A productive Sunday

I did get the mundane tasks like laundry done and I put another dent in the bookshelves in my home office, but I also got a few columns written and photos sent to magazines and newspapers.  I also started sorting out what I am taking with me to Vietnam. I think I am taking half my medicine cabinet for those just-in-case moments.  By the afternoon, it was a pretty nice day outside even though it was cloudy, so I also got some gardening in.  I cleaned up some spent perennials and put up a few errant Christmas things that were still outside.  I picked a bunch of winter greens–bok choy, kale, mustard, Chinese cabbage and mesclun mix for a chopped salad. I was trying to recreate one I had that came pre-chopped in a bag, and I think I exceeded it.   I added some pomegranate arils, some feta and a light dressing and it was outstanding.  That plus I made a loaf of homemade rustic bread and some stuffed pasta shells and it was quite a nice dinner.

I was pleased to see some good color in the garden today. The hellebores look amazing.   Helleborus foetidus is putting up its green flower spikes, but they haven’t opened yet, but several others are either in full bloom or about to be, with plenty of color.    These tough perennials are evergreen and bloom in a season when we need color.  I did not see any bees around them, but usually there are.  My sasanqua camellias got nipped by the cold but they are bouncing back.  While there are plenty of spent brown blooms, there are quite a few hot pink ones on the shrubs.   They started blooming for me the end of November and I still have plenty of color.  More people need these in their gardens instead of just azaleas.  I also saw the first bloom about to open on my Camellia japonica. They are not as cold hardy as the sasanquas, but do have showier blooms.  Camellia japonicas are much larger plants at maturity than sasanquas, so can be a bit more of challenge to fit into a landscape setting.  Both prefer acidic sites in morning sun with protection from the hot afternoon sun.

As I worked in the yard the dogs were quite distressed that they couldn’t be with me, especially Petals.  She whined until I finally made it back inside.

She was very happy I was home last night!