More Color Each Day!

Cherry blossoms in town, at dusk. I love them at this stage, with some flowers fully opened and others in various stages, from tight buds to almost-open. All photos clickable thumbnails to enlarge.

Another "low view" of Pink Gardens. These bi-color daffodils complement the colors of the house perfectly.

Our large forsythia was damaged in the last blizzard. It was completely flattened by the massive heavy snowfall. It has a few flowers on it, but I think I'm going to cut it all the way down to the ground and let it grow back up again. Forsythias need to be cut back every decade or so or they stop producing enough flowers to fill in all the branches.

I grew a marigold indoors this winter! I planted some seeds in one of my potted plants in December and just this week I had my first bloom. I was so surprised it actually blossomed indoors!

 

This rusty-colored plant is actually my purple tradescanthia. It's an outdoors annual, but for the past four years, every October I cut several stems off of it and them root them in water for the next spring. Once they're outside and in the sunlight again, these reddish-green leaves will turn to purple and throw off small pink flowers.

A second African Violet has bloomed, my deep purple one. This plant is ten years old and the plant stretches almost fourteen inches wide!

And Thus the Season Begins. . .

This is the first year I've had miniature Daffodils in my yard! I placed the camera right on the ground for this photo. Though the perspective makes them look large, they are only 4-inches high! My friend, Lisa Mikulski, gave me these bulbs last year just before she moved to Sweden. Although she may be thousands of miles away, her flowers are going to be in my garden for years to come!

 

I think the aroma of hyacinths is among the best in all of flowerland! I love the scent of roses and lilacs, and virtually every flower, but there is something about Hyacinths that is just pure sweetness without any overtones of anything else. My friend Nikki gave me these bulbs a few years ago and they're just about the first flowers to ever bloom in the spring.

 

I think I posted almost exactly the same photo last year, lol, but it's a sure sign of spring when the turtles emerge from their winter rest and start sunning themselves at Tuxis Pond again!

Yes, my African Violets are indoor plants, but they are just beginning to bloom again from their winter greenery. This bright magenta one has huge blossoms. Each is more than an inch-and-a-half wide. The other two plants in this violet garden are about to bloom, one of them for the very first time, so stay tuned for more photos in the weeks to come!

Bonus Photo

 

On a wall near my violets hangs this self-portrait from 1983. It's cut paper, pen, and Saran wrap. Hard to believe it's 30 years old this year.

Best American Idol Performance Ever?

Candice Glover, a "Final 6" contestant on this year's American Idol TV show, turned in what I think will go down in history as one of the best performances of their 12 years on air, ever. The judges were in awe. I had tears in my eyes at the end of it last night, and just now when I heard it again. She takes The Cure's 1989 song, Lovesong and turns it into a Billie Holiday/Mary J. Blige, AWESOME contemporary piece.

It doesn't even matter if she wins next month. I'm pretty sure she just ensured her career right there! Remember, Jennifer Hudson didn't actually win Idol that year!

Study in Blue

I just came across this "Study in Blue" on my hard-drive. I've probably posted it here before, but I love the colors so much I think it will brighten up the homepage perfectly today. Some of my collectibles include a vintage tobacco tin, Hull "Freesia" vase, a "splatterware" bowl, hydrangea and, of course, scale model cars!