Bloom Day In The Barren Time

The native Witch Hazel, Hamamelis virginiana is the absolute last thing to bloom in the wild cultivated gardens. That means this year's garden is definitely over. Weathers depending, the first bloom of a new year will be the snowdrops on January 15th. December is the only month of the year without any outside blooms.

I tried to fix that one omission with some cold hardy camellias. They froze to death in repeated Polar Vortexes. I warned a certain gardener in Indianapolis, Indiana that these new allegedly cold hardy camellias were a risky choice. Gardeners being what they are, they are easily seduced by forbidden charms.

It wasn't exactly warm today. The cold remained a subtle under current sneaking beneath my garments every now and again. If you look close, you'll see it was good enough for some bug to get out and pollinate the Witch Hazel.

I managed to get out there myself this weekend and do an assortment of light chores. It wasn't raining. I couldn't stay inside. My get up and go has been gone of late. I didn't feel like starting any big projects, the main one being burning up the rubbish Sister #2 is making in her land clearing operation. Light chores included cleaning up two huge cherry tree limbs that fell in the ridge top garden next door and picking up the trash along my section of the scenic byway. People can be such slobs.

Little bits of chop and drop of the dried remnants of a once blooming meadow have been getting done. I used to wait for a snow assist. Now that the under garden is making more of a statement there is more incentive to do it sooner.

I found my first seedling yucca today. Unfortunately it was plain green like the species. Maybe it will develop some color when it gets bigger.

Out there in the distance beyond the cracked pot, more stones piled from digging planting holes were gathered and placed in the heiau. Unless I decide to go rock hunting, the heiau is going to take a very long time to finish.

I most likely will have a flower for December's Bloom Day. My $5 discard orchid took a month off before starting to bloom again. This one orchid has been in bloom continuously for a year. Not bad for five dollars.

In the barren time, floral abundance gives way to a near complete exposure and the garden must speak with a different voice. I still see the passersby slowing to a crawl or stopping completely. It must be saying something.