Bloom Day - The Well Watered Garden

On the news yesterday, I heard that the Hampton Roads area is having the 6th rainiest year since records have been kept, and that we are nearly 18" above average. As we are less than half an inch away from the number 5 spot, we will likely end up there according to the meteorologists. A new fixture for many of the homes in my neighborhood is a garden hose, pvc pipe or some other tube trailing from the basement window or out of the crawl space. These are all draining into the street excess water from under the house, and you need to mind when you walk by them as sump pumps kick on without notice, giving you wet shoes. There are also several spots around the neighborhood where water is spontaneously bubbling out of the ground. Of course for gardeners this rain is a blessing and a curse: not a thing needs watering and the reservoirs will be full for next summer's needs, but if you step into the garden you will sink up to your ankle in soggy, unworkable soil.

On my own piece of wet earth the garden still has blooms and our basement is dry and holding. Although we have gotten as low as 28, and most of the annuals are gone, there are still some hardier blooms persisting, including the godsend for southern gardeners - the Camellias.

Camellia sasanqua 'Kanjiro'

Camellia sasanqua 'Showa-No-Sake'

Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide'

The Camellia japonica 'Les Marbury' is blooming very early this year.

Here it is again with the dark blue fruit of Evergreen Hydrangea (Dichroa febrifuga).

Another plant blooming early is my unknown Quince (Chaenomeles sp.). Though I am not sure - it could be 'Ore-hime', which I was told would be a long bloomer. We will see.

I still have several Roses blooming, which have all been shown recently, except for this 'Red Cascade'. I moved it this summer so it would get more sun, and it has responded well.

The Mahonia x 'Winter Sun' was seen two posts back, but it is so colorful it will be shown again.

Not all annuals have been killed by the cold, and I planted Pansies this year after taking last year off. Back then I was not sure if my crazed neighbor had reformed, and I was not willing to take the risk. She seems to be in a much better place now, so this year I put in a few. These pictured are 'Delta Tapestry'.

Finally a gratuitous pet picture in the garden. Miss Patsy's advanced age keeps her from going on adventures like she once did, so she has missed out on photo ops the other two dogs enjoyed. Patsy celebrated her 15th birthday last week with lunch meat and extra lovies.

A special thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Please visit her if you are interested in seeing what's blooming in other blogger's gardens.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

What's On Your Tree?

On the surface you would think our Christmas tree is fairly conventional, no overriding theme, just a nice collection of ornaments. However when you peer through the foliage there are some less traditional ornaments and a few stories that go with them. Part of this is due to the fact that Christmas trees are not part of my wife's Jewish heritage, so she was never held back by convention. Her Nana made quite a fuss when a little artificial tree was put up in the house by her granddaughter. This protest did not stop Nana from being the first person downstairs Christmas morning to see if anything was under it with her name on it.

We have several pairs of shoes on the tree, including Dorothy's red slippers. However, my favorite are the gold booties, a gift from one of my wife's students. They were handmade by the child's uncle while he was in prison.

In a nod to Norfolk's rich burlesque heritage, the other notable article of clothing on the tree are a pair of sequined pasties.

Also in deference to where we live, marine life is well represented. There are lots of fish, some seashells, a jelly fish and this crab shell Santa made by a friend's dad, who is no longer with us, so it is very special.

In a blurring of the holidays, we have a whole set of Dia de los Muertos tin ornaments I found for my wife in New Orleans.

We also have some tin religious prayer tokens purchased at the Greek Orthodox festival. Apparently you pay for the blessed token to help with whatever cause you need help with, and they are hung around an alter or shrine at the church. You could buy tokens with crutches, eye glasses, various body parts etc... We bought a baby, a mom and a dad. We should have taken it as an omen that the baby is freakishly larger than the mom and dad.

There are as many varied and individual Christmas trees as there are homes that have one. Maybe you could show the blogging world what's on your tree.