Thursday, January 15, 2009

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

Carol at May Dreams Gardens
invites you to join Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day
I don't have a hoe in my hand... but perhaps you might find me with a shovel?

In the meantime,
here are a few photos
of what you might see outdoors today:

"I sift the snow on the mountains below,
And their great pines groan aghast;


And all the night 'tis my pillow white,


While I sleep in the arms of the blast."

The quoted poetry is a portion of The Cloud by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Perhaps we'll find no blossom outdoors today, but the little wren house reminds us that Spring is around the corner. And if I squint just right, I can almost see the bright green, newly unfolded leaves on the trees, the sprouted astilbe, hosta, ferns and others in the bed to the left. And when I attune my ears very carefully, turning my head ever so slightly, I can almost be sure I've heard the little wren in her house.

:-) Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! (Yes, go ahead and envision a little more snow here, too!)

22 comments:

Aiyana said...

Brrrrrr. I'm thankful to be in Phoenix after seeing this, but come June through October, I'll be envious of your nice weather!
Aiyana

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Aiyana, Yes... brrrr. Our temps have been very cold these past few days! But the snow is very pretty. (The good thing about Winter is that other projects get worked on!) ;-)
We're going to be in Phoenix in April! Any good gardening places to visit?

Gail said...

Happy Bloom Day Shady,

Your garden looks beautiful covered in snow! I do hope your right and spring is just around the corner!

Keep warm my friend,
Gail

bobbie said...

Happy Bloom Day, indeed. We have no snow - yet. It will catch up to us soon, no doubt. Bitter, bitter cold!

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Gail, Working on the keeping warm today! The temps are very low this week... I believe the forecast is a bit warmer over the weekend.

Bobbie, Winter is here. And actually, we do expect this type of weather... so, let's have a cup of tea! ;-)

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

It looks pretty chilly in your garden. I'd have to do more than squint (eat some weird mushrooms?) to see leaves unfolding & plants sprouting. You should go to the Desert Botanic Garden when you're in Phoenix. If you get a chance to get down to Tucson, visit the Desert Museum. They have wonderful planting there as well as the opportunity to get up close & personal with hummingbirds.

Shady Gardener said...

MMD, I know... perhaps I need to head south much earlier than April! ha. I think we're slated to go to the Desert Botanic Garden in Phoenix. We've visited the Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson before... my aunt is a docent there! No school for the kiddos again today.

Grab some hot chocolate and stay warm! :-)

Lisa at Greenbow said...

This is a great post Shady. Even Vita Sackville-West would appreciate it since she wrote "I love color and rejoice in it, but white is lovely to me forever." Of course she wasn't talking about snow but hey, if the color fits... enjoy it.

Pat said...

Cold here,but no snow :(
What you have would be a "snow day"in my part of NJ. Of course we're really not prepared for much snow.
Happy Bloom Day.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pictures Shady, Just think of all those plants sleeping snugly under the blanket of snow!
K

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Lisa, :-) You're funny. However, walking on snow that squeaks with every step is a sure sign of ccccoooolllllddd termperatures!

Patsi, I really love looking at the snow on days like this. We call them "snow days," too. However, it's a misnomer when it's the cold temperatures that keep the buses from running! Have a great day!

Karen, Oh, what a nice thought you've left me with. And they are nice and cozy down there! :-)

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you can visualize the earliest green of spring and first birdsong... but your peaceful white coverlet will definitely suffice, for now. Shelley's snippet was so fitting! /Deb

Shady Gardener said...

Deb, I'm really not sure if I'm seeing the vision, yet. But I'm having a wonderful time going through all my old photographs and sorting most of them by plant variety, etc. :-)

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Now that our snow is gone, I kinda miss it after seeing how pretty your yard looks. I really love the last photo with the wren house.

Shady Gardener said...

gardenerprogress, I can hardly believe you've had two feet of snow, it's left, and now you're finding flowers! It has been soooo cold these past few days. No school Wed and today and a late start tomorrow. They can't afford to take chances that a bus might have problems! Have a great day! :-)

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Hi Shady! Your garden looks pretty much like mine, then. And thanks for quoting ole "Percy Bee" as I like to call him. I should check out a book of his poetry from the library!

Anonymous said...

Those of us that live where it's cold and snowy have to be very imaginative for winter bloom days, don't we Shady Gardener?? Your snow pictures are pretty but I can't wait until spring arrives like you wrote about....

Dreamybee said...

Everything looks so pretty! Sometimes I miss the snow, but I definitely do not miss the cold! I love that last picture-uninterrupted woodland as far as the eye can see...*sigh*!

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Monica, I love perusing the "old" poetry books. :-)
Kathleen, I really do enjoy the snow (maybe not the cold temps). It's fun watching the garden bloggers' Spring postings as the season warms in the various areas!

Dreamybee, Good morning. Thank you for visiting... I'll have to explore a bit to see where you are. :-)

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Hi again Shady,
Today I've been doing a bit of a clean-up, including converting plant names scribbled on about 241 (approximately) pieces of paper into one electronic wish list. I thought maybe you'd be interested in two colorful perennial cuties that like part shade: burnet (Sanguisorba menziesii) and hoary skullcap (Scutellaria incana).

Carol Michel said...

Geez, I feel cold all of a sudden. January is a tough month for blooms, isn't it.
Thanks for joining in for bloom day!

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Monica, I'll get right at looking up these two plants!! The photos are great! :-) Thanks.

Carol, Sorry. ;-) I just returned home today from a visit with my parents in northern Iowa. My they have a LOT of snow up there!! 4' drifts in their front yard! whew!
(nice to be home, when it comes to the weather!) ha.