Winter Beauty

These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago in mid-December. Our roses had kept blooming due to our warm start to winter. But after an overnight snowfall, I found them still red and pink beneath their coating of wintry white:

These lovely buds were only inches from the ground after their branches were bowed down with the weight of the snow and ice:

But the hardy leaves were still growing and still green:

Rose hips generally persist right through even the coldest of winters, at least if they don't get eaten:

And they sure are pretty:

A few individual flowers just sort of fell apart. Some drooped, and some revived as soon as the snow melted. This has, as of this writing, sure been a mild winter:

My little potted mini-roses also stood right up to the snow and ice. They appear to be every bit as hardy as I'd hoped. I like to think I can move them up to the farm some day when I retire:

And that evening, just a block or so from my house, I caught the sun setting over Albany's skyline across the Hudson River:

It was a lovely and serene landscape, quite different than the wintry beauty one might usually find in mid-December. This world is filled with wonder and glory. We only need to be mindful to see it:

The Miniature Rose Population Has Increased

My local grocery store has been selling miniature roses all summer long and I'd finally broken down and purchased some. Then I purchased a few more and ended up with four large outdoor pots filled with variously colored mini-roses which bloomed all summer and right through our first several snow falls. But then one day I was in the store when I saw a "Buy one and get two free" sale on miniature roses. I intended to ignore them but noticed two new colors and all my resolve collapsed:

I purchased a pure lavender, a red so dark it's almost black and a yellow/red striped. Since our weather had turned so cold so early, I began setting them outside during the day and bringing them in to the porch at night. I plan to pot each one in a separate 12" pot which will give me seven pots of miniature roses, four of them with two plants each. Yikes! But, assuming they thrive, I'll be able to move them up to the farm with me when I retire:

A Lazy Sunday At Home

I'd planned to drive up to the farm on Sunday but predictions of heavy rains kept me home for the weekend. I needed a rest, so decided I'd spend the day doing nothing - no gym, no hiking, no touring, no lawn mowing - just hanging around. I let the dogs out into the back and was thrilled to see little Winky sitting among all the Miniature Roses and Rose of Sharon. It made a nice picture and launched me into my day of rest:

Another shot of Seamus and Clover with the flowers. The other dogs were out on the lawn doing their doggy things:

And then we all came indoors. Minutes later I found Clover snuggled up with Bramble on a dog pillow:

Daphne was snoozing nearby:

Seamus sprawled his considerable bulk across the floor (he seldom uses his dog pillows) and his buddy, Fergus joined him:

Winky was happy on an area rug:

Wally chose the coolness of a tile floor near the washer and dryer:

Rocky curled up and purred at the bottom of the carpeted cat tree:

Snoozey, who mostly stays on the floor, lived up to his name beneath a small table:

Georgette kept to herself at the top of the stairs, resting happily on her covered litter box. She was still happy to throw me a paw as I passed by, though:

Draco enjoyed the softness of a double layer of rugs at the foot of the rocking chair. This was truly a day of rest, both for me and for my pets:

Glorious Miniature Roses!

You may remember that I purchased some miniature roses at bargain prices and planted them in outdoor flower pots hoping they'd thrive. Thrive they have, and the other day I walked out my back door and saw this splendid sight:

A dark red and a pure yellow:

Yellow, pink, orange, red and bi-colored (a white one hadn't begun blooming yet). I have observed that these tiny roses, only about 8" high, bloom in a variety of shades on the same plant. I find this quite amazing and they were certainly putting on a vivid display on this day:

I have two plants in each pot and four pots close together. It makes for a nice variety of colors:

Red, pink, yellow and bi-colored. I have cut these tiny flowers and put them in tiny vases. They have lasted for a week or more:

Three colors of blooms on two plants:

My camera does not take good photos of outdoor flowers, especially the light colored ones. I had to take many pictures just to get a few that would almost (but not really) demonstrate the vibrant colors:

I thought the roses were at their peak when I shot these photos but I've since learned that they were just getting started. They became more spectacular a week later than they were then:

Lots of color, perfect little miniatures. These plants come from Canada and I am hoping that they'll be winter hardy. I'd sure love to take them up to the farm with me when I retire:

And one final photo of Seamus, Fergus and Winky standing near the tiny roses. You can see their tiny size:

A Happy, Abundant Growing Season

We had a terribly wet spring and a hot, muggy summer so far, though we seem now to be settling into some more normal, pleasant August weather. But apparently it's been a grand growing season because everything looks good. Take, for instance, my tomato vines which are burying me alive in big, juicy, ripe red fruit:

The miniature roses are blooming again and the Rose Of Sharon bushes are producing flowers on their new growth after I cut them all down to within 18" of the ground this spring:

I have a double purple Rose of Sharon out behind my kitchen. This was supposed to be a specialty "Bluebird" variety, but it used to have one side of each color. Eventually the expensive Bluebird side died out. I'm guessing that the Bluebird was grafted onto the hardier root stock of the double purple. Well, I like this one too:

The big, single purples are doing just fine and blossoming profusely:

And they sure are pretty:

Here's a close-up of the double purple:

A pink:

And a white. The spring rains and July heat may have seemed excessive to me, but apparently the plants loved the weather:

Perfect Miniatures

I know I've often mentioned my love of all things miniature. One of my perennial favorites (in both senses of the word) is miniature roses. They are tiny versions of the full size variety, winter hardy and almost care free. The last two roses I purchased at the grocery store for $4.00 each and set them on a kitchen counter near the spices while I prepared a pot for them:

I have several varieties, including this bi-color yellow and red:

And a pure yellow:

I now own six plants and have them in three pots outside my back door. The one problem I've found with miniature roses is that they are so small that they become buried in weeds. The pots help solve that problem. And by the way, those are four tomato plants in the background, already six feet tall and filled with green tomatoes:

My two new rose plants looked happy in their tall pot and have grown and bloomed boisterously since I put them there:

The tiny rose buds make interesting cut flowers, in this case placed near my eyeglasses to give you a sense of scale. They really are miniature:

Freshly cut red rose, everything in perfect proportion, albeit in miniature:

A Fine Day In June

One recent afternoon I let the dogs out into the back yard and it was so pleasant out there that I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures. In the first, Fergus and Clover were sniffing around the Silver Mint and severely pruned Rose of Sharon. That variegated vine behind them is a Kiwi:

Fergus and Clover again. This time they were running and playing. Daphne would normally be joining in, but she was busy at the fence endeavoring to annoy the neighbors' dogs:

My two little Teacup Roses were growing at breakneck speed. I'd snipped off all the spent flowers, but one perfect, tiny red rose remained. There was plenty of buds and there is likely to be a steady supply of blossoms all summer long:

All three of my Clematis vines were doing well:

Seamus, Fergus and Daphne posed next to my tomato plants for a photo:

Wally hung around the back door, happy to be outside but no longer into the play which so excites the younger dogs:

I also checked out the front of the house, where a pink rose bush was just beginning to bloom:

And just below the pink rose bush, this striped beauty was lighting up the sidewalk:

Passersby on the sidewalk often stop to admire the bright colors. Indeed, it was a fine day in June: