We woke this morning, the first day of 2017, to crunchy snow on the ground, and still cold temperatures. We had no plans to go anywhere today, so of course the very first thing I did was get dressed and grab the camera to go out and take photos. We are about to get a string of days with some very cold temps. When I went to bed last night, the coldest they were predicting was 14 degrees Fahrenheit, but now they seem to have raised that to 17. At any rate, this snow might stick around for a while. We'll see.
 |
| The front garden in a thin, snowy blanket |
 |
| Anamanthele lessioniana |
 |
| Panicum virgatum |
 |
| Joe Pye Weed |
 |
| Trachycarpus fortunei |
 |
| Eucalyptus |
 |
| Bare Redbud branches limned with snow |
After taking pictures of the front garden I popped into the greenhouse for a quick little warm-up and to check on things. I sowed seeds last week and lo and behold! The Calendula has popped!
This is
Calendula 'Indian Prince' from Chiltern Seeds, a change from the usual 'Solar Flashback,' which are still self-sowing all around the place. If you follow the link to the Chiltern website, you'll see 'Indian Prince' is a bright orange flower with a red reverse on the petals. I couldn't resist that. And there is one sprout so far of
Tithonia 'Goldfinger,' a short orange Tithonia, also from Chiltern.
If you follow my blog or are friends with me on Facebook, you probably know how much I dislike snow. Strangely, I actually felt excited when I saw it this morning. Of course it helped knowing I had nowhere to go.
I sowed seeds last week, realizing they would give me something to look forward to in the new year, but I didn't think they would sprout so quickly, and on New Year's Day at that.
I'm going to consider it an auspicious beginning.
