No snow here. . . . . .

. . . . . other than the falling petals of the 

Chinese Snowball bush.

So here's a little more info in case you have one, or are considering adding

 one to your garden. I have written about it before, however each year people

continue to request more info when they see the mass of blooms open in our

 back garden. 

Here in the USA this plant does best in zone 3-8 (we are in 7). 

Neither, snow - the real kind - ice, flooding, drought, high heat, and often

 very high summer humidity, have posed any problems.

It does sit in dappled sunshine which is apparently a good place to 

encourage growth and bloom.

If you live elsewhere you may need to check if you are in a good zone in

 your country for it to thrive.  

Took these photos this morning. Quite a chill in the air after a cold night, 

however the sun is bright and no wind disturbs the leaves in the tall oak

and hickory trees surrounding us.

I purchased this plant at the end of summer 2000. It was an 8 inch pot perched

 on a rickety sale table at a local DIY store. It looked like a dead stick but there

was a pretty tag on it - aren't they all - showing a beautiful shrub covered 

with hydrangea-looking white balls - so I bought it for a few dollars.

TLC, time, patience and good luck seem to have paid off.

I'm thinking my snowball bush has now just about reached its max growth

 measurements, 8-10 feet tall by 8-10 feet wide. After hours of heavy 

rain on Monday the branches, heavy with blooms, drooped almost to the

 ground and I've added pruning to the garden 'to do' list after the flowers

 are finished. 

Meanwhile, I'm snipping some the lower boughs and really enjoying 

them in the house, mixed in with some white azaleas.

Later today I plan a little garden work - I'm limited with my back issue

 so just a little at a time - and today it will be planting the amaryllis bulbs

 back into the garden where they'll spend the summer months again. 

Some years they have bloomed outdoors, a wonderful sight, other years

 only green leaves. Whatever they enjoy doing during their summer,

 vacation they still bloom in the house again in late winter when I've

 shown them off to you. . . . . . probably boring you silly with so many

 "amaryllis photos!"

Here I'm sharing more detailed info from the professionals.

How can anyone not want one of these great plants in their garden.

An amazingly 'SHOWY' addition to any landscape; the Viburnum Macrocephalum, more commonly known as the 'Chinese Snowball Bush', is beautiful and easy-to-grow. The flowers emerge a striking lime-green in late spring and gradually turn to snowy-white in mid-May; they retain their green color for several weeks before turning to cream and then to white. 

At full maturity, the 'Flower-Balls' resemble brilliant white pom-pom's, reaching up to 8' wide. The 'Chinese Snowball Bush' will bloom in mid-spring for weeks on end.

The Viburnum Macrocephalum is a sterile plant (producing no fruit) so all of its energy goes into blooming and . . . Does it ever!!! A relative of the honeysuckle, the 8' flowering clusters are made up of an abundance of delicate 1' flowers. The clusters resemble the blooms of the Hydrangea plant. 

Best of all, this particular variety will provide a longer & more profuse BLOOMING SEASON than any other plant in its family. The foliage of the 'Chinese Snowball' is a brilliant dark green with 2'-4' leaves that have a 'saw-toothed' edge; they are stunning against the stark white of the flowering clusters.

The 'Chinese Snowball Bush' can be trimmed to any size or shape; it can be sculpted into shrubs, hedges, borders and trees. Cut it back after flowering and prepare for another round of blooming; this incredible plant blooms on both, old and new wood. 

The Viburnum Macrocephalum is an extremely hardy variety that is resistant to bacterial leaf spot and powdery mildew, unlike its' relatives. If you are looking for an incredible 'point-of-interest' for your landscape, you have found it in the 'Chinese Snowball Bush'.

• Insect & Disease Resistant
• Showy Clusters of 'Flower Balls' (up to 8' wide)
• Repeat Bloomer
• Carefree
• Provides Bountiful Cut Flowers
• Deer Resistant
• Non-Invasive Root System
• Heat & Drought Tolerant
• Attracts Butterflies

How can one go wrong with this plant!

Happy gardening everyone.

Tulip time and hanging art -

As February fades, March, according to the weather forecast, plans to creep in with rain, and more rain, to this already damp, soggy area of the country.  Bunches of tulips have arrived brightening the empty corners of the grocery stores. Buying food has become the only real shopping I do these days, months, and now a long year, which feels so strange. But, on entering the store, the flash of colorful flowers are there, near the door, and taking time to stop and look is so worthwhile. . . . . making the day feel a little more normal as silent, masked shoppers fade into the background for a while. Lately I've seen more shopping carts with a bunch of colorful flowers or a potted plant tucked in along with salad greens and toilet tissue.  People need beauty and seem to be longing for spring. I have a feeling that garden centers will thrive this coming season as we start digging and delving in our gardens. I need a lot of new shrubs for the back garden.

I bought tulips twice in the past ten days!  

The first bunch, a deep almost reddish pink, in tight buds

 which opened into more red than pink blooms.

As they started to fade, I had to pop to the grocery again a couple of days ago - for more salad greens etc., so picked up another bunch of true pink blooms. 

The combination of colors reminded me to take this floral painting out of winter storage and add some springtime color. This original painting is done on a board, not canvas, and has nothing on the back to enable hanging. Anyone know what type of hardware I could attach to the back - the board is not very thick, or heavy. Have you used any of the adhesive types of hangers? I'm thinking of designing an 'art wall' so hanging pieces without making holes would really be great if possible!

Any ideas for this project would be appreciated. 

Thanks as always.

Floral fun. . . . . . . . .

The magenta peonies silently dropped their petals during the night.

Yellow pollen-laden stamens lay like gold dust on the French linen. . . . .

. . . . .however the always long lasting alstroemeria will last another weekend.

I shortened the stems, grabbed a smaller pitcher, poured in fresh water 

and made a quick trip around the garden for greenery.

A hosta leaf, a sprig of camellia leaves, trailing variegated ivy, 

and some gone-to-seed parsley for height.

Floral fun has made another lovely table decoration 

for quite a few more days.

These long lasting flowers come in many colors, all lovely, however I really think

 the white ones with the delicate magenta and yellow markings are my favorite. 

Thank you for all the generous comments regarding the recent dresser re-do HERE. 

I really enjoy this piece of useful furniture. . . . . . . and yes, already a change from

 two days ago. I added one of my display domes containing a Wedgwood fluted vase

 (which matches the demitasse set), standing on an small antique hand mirror, and

 containing hand-made paper flowers.

Who knows what may change next week!

Enjoy your weekend. 

Sunflowers for the total eclipse . . . . . . . . . . .

This weekend, as I entered Trader Joe's to pick up a ball of fresh

 pizza dough and a couple of bottles of rosé wine (still the best refreshing

 drink for our continuing heatwave - high 90's and so humid), I was again
 blown away by the selection of colorful, affordable floral offerings. 
Five beautiful sunflowers for just $3.99.

My daisies from last week are still fresh, and a few more sprigs of dill
 from the garden are tucked in. Adding sunflowers seemed perfect for
 some happy color on the table.

I'm not planning to actually look at the total solar eclipse today, saving my eyes!
 No photos planned, but we'll definitely be aware of it here in North Carolina
 where it will become dark early to mid-afternoon. 

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot 
see the shadow. It's what sunflowers do.

~ Helen Keller ~

The color purple. . . . . . . . . .

At the weekend I carried home bunches of purple stock, white daisies, and some

smokey greenery, all from Trader Joe's and less than $10.00 total. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . bringing loveliness to the dining room table.

I added stems of dill flowers from the garden - the perfumes mingle gently

 and the colors are cool and refreshing on these sticky, humid August days.

Summertime in the south, especially the month of August, you just have to

 grin and bear it knowing that Autumn can't be too far away.

Did you see that purple is becoming the 'it' color in decor - yes purple is definitely

 in the air. I do love the cooler purple hues, such as a deep periwinkle blue-purple,

 rather than the warmer shades such as fig with more red - and of course 

true blue-black aubergine purple is always my favorite.

Flower power. . . . . . . .

For a pretty weekend display on the dining room table I was able to keep some 

of last week's Trader Joe 'wildflowers', also a few of my garden tulips from the previous

arrangement.

A quick stop at Trader Joe's on Friday found me battling a 

small crowd in the floral department for these amazing sweet smelling

 purple stock. I love these flowers but, unfortunately, have never been able 

to grow them successfully here in Summer because it's too hot. They require 

temperatures below 65F.

 This beautiful bunch of five stems of stock was just $2.99!

I then cut a few more of my double tulips and a tall spray of variegated

privet to finish the arrangement.

I know many of you do not have a Trader Joe's nearby - but hopefully

you will some day! Their flowers are so wonderful - always fresh and reasonably

 priced. One of the employees told me they actually have professional florists buy

 flowers daily from the shop for their own arrangements.

I do love to have fresh flowers in the cottage.

This Spring I'm enjoying mixing some from my garden with others from the store.

Good news:  The predicted below freezing temperatures did arrive 

overnight BUT thankfully all in the garden looks unharmed this morning.

Perhaps the brilliant sunshine from around 7 AM assisted in warming

the chilly air and saved the blooms and buds from damage.

Hope your area is now welcoming Spring in all its glory.

Colorful Gifts and Home Decor at Oxford Green. . . . . .

I popped into the amazing gift/home decor shop 

Oxford Green this weekend.

Life is hectic to say the least. I'm trying to get ready for the upcoming trip and still 

work in other required chores on the TO DO list. It seems to gather projects and 

grow longer daily. 

Our air conditioning needs servicing - these last very hot days have been 

uncomfortable in the house with no cooling. . . . . .and the service guy has yet to appear.

The garden is growing non-stop and requires daily attendance. . . . . I swear the 

grass grows an inch every day now.

Meanwhile, thick yellow pollen coats every surface and birdsong is muffled by 

coughing and sneezing.

Oxford Green, a little oasis of beauty, is directly across from where I go for 

physiotherapy twice weekly. That takes a chunk of my time, but is necessary 

if I'm going to dodge the surgeon's knife and be able to toddle around those 

European cobble stoned streets soon!

I've tried to stay away from this lovely shop but gave in yesterday when 

looking for a couple of special gifts.

My previous post on the shop was last Fall HERE.

I told owner Shawna I'd take a few pics and write this little post on her delightful 

shop before leaving town, so please enjoy looking around here. . . . . . . . you will 

definitely see some treasures to brighten your Monday. 

If you live locally I would suggest a visit - you'll love it here.