Another Lesson in Patience

I think winter pictures of snow covered gardens are so pretty.   However, it's a rare sight to see snow falling here, even the light dusting we got last week.

I laughed at the snowmen that were featured on the local news.  The snowmen were miniatures!  Each snowman was only 2 or 3 inches high!  The perfect size for a fairy garden.

With all the ups and downs in the temperatures, working in the garden has been on and off, too.  I have cut all the dead foliage off of the cannas, asters, and chrysanthemums.  I've also weeded, but I have a lot of weeding to do still.  I'll have to do a post on the persistence and resiliency of my weeds!

There is not much blooming in my garden right now.  A camellia bloom here and there.  And the rosemary is gorgeous.

But the most exciting bloom for me is the lone snowdrop that has finally decided to bloom.  It is blooming slowly.  I've been watching it for two weeks, and it is just now beginning to open its petals.  These would be perfect to pair with miniature snowmen!  I'm not sure this is snowdrop country, but I thought I'd give some a try.  There are a few more snowdrops that have emerged, but so far they are just pretty little leaves with no blooms.  I'll wait patiently for them.  Even in a snowdrop bloom, the garden teaches us a lesson in patience.

It's really hard to get a beauty shot of a snowdrop!  This was the best I could do.

And, so, with my garden in the middle of winter, I've been trying to remember that spring will come, and plants will bloom again, filling the garden with color.  It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to even imagine it.  Last May, I toured a friend's garden.  I didn't post the pictures then, and I'm glad I didn't.  I think now is the perfect time to post them.  It's a good reminder that spring will eventually come.

Look at the gorgeous foliage!  So many colors without a bloom in sight.

So green.  So refreshing.  So calming.

But, she had blooms, too!

Oh, yes, she had blooms.

Hers was a walking garden, with green pathways of grass and numerous flower beds.

I loved that she wasn't afraid to use a rainbow of colors.  Pink, red, orange, yellow - they were all here.

See what I mean?  Isn't it gorgeous?

I'd forgotten how colorful May can be!

To me, the piece de resistance was this rose covered arbor (Peggy Martin rose).  Just gorgeous!  Notice, too, the urns filed with sea shells.  This was a theme that was repeated in different areas of her garden.

Seashells surrounded by succulents.  And did you notice the small stakes of silver balls?  That, too, was a recurring theme.

These large stakes of silver balls looked almost like additional blooms.

And here they are again!  I just adored this unique, eye-catching, and beautiful idea.

Ah, yes, spring will come again.  Winter is just another lesson in patience.