Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

What a wonderful surprise in this “new” place to find these bulb flowers popping up under a small nandina bush!  The large yellow King Alfred daffodils that seem to be everywhere are welcome but what a treat to discover that the previous residents cared enough to plant something extra special—these daffodils* have pale yellow outer petals and short trumpets in two orange hues.  After the first of them bloomed, the temperature plummeted into the teens so I brought them in.  They’re “like sunshine on a cloudy day.”

*What’s the difference between daffodils, jonquils and narcissus?  Hint—they’re all narcissus.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/difference-between-daffodil-jonquil-61404.html 

Dreaming of the New

It’s been a strange winter as we’ve moved a few miles from the Central Piedmont to the Southern Piedmont where we get more snow than our neighbors and a lot more wind.  We’ve broken long-standing low temperature records and even had snow three days in a row.

My sister gave me these pot stands when her cat kept knocking them over. They stand up pretty well here, making strange snowmen.

But shortly after the snow, the air warmed to over 70 degrees and cabin fever pushed me out to garden.  Cutting away the frozen sticks and browned leaves was therapeutic and resulted in a much better view.

I now have a slightly different climate to garden in and I’m no longer gardening solely in containers—I now have a whole yard I can garden if I want.  I’m already dreaming…