Saturday sunset

The colors are not the vibrant orange, yellow and pink of a summer's sunset, but those of a typical dull rainy winter day here in the Pacific Northwest.

Pretty companions

The ornamental kale was looking very lonely after I pulled some straggly annuals, which the frost had killed off. I found the perfect complimentary color match in these pansies to fill in until the kale has to be pulled.

Better than candy

61 degrees, sunny with a little cool breeze in my vegetable garden today. I decided it was a good day to start on cleaning up in preparation for planting in the near future. I had pulled many weeds, and accomplished a little cleanup before really taking a close look at the parsnips.
Judging by the tops of the parsnips I thought the roots would be very puny, but when I tried to pull them from the raised beds, they would not budge without the tops coming off in my hands. Out came my garden fork, and oh boy! was I ever surprised by what I unearthed.

The two largest parsnips are just over 12 inches long and three inches across. Being this large sometimes means they are tough, but not these beauties. They proved to be crisp and tender when I peeled and cut them into uniform pieces ready for roasting.

After peeling and chopping the parsnips, I placed them into a baking pan, poured 2 tablespoons of good quality tasty olive oil over them, stirred them around to coat, then ground sea salt and black pepper over the top. They were then covered in foil and baked in a 400F oven for 20 minutes, the foil removed and baked another 20 minutes until browned.

As I said, these in my opinion, are better than candy. Oven roasted veggies are sweet, and parsnips especially so. I could eat all of these in one sitting.

Spring is in the air

Well it seems that way in my garden.

Next project

At the end of last Autumn I took three cuttings of this lovely coleus, dipped the stems in rooting hormone powder, and placed them in starting mix. I must say, I am rather tickled that all three have grown, and are looking so healthy.

All three of the Coleus are going to be transplanted into this new blue pot, I came across at a garage sale last year. I think I will like the contrast between the blue pot and the lime green shades of the coleus. I will keep you posted as the plants grow and fill out.

A little touch of green

You don't need only brightly hued flowers in the garden to make a splash.

A new Hellebore to my garden, is showing just how gorgeous green can be. I don't know the name of the Hellebore as it was given to me by a friend and I forgot to ask her what it is called. I will call her soon and ask the name of the Hellebore, just in case any of you would like to have one of the same.

Another green plant I love is Euphorbia, Tasman Tiger. Not only are the leaves stunning, so too are the blooms. Last year, this one, which was struggling in it's location, was moved into a different garden, and it sure is thanking me with a beautiful display of blooms and new growth.

Thinking outside the box !!

I very nearly drove over the center line, as I drove past this Toyota with the two window " bumper boxes" attached to the rear of the vehicle.

I drove around the block, found a parking place, and walked back to see if my eyes had been playing tricks on me. No, they are most definitely planter boxes attached to the bumper of this vehicle.

It is time for primroses

I swung by my favorite garden center to see what was happening, and as I entered the greenhouse area my senses were assaulted by the most intoxicating perfume. I did not know some primroses were perfumed. It appears it is the double variety which have the most scent, so of course, you know me, I had to have a few of these beauties. These lovely bi-colored flowers took my eye and they now have pride of place in a large pot by the front door so the beauty and perfume of the flowers is there to enjoy as I come and go through the front entrance.

The Hellebore are also making a splash in the darker corners of my garden.

As I was on my knees, camera set to take closeup photos of the Hellebore, this little guy/gal hopped right up to me and almost had it's nose on the lens of the camera. Who can resist such a cute furry face. I admit that I feed bread to four rabbits every morning, and they are not afraid to come up to me. Whenever Mr C. or I go outdoors there will be rabbits hopping from all directions looking for a handout. The one in the photo we have named baby, as it is the smallest in the bunch and the most friendly. The other day I was out in the garden, when I felt something on my pant leg, I looked down, and saw Baby standing on it's back legs, front feet on my leg, looking up at me with the most cute begging look in it's eye. Yes I know I am a pushover, but I like the critters in our yard, except of course if they eat my plants, but practically everything in the gardens is fenced, so there really isn't much of a problem.

Visitors

Two Flickers visiting the feeding station.
The one on the suet was rather nervous as it could see my camera just peeping through the curtains, but was not sure to stay or flee.