominthegarden

A frosty rose.

We had our first hard frost the other day. Winter is here! I won’t complain, as it really hasn’t been cold, and even today it isn’t too cold (today it is 6 degrees C/ 42 degrees F). I was able to capture some of the flowers in the garden on the frosty morning. I love how they look covered in crystals!

A frosty Silver Anniversary Hybrid Tea rose.

The roses seriously have my heart. I just love them. My little rose garden has pinks and whites. But I’d really like to expand the color scheme to have corals, yellows, and reds! I think that is going to call for another flower bed…

A frosty Pink Peace Hybrid Tea Rose.

Even the greens of the rose plant look pretty to me!

Frosty rose greens.

I have some London Pride plants almost hidden in a very small garden. I want to bring them out to a more showy place next year. They have a lovely tiny, delicate pink flower when in bloom. Their greens are quite nice, now, too.

London Pride in November.

Our grass is quite long! It was just too wet at the end of the season to give it that last needed cutting… Should be interesting in the spring.

Yes, I even took a picture of the too long grass.

End of November view of the Fruit Orchard.

The fruit garden is being expanded. So I have newspapers and cardboard down to kill the grass. I am using large flower pots filled with stones to hold down the cardboard, oh, and an unused slide! I am not too impressed with how this looks, but thankfully, it is only for a short time!

Frosty November morning. Garden bed in the making.

This garden bed in the making looks like a triangle, doesn’t it? I am planning on making it into three circles, but I have a good bit to go still! On the far side of it, I have quite a large rock. I have yet to figure out how to incorporate that into my garden. For now, it is just “there” and my kids enjoy climbing on top of it.

A frosty view of our front yard.

It looks like snow, doesn’t it? I’m glad I trimmed the hedges for all of these photos.

Hawthorne berries.

The Hawthorne trees which have been freed from ivy are doing so well! I love seeing all of the berries!

Calendula Apricot Twist.

I will definitely be planting Calendula again next year. What a hardy, pretty flower! As for hardy vegetables, I am told that parsnips taste better after a frost. We dug up a bunch of ours for Parsnip & Maple Syrup soup for our Thanksgiving celebration. I was very pleased with the size, shape, and taste of the parsnips!

Frost loving Parsnips.

For me, November is for giving thanks. This past weekend we enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving feast with some lovely American friends of ours (and Polish, too!). It is a perfect way to finish up the month… before diving into the Christmas season!

I have to go and take down all of my fall harvest decorations now. Although, maybe I can work a bit in the garden first. 🙂

Dana

See mom, I do still have the turkey! I just used a candle instead of flowers. 🙂

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Category Archives: Pictures of Flowers

My showy Hellebores, an Obelisk, and a Chocolate Pudding Recipe.

An Irish Robin, a Stone wall, and a February look at the garden!

Snowdrops and A Granola Cookie Recipe

Flower Friday

Winter harvest of Organic Parsnips (And New Neighbors … of the mooing variety!)

A little girl’s pink room on a sunny day.

Happy Birthday to me with a Chamaecyparis nootkatensis “Pendula” tree!

Christmas floral arrangement from home grown flowers.

Holiday floral arrangements by Richard Haslam.

A frosty end to November.