An Early Christmas
I realized last week that I’d better get in the Christmas spirit because I have to have most of my gift shopping/making finished by Thanksgiving. Since we travel back to Ohio for the Thanksgiving holiday we don’t go back at Christmas. That means we celebrate both holidays at once. It’s nice to get them both done at once, but that means I have to be ready for an early Christmas. Usually it sneaks up on me because I’m focused on putting the garden to bed and getting all the fall cleanup finished. Then I realize we have Christmas in two weeks – YIKES! Thankfully I’m usually good about purchasing gifts throughout the year as I see them, I only have a few things to finish up this week and then I’ll be ready.
Thankfully there’s snow on the ground, which makes it much easier to get ready earlier. I put Christmas music on the stereo last night and worked on a few Christmas gifts. I’m just about ready, but I’ll check and recheck my list a few more times. It’s actually nice to do it so early, that way Mr Chiots and I can celebrate a leisurely Christmas alone at home. I don’t have a tree up yet, but I feel like I should have one up to put all the gifts under. Perhaps we’ll head out and cut one this weekend.
Do you celebrate any double holidays to make it easier?
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Filled to the Brim
I’m guessing if you are a gardner you overwinter a few potted plants indoors like I do. Over the years my collection of plants has grown and grown. This past weekend I finished bringing in the last of the plants, most of which were figs. I like to let them experience some cold so they go dormant for the year. These ‘Hardy Chicago’ figs are perfectly capable of overwintering in the ground here in Maine, but I haven’t found the perfect spot for them yet, so they move in and out with the seasons.
There are also quite a few citrus trees, some old and producing, some only a few years old. There are also various pots of herbs and a few succulents that spend the winter in the basement. All of these plants appreciate the coolness that they find in our unheated basement. They get fairly good light from the south facing windows in the doors and they love the 50 degree temps. I have a shelf that they will all be organize onto that is on wheels, which makes it easy to wheel them out of the way when we need to bring in more wood. That is on this week’s project list.
There are also many tropical plants upstairs, these all prefer the much warmer temps of the second floor. In that collection there are avocados, papaya, passion fruit, mango, and banana. Upstairs you’ll also find various pothos living in each room, along with lots of jade plants and other succulents. I love what houseplants add to a room, there’s something quite nice about seeing something green and living when everything outdoors is brown or blanketed with snow. My mom always had lots of houseplants, I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!
Do you have a collection of plants that move into the house in the winter?
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Quote of the Day: Thomas Jefferson
It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give happiness.
-Thomas Jefferson
Hopefully you can take find a bit of tranquility today. I find that winter makes it easier to find, it seems natural to spend more time being inactive, particularly in the evenings. Reading, doing puzzles, sewing, crocheting, coloring, all help me cultivate tranquility.
What’s your favorite tranquil activity?
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Lovely Ladies & Gents
This summer I had two broody hens hatch out 15 chicks. They’re all grown up now, one of the new roosters replaces our Mr Rooster who died suddenly. We were sad to see him go as he was a really great rooster. Luckily he passed on his Silver Laced Wyandotte genes to some of his offspring. They are quite lovely ladies to be sure.
I love these black and white ladies with vibrant red combs, they’re quite lovely indeed. Hopefully they have the same temperament as Mr Rooster who was a laid back bird.
It was certainly a great experience watching broody hens hatch eggs and raise them with the rests of the flock. There are five roosters that will end up the freezer and the pullets will remain as our egg layers. They will replace any older birds that die or any that are lost to predation. I’m not sure if I have a favorite color/breed of chicken, though the black and white ones are really pretty. I keep thinking I’ll narrow down my flock to only Silver Laced Wyandottes so I can sell chicks, but that’s not going to happen any time soon.
Do you have a favorite color/breed of chicken?
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Friday Favorite: Sharing
One thing I love about the gardening community is the sharing. Gardeners are a generous bunch, always willing to gift clippings, cuttings, and plants to others. I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of this kind of generosity many times in my short gardening career. About a month or two ago I mentioned on my Facebook page that I was thinning my strawberry plants. I offered plants to any locals that needed any. No locals had space, but I had a few friends from afar that wanted a few. When the weather cooled and the garden dried out, I dug 25 plants for each of them.
My strawberry plants will live in Maryland and Chicago. That’s the beauty of sharing plants, it’s a way for our gardens to ebb and flow beyond our property lines. I have plants that came from my grandmother’s home, they first went to my mom and then came to me. They were probably given to my grandmother by someone in her community. I have old fashioned comfrey, peonies, and lily of the valley from her garden.
My mom also has many plants in her garden that came from me. Hydrangeas I started from cuttings, seedlings of my Sweet Autumn Clematis, and one particular tulip that called ‘Mickey Mouse’ which was one of the first things I ever planted in my Ohio garden 12 years ago. The bulb was transfered with a start of a hosta. Since these tulips actually multiply, she’s going to give me a bulb or two for my garden here in Maine. And so it goes from me, to another garden, and then comes back around to my garden once again.
There are plants in my garden that came from neighbors in Ohio, I moved them to Maine with me. I know there are cuttings from plants in my garden in many gardens in Ohio and a few faraway states. Sharing plants is really the way of the gardener! In a way it can be a savings account of sorts. I have so many plants that I was unable to bring with me from my gardens in Ohio. Thankfully, my mom has many of them in her gardens since she received starts/cuttings from me. Next summer I plan to head back to finally start stocking my garden with some of my old favorites once again. The best part is that they are FREE. They do take more time than purchasing plants, but the story behind them more than makes up for the extra time it takes them to mature.
Do you have any plants in your garden you received from fellow gardeners? Have you ever gifted cuttings/plants/roots/bulbs?
