Hearts for Valentines Day

Hearts 2011
Originally uploaded by hartp
Happy Valentines Day to all my friends in blog land.

Camellias in Garden or Floating in Bowl

Camellias are blooming at our house, beginning the first week of January. The kind in these photos is mainly white petals with nice streaks of pink. These bushes are next to our patio and are about nine feet tall.

Camellias grow in zones 7-9, like a sheltered location with not too much sun or wind, and can be grown in colder areas in containers where you protect them from deep freezes.If you know what variety this camellia is, please let me  know. I planted it 20 years ago and don't recall the variety.

Happiness Secret, Oriental Lilies

Star Gazer Lily Close Up
Originally uploaded by photoartist3
What is your secret to finding happiness for a few moments?
Please share it here.
One of mine is to visit a local plant store, and buy a few seeds or bulbs. Seeds and bulbs are so full of HOPE for the near future. They promise a lot.
Today I bought a pack of 3 Star Gazer Lily bulbs and planted them in a big blue ceramic pot.
In zones 8-10 Oriental hybrid lilies like Star Gazer lilies can be planted January to March. Star Gazers are 40 inches tall, thrive in part to full sun, have huge sensational bright rose flowers, and are scented.
Is this not a package that has everything?
Let me know your secret tip for finding some moments of joy in this month of January which is rather dark in the Northern Hemisphere.
Cheers to my friends in India and Australia too!

Monet's Garden

Monet's Garden
Originally uploaded by -a.
I love Monet's paintings, and have spent quite a bit of time in a museum in Paris, looking deeply in to his paintings of his pond at Giverny.
I like this quote of his, giving directions to his head gardener in February 1900.
Maybe this will inspire us all today.
"Sow approximately 300 pots of poppies, 60 pots of sweet peas, approximately 60 pots of white argemone and 30 yellow... From the 15th to the 25th start the dahlias into growth. Take cuttings from the shoots before my return; think about the lily bulbs."
It would be grand to have a gardener in my employ! Then I could ask them what argemone is.

Cyclamen and Cilantro Glow

A friend gave me this red cyclamen at Christmas time, and I put it on our kitchen windowsill, where the sunlight illuminates it and the glow brightens the room. Yesterday I bought six cilantro plants, and put two in pots and added them to the sill. I planted the other 4 outdoors in containers.

What plants do you have in your kitchen?

Your word for 2012

Dog Looking at and Listening to a Phonograph, "His Master's Voice", The Original RCA Music Puppy Dog Logo Symbol for Advertising
Originally uploaded by Beverly & Pack

Are you going to choose a word for 2012?
Last year I chose "shine" and for 2012 I choose "listen".
This dog is listening intently. My word will remind me to listen to friends and family, and to listen when I pray.
I know God often whispers and I want to hear His whispers.
Molly at birdiebluesky.blogspot.com will be choosing a word too.
I got this quote from her blog:
"For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a new beginning." T.S. Eliot
I find it fascinating to read what other people choose as their word; somehow we each find the perfect word for ourself.

Wordless Wednesday

Peacock
Originally uploaded by Arizona Parrot

Well, close to wordless Wednesday. I adore the beauty of peacocks so this photo is a change of pace after Christmas.