Fall doesn’t have to be the end of summer

Every year I try to bring a little summer into the house. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. But it is always fun to try.

This year I brought in a whole pot of Marigolds. My indoor thumb is green, but my outdoor thumb is not. So, these flowers didn’t do all that much this summer, but they did perk up toward the end when it finally rained a bit. So, rather than write them off, I decided to try to keep them alive.

At the very least, even if they don’t make it until spring, now only 121 days from this writing, I can always save the seeds from the spent flowers to plant outside. I also have Zinnias and Geraniums and Petunias.

It is always nice to add a little color into my sun porch to add to my houseplants. I rather like the look.

Petunias in January--love it!

The first day of Spring is less than 60 days from now.


While this has been a relatively easy winter, thus far, with temperatures seldom dipping below the freezing mark, that can all change in a heartbeat. 

At of this writing, the temperature here in the Ozarks is a pleasant 38.7º--not too shabby for January.

There have been winter storms all around us. Neighboring states are snow-covered, but we got lucky with a small amount of cold days and a minimum of freezing precipitation. So, where I live, the effects have been minimal. The sun is shining now and any ice out there is melting.

I refuse to let this bother me though. No matter what the weather, I enjoy retreating to my favorite room in the house--our sun porch--which faces south, but also has windows on the east and west. Nothing makes me happier than to see flowers inside when it is cold and often dreary outside.

These petunias were growing in a pot outside this summer. I simply brought it indoors. 

 

I am also enjoying a few begonias that seem to like the big windows and sun shining through them on the sun porch. 

These plants were growing outside and blooming up until it got cold. At that time, I dug up, repotted them and brought them inside. 

I've done the same with some of my favorite herbs; basil, sage, thyme, and lemon verbena. 

Some of those are doing better than others, but I can still snip off a few leaves to throw into a pot of soup now and then. 

I even brought in a hearty Serrano pepper plant. For some reason it is doing better indoors than it did outside all last year.  I wouldn't be surprised if it bore peppers before the season is over. At the very least, I will get some very early peppers.

I am also thrilled to have my old favorite standbys--African violets. 

There was a time that I couldn't get an African Violet to live to save my life. For some reason, that is no longer the case. These two have been thriving here for years. I've even been able to propagate them by leaf cuttings. 

There is nothing that makes winter more pleasant than flowers. With Spring just around the corner, I can't wait to get my hands dirty again. Flowers inside are matched only by flowers outside. C'mon Spring, my favorite time of year.

Gotta love Springtime...

It is April 1. There is no mistaking the signs of the season. Spring is here! I suspect it will be worth the wait. 

My first Spring bouquet. Color, thanks to daffodils and Forsythia; scent thanks to hyacinths.

These asparagus, planted from seed two years ago are still too tiny to pick, but not too small to whet my appetite!

This is a first for this young forsythia. She's a little leggy, so a nice pruning will help for next year.

There can be no better feeling of expectation than seeing the new growth of a bleeding heart plant.

It looks like Spring 2014 is going to be lovely. It looks like this snowy winter was good for the plants. I can't wait to see what else pops up out of the decaying leaves.