Mid-December in New England our landscapes and gardens are more about form, structure, and texture than flowers. We can still create delight in our winter landscapes but no flowers. The plants that summered on the shady patio and then were moved indoors in mid- September to avoid the first hard frost to a holding area (just the other side of the glass doors, but now indoors)–now it’s time to selectively move some of them to tables near windows to showcase them.
Currently, it’s the combination of foliage and flowers that enchants me. The pink Cyclamen (a gift from horticultural friend Melinda years ago) creates more buds and open flowers each day. It combines beautifully with the pink orchid my horticultural friend extraordinaire Marylyn gave me. She says it might be Oncidium” Twinkle”. The fern and the other orchid foliage add to the composition.
And the moss. The moss I added to the containers unifies the compositions and makes the container plants look great. Also, helps retain moisture, I imagine. I find it amazing that “sheet moss” bought at a garden center in a plastic bag can do so much in so little time (it probably took me all of 5 minutes start to finish).
So while my winter views are enhanced with the outdoor containers filled with winter greens arrangements rather than empty pots–I’ll post a blog on those soon–my indoor gardens are beginning to bloom and make me smile. And these long blooming indoor plants will continue to bloom to celebrate the Winter Solstice and Christmas Holidays. It won’t be long before the ‘Paperwhite’ Narcissus begin their fragrant enchantment and add to New Year’s celebrations.
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