***plAnt dAy!****SILVER LACE VINE Aureum (a running commentary on the most interesting collector's plants I own)

This was my top plant last year. Acquired it in 2009, and a year later it really popped! From the chartreuse leaves all season, to the pink stems, to the foamy white flowers that lasted thru several hard frosts, this vine was totally amazing!

Here is the "official" description~

Polygonum aubertii 'Aureum' Silver Lace Vine Z: 4-8


The gold leaf form. PROFUSE, FRAGRANT white flowers in late summer on a 'Polygonum' that is nothing like it's cousins. It's a VINE, not a ground cover. It is vigorous and excellent for covering fences and buildings. Blooms for a long, long time! Soil: Most any, Well-drained best H: 20-30'

 Midsummer

 Detail of the blossoms ~ actually, I liked it better before it bloomed, but the flowers grew on me (heh)

This was taken on August 30. I'm looking forward to this year!

The Last Heuchera

My last brave little bouquet i took into work from my Fall garden is long gone. Except for.........i had one little purple Heuchera (Coral Bell) leaf in the vase for contrast, and, after everything else had died, this leaf still looked good and so i kept it. The months went by, and i started to think maybe this leaf was dead, dried up, and is crispy in the vase - but it still looked alive!

My Jewel Orchid bloomed, as it does in January/February, and i stuck a couple of the stems of flowers in with it so it wouldn't look so lonely. Now they are on their last flowers, too. Today i decided to change the water (which i keep forgetting and it's kinda er, cloudy - but it's a tiny vase). To my amazement, the Heuchera leaf's stem had sprouted roots!

Had no idea they could BE propagated like that; not that i had researched it, but i have always just had a good feel for how various plants can be multiplied and which cannot, and i would have bet money that single LEAF wouldn't produce roots ~ but, hey, that's what's fun about gardening!                           

One Day Closer (Pt 2!)

All right ~ it's still winter, i get it ~ and yessss, the snow is pretty. Great. Now it can go away!

 Last evening...

A few shots of the yard this morning ~ gotta try out the new camera! 

So, all right, Mother Nature, it's the month of my birth, the month of Spring ~ time to ACT like it!

One Day Closer

...(But not close enough) to Spring, but there ARE signs...

The peppers on my Pumpkin pepper plant are STILL bright! No, didn't want to eat them (guess i should've tried them, at least) Maybe this year, because I intend to plant more of them! The only color in the landscape all winter! I highly recommend them.

Managed a couple of walks in the nearby park, and found a few nice shots...

The deer are thick in that park,as they are in all of the parks around here!

 My "neighbors" are out and keeping me company, as they have all winter!

If you look very closely, you can see the Winter Aconites are nearly in bloom

 And the "Blue Eyed Blonde" looks healthy and ready to go! 

See ~ wasn't kidding~ she IS a Blue Eyed Blonde!

Ooo! One more ~ the Butterbur is beginning to show itself, too!

I Am Eight Cats Old...(So Far!)

Went to a cat show this past Valentine's Day weekend. Why? Because i have a show cat? Because i have friends with show cats? Because i was looking to acquire another cat? Nope. Like many "cat people", i just want to be around cats, and the more cats, the happier i am. So, once a year or so, i hang out at a local cat fancier's show for a few hours and just enjoy myself!

Love to watch the show cat owners transporting their fluffy babies to and from the judging.

...Are they just products to compete for ribbons with?.....

Don't think so....i can't look at these pics and see anything but love....

Hmmm, not sure exactly what this is - a giant Tribble?

And once you've seen a Sphinx cat, it's hard to forget! They are the hairless cats, interesting and spookily cute.....

 But really, i don't think i'd want to wake up in the middle of the night with something like THIS staring at me!

 i want a cat with all the stuff it's supposed to have - like fur,.... a tail,

                                                              Manx

                                                      .....ears.....! 

                                               Scottish Fold

My favorite breed - Abyssinian! They look like little cougars with an Egyptian flavor to them. As the saying goes, 'In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods, and they have not forgotten this!". I have wanted one for years, but, besides the expense, there are no Aby breeders near me, and i don't want some poor kitten having to be SHIPPED to me! But, someday....

                                       A darker (Ruddy or Red ) tone

                                    And another Aby, this one Blue or Silver...

                                              At rest between judging

              I would NOT want to be a judge! Can YOU tell which one is better?

Had fun watching this little guy ~ most of these cats are laid back and don't mind any of the attention, but he was really complaining!

                                       I....DO....NOT....WANT!!!

The patterns are just awesome on some of these felines. This is a very light colored Bengal.

                Another oddity ~ a Rex, or curly coated cat. Reportedly hypoallergenic

i really liked this judge....

                Maybe making one of these posts into a scratching post wasn't such a good idea!

          ...Can you say "Velcro"?

                         Check out the tie!

i think this won the prize (in MY mind) for cushiest digs! This is a Somali, which is basically a longhaired Abyssinian, and one that i would want as bad or more than a shorthair Aby.

That's the end of the tour for now ~ oh, yeah, my cats ended up with a new Valentine's Day present, too!......