Good Bye 2020!

Looking back thru 2020! 

Yes, in many ways and for many reasons we are all eager to move forward into 2021.  

Looking back thru 2020, which we gardeners do every year to review our gardening season to determine what changes we may want to target for next year's growing season, we recognize it has been a challenging year in general for all of us! 

We faced the changes in our lifestyles due to the Covid Pandemic and recognize this will continue into 2021 with the confidence this pandemic will come to an end.  As gardeners, we have developed a strong faith in the future!   Hopefully the news will be more uplifting to watch and read.  This country has sure experienced a year filled with turmoil that has affected each of us in some way.  

Personally I have been reflecting back on the challenges I have faced.  First our last big vacation plans for a trip to Alaska, which was to include a visit to the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, was cancelled due to the Pandemic!  Our social life went thru ups and downs with the various changes in coping with the Pandemic.  Being we are in the older population segment and we live in a major medical community, we rolled with the recommended guidelines to protect our health and that of other people.  The money we would have spent on our vacation ended up being invested in our home by early winter when our home was resided to decreased the physical maintenance of the siding and gutters.  

I thought I was handling the lack of social activity and contact with family and friends quite well, especially during the summer which allowed us to enjoy the outdoors and gardening.  But suddenly one day this late fall I found myself in tears for no specific reason and realized the problem was I was not handling the drastic scale back of social interaction with family and friends as well as I thought!  Slowly I have been working at ways to handle that better, the biggest challenge was facing that was the problem and I needed to take some more action!  

The holidays were a mixed bag of feelings and emotions.  Counting my blessings needed to be done more often indeed.  In a few days it will be my time to pack away the holiday decor and return to finding a cozy comfortable home environment and ways to increase my contact with friends and family.  I have a few projects lined up but I really need to discover more plans to get me thru the dreary overcast days of the the MN winter in a more upbeat mind set.

Noticing my grow lights for my plants are bringing them their needed light to be happy, I may be shopping soon for some lights to help me be more happy.  I realize our 13 years in AZ as snowbirds added more sunlight to my life, which had a very positive affect on me!

And I will saying goodbye to one of my favorite holiday plants soon.  I have chosen to enjoy them when in season and look forward to them again next year, like I do my Holiday dishes! 

 

I am looking forward to my traditional oyster stew for supper tonite!

Ho Ho Ho!

 Wishing you all Ho Ho Ho's in your heart this year!

And that you are safe, healthy and are looking forward to 2021!  The best is yet to be!

Thanks for being in my life!

A creation by Karen LeQuia

Tammy's Winter Welcome Container!

 Note the container Tammy used!  During the summer it is absolutely a show stopper overflowing with flowers!  Winter it certainly brightens up the neighborhood!  Yes, her personality is reflected in the energy and sparkle of this creation!

Just like she brightens up our neighborhood!  

Barb's Winter Porch Pot!

Barb got creative this year, she became my inspiration by spraying dried hydrangeas with red spray paint!

I love the variety of interesting accents she wove in among her greens!

 

Rita's Holiday Porch Pots!

 Rita has such a flair for creating container plantings and her holiday ones always reflect that skill!

I just have to share one of them with you!  It will look great all winter!

Porch Pots for the Holidays!

 What to do for 2020!  I recalled last winter being attracted to a striking winter pot of greens accented with twigs that were silver!  It was so simple but fresh and sparkly in the sunlight!  So, that became my theme for this year's outdoor decor!

Before I had a chance to begin putting my plan to work, I discovered a special Holiday Fairy or Elf had delivered a very attractive pot of mixed greens to my house one morning.  I have not been able to figure out just who it is from, but I am sure enjoying the special gift!   I just slipped it into one of the two matching pots by the garage and added some silver twigs and it fit right in with my plans!  

Another friend showed me the dried hydrangeas she had sprayed with red paint this year, so I figured a silver one would be a great accent to my larger pot!  Will see how it holds up to the wet snow, etc., but so far it handled some rain just fine!  And I have a supply in reserve I can spray to replace occasionally! 

It was fun to use the hanging basket on my front door, which I won at the Garden Club Holiday Party last year!  I kept the theme going there also with the greens with silver accents!  I plan to switch out the silver accent spray with some red berries after the holidays to change the mood to winter from the holidays!  

What did you do this year?   Our outdoor Christmas lights are not up yet due to our house being resided the first week of Dec. but Denny is hoping to get some of it done in time to enjoy it a bit before the holidays!  

Holiday Elf/Fairy gift!

Over grown dish gardens?

 I love the mix of plants whether it is house plants or outdoor plants!  It adds so much interest to gaze at!

While I admire them when the plants are a mature size, it seems the next step is to become overgrown and begin to not look so great.  Usually houseplants just become too crowded to stay healthy and attractive looking!   Outdoor ones have a short life here in MN and then we start over in the spring!

So, what to do about the house plant garden?  First I do some pruning and thinning but that only seems a fix for a short time.

Then I decide if I want to rescue all the plants by repotting them individually in new pots.  Well, right now I don't have space for seven more plants. So recently, I decided to removed four plants in front, which were suffering the most and leave the three in the back for a backdrop.  Then I went shopping in my stash of fairy garden accessories that I had tucked away for the MN winter.  It didn't take long to spot this adorable cabin (it was the second house I had ever purchased for a fairy garden scene) and it seemed to be just the right size and look to fit!  A bit of small pine mulch and a couple of seasonal touches with pumpkins,...and it was looking much better!

Yes, I think I'll replace the pumpkins for an elf or something for a Christmas touch for December soon!  Then I'll see what other seasonal touch I can find for February!