Happy Valentine's Day!

By the time you read this, perhaps I should wish you a Happy Belated Valentine's Day! It's late. The kids are watching TV, as there's no school tomorrow, and I'm playing catch up after a week of sick kids, Valentine's festivities, and seed sowing. Tomorrow, my sister undergoes surgery to remove a large tumor from her spine. I'll be playing nurse for awhile...poor Becky! Still, I know we'll all be relieved tomorrow when her surgery is over.

So, because I'll be a bit busy tomorrow, I cheated a little and took photos of today's blooms for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by May Dreams Gardens.

First, though, a Valentine for you from my garden..

'Something Magic' Hardy Cyclamen. The foliage is as lovely as its flowers.

'Silver Leaf' Hardy Cyclamen's vibrant blooms add a nice burst of color to the gray winter garden.

Although it's only February, spring feels close in South Carolina. It's hard not to feel anxious to start planting, because the garden is beginning to come alive.

Crocuses...peeking out from under leaf litter...

'Ice Follies' daffodils, one of my favorites, are a sure sign that spring is near. I've already harvested several bouquets for the kitchen.

  

Paperwhites, planted late in a new bed along the side of the house. The new bed, located in deep shade under a forest border, also contains... 

...hellebores...

...snowdrops, fraise des bois, oak leaf hydrangeas, hostas, and blueberry bushes. I'm working hard to develop a forest garden leading to the greenhouses.

Thank goodness for hellebores in the winter. Our few original plants have multiplied and spread throughout the front beds, forming thick clumps filled with blooms. A bee buzzed by me as I tried for a close up. (I abandoned my efforts, since I'm so allergic to bees.) 

The fall planted witch hazel seems on the verge of blooming. Honestly, though--it has been in this stage for a week. Will it come through and deliver its fragrant blooms? I'm crossing my fingers...

The forsythia is ready to pop. This year, I'm taking a few branches inside to enjoy their heralding of spring.

Aren't these the most adorable little irises? Iris reticulata, how I adore you. I wish I had planted hundreds of these bulbs in the garden.

Spring bulbs, in case you haven't noticed from my obsession with them for the cutting garden, are my favorite. Forced hyacinth bulbs add the loveliest sweet fragrance throughout the house...

...and soon, their fragrance will also fill the garden.

Still, nothing can beat the amazing fragrance of winter daphne. Planted in containers next to the front walk, I take a deep breath whenever I pass. My neighbors planted daphne in their front beds, and the scent drifting into our yard is incredible.

Our sweet camellias continue to bloom...
 

...with another round of blossoms soon to appear. 

  

But the bloom I'm most excited about this February? My first orange blossom! Last year, I purchased six citrus trees, overwintering them in the greenhouse. And today--the first bud burst open! I'm so excited! The fragrance is delicious.

The greenhouse is quickly filling with seedlings for Garden Delights--organic heirloom herbs, tomatoes, peppers, flowers...but that's a story for another day. 

Did you do anything special to celebrate Valentine's Day? Wishing you the loveliest of Valentine's Days--and a very happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! And, if you have a moment tomorrow, please think good thoughts for my sister. Thanks so much, friends.

XOXO ~

Julie

Twelve Truths...

(...about life and greenhouses).

1.
When the customer service guy tells you that it will take two adults two weekends to build the 12 x 20 greenhouse you just ordered...multiply his estimate by 10. Remember, his job is to sell you an expensive pile of metal, screws, and plexiglass. He doesn't care if it takes you two years to build the thing while your tomato babies languish in the basement, begging for natural light.
 
2.
If your husband or significant other decides to take vacation to finish a large outdoor project (like a greenhouse), Murphy and his law will make certain it rains.

3.
Lowe's will become your second home. Cashiers will know you intimately.

4.
You will spend your children's college funds at Lowe's, buying all the parts that didn't come with the all inclusive greenhouse kit. (But that's OK. You're building a business that the kids can inherit, so who needs college...right?)
 
5.
Backing down a steep driveway in a borrowed truck filled with lumber is a quick way to unload.

6.
When you build or garden in a forest, you will find many, many rocks...and roots. And roots wrapped around rocks. You will feel like a pioneer woman, conquering the wilderness. And then your wimpy suburban self will ask your husband to help you move the rocks, which really means that you'll watch him while he moves the rocks.


7.
If you need a 2”x 10” x 12' board...the actual measurements are 1.75" x 9.75" x 12'. Who knew? And why?


8.
If you drop a 1.75" x 9.75” x 12' board on your finger, you may find yourself crying in Lowe's.


9.
While the greenhouse goes up—life continues. You will run to craft stores, farms, and school because your fourth grade child created an Egg Dispenser for Invention Convention. While she came up with the idea, you have to gather supplies, take her to test it, and force her to sit in a chair long enough to finish the project the night before it is due. And then you will take her to the Humane Society, where she will pick up supplies for a service project. There will be a dozen cat condos cluttering the living room, as well as cat blankets and dog toys that she made. Add to this the piles of papers that arrive home from kindergarten every day, plus the general mess that accumulates while you obsess with greenhouse construction, and soon you will qualify to star in an episode of "Hoarders."

10. 
Your cat will want to help.
 
 11. 
Your heart will hurt for your inventor daughter, who won an award at school—and had high hopes to win at the Invention Convention. And your heart will be proud of her while she cheers for her friends who won instead. 

12.
Daffodils are lush, forsythia is blooming, cherry trees are popping, and you remember—in the midst of the insanity of building a greenhouse, running a business, and caring for your family—why you love spring. And you remember why you started the business. And you're thankful—even with greenhouse traumas and sore muscles and panic attacks when the business' website server goes down—how lucky you are to do what you love.

XO ~

Julie