Three of the fish made it into the house for the winter.

First snow.  2012

Pumpkin carving the easy way.  We went down to the Methodist church and got a pumpkin.  After taking the top off and cleaning it out - that was the hard part, Mike got out the power drill and made the face.

Fall color in the garden 2012.

Multi colored carrots, my whole crop.

 Visions geranium is way ahead of old fashioned geranium below.  Wonderful color.

Euphorbia  in fall color.

Snow Princess is still blooming

More fall color with Korean barberry.

Tigridia pavonia
    Bloomed for one day in my kitchen.
    Tiger flower, shell flower or Jaguar flower as the Aztecs of Mexico called them, are in a genus of bulbs that bloom for one day and are in zone 7-9.  It has three solid color petals and a cup-like center that is spotted giving it its common name of tiger flower.  The leaves are sword shaped like a gladiola and the bulb needs to be handled the same as a glad.  Dig in the fall and store in a cool but not freezing place.  They are indigenous to Mexico to Central America.  They are dormant during the winter dry season.  Aztecs ate the bulbs of the Jaguar flower.

 First snow Oct. 4, 2012 - Happy Birthday Nancy.  The fish pond isn't froze over so the fish don't mind the snow.

 A really heavy, wet snow, looks great on Clif's butterfly.
We are having sparks in the back yard and a snow storm.  Mother Nature and technology both putting on a show.  Exciting and scary.

 The tiger flower has a nice bud in the kitchen.  Sure glad it got in out of the snow.

Conlins was giving away mugs with coffee yesterday - time to try it out.

Video -whats blooming 4/28/12

'

Blue & white silla, tarda tulips, euphorbia, chinidoxia & silla, Ohio Buckeye in bud,db bloodroot, prairie smoke, pulmonaria
Kelsey crab, Kiesonia Primrose.

Video of What's Blooming in Karon's Garden on April 27, 2012
Juneberries that birds planted in front yard.
Daffodil bud
Tulips that Marlene & I picked up at Bakers Nursery last fall.
Euphorbia that looks like leafy spurge
Tiny yellow flowers of draba that I got from Carolyn.
Buds on fern leaf peony.
Greenhouse with first plants of the season.
Bergenia
Double Bloodroot
Red Trillium
Pansy in gutter garden
Flowering quince
Double flowering Kelsey Crab that was grafted onto Dolgo root in class at UMC
Alpine current.

Blooming today in Karon's garden 4/22/2012

Honeyberries & Magnolias blooming along with the little rock garden plant draba and panseys that were just planted.  Lots of buds on Trilliums, lilacs, crabapples/apples, and fren leaf peony.

Lonicera caerulea   Honeyberry 

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Dipsacales
Family:	Caprifoliaceae
Genus:	Lonicera
Species:	L. caerulea

Lonicera caerulea (Blue-berried Honeysuckle or Sweetberry Honeysuckle) is a honeysuckle native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere.
It is a deciduous shrub growing to 1.5–2 m tall. The leaves are opposite, oval, 3–8 cm long and 1–3 cm broad, glaucous green, with a slightly waxy texture. The flowers are yellowish-white, 12–16 mm long, with five equal lobes; they are produced in pairs on the shoots. The fruit is a blue berry about 1 cm in diameter.

Lonicera berry diversity

• Haskap: an ancient Japanese name of the Ainu people (also spelled phonetically as Haskappu, Hascap, Hascup) but still used today in Japan and in North America.
• Blue Honeysuckle: descriptive translation from Russia.
• Honeyberry: coined by Jim Gilbert of One Green World Nursery, Oregon, and fairly common in North America.
• Sweet Berry Honeysuckle: an old common name from the 1940s.
• Swamp fly honeysuckle: a common name coined by botanists who found it growing in swampy areas.
• Known in Russia as "Жимолость съедобная" ("Edible Honeysuckle").^[1]

Distribution and habitat

The species is circumpolar, primarily found in or near wetlands of boreal forests in heavy peat soils. However, it can also be found in high calcium soils, in mountains, and along the northeast coasts of Asia and North America. Interestingly, it is absent on west coasts. It has not been found in Norway nor Alaska nor British Columbia.^[1]

Cultivation and uses

Russia has the longest history of collecting from the wild and breeding this crop. L. c. var. edulis has been used the most in their^[who?] breeding efforts but other varieties have been bred with it to increase productivity and flavour. In Japan (Hokkaido Island) and in the Oregon State University Haskap breeding programs, L.c. var. emphyllocalyx has been the dominant variety used.^[2] The University of Saskatchewan Breeding Program in Canada is also emphasizing L.c. var. emphyllocalyx but is also hybridizing with Russian varieties and L.c. var. villosa.^[3]

bridge

The Bridge is being sealed with boiled linseed oil and turpentine.

This bulb was bought on Black Friday when Lowes put their bulbs on 75% off.

There are special jars made for forcing hyacinth.  I don't have one so I just planted the bulb in dirt, watered it and put it in the fridge.  It stayed in the fridge until buds formed, (about 6 weeks) then it was put under lights and is now blooming and perfuming my kitchen.

Note that hyacinth bulbs can irritate your skin so if you are allergic to these bulbs wear rubber gloves or wash your hands after handling.

The Oak tree looks like a cactus because of the frost and the fog that we have been having.

Billbergia nutans or Queen's-Tears, a native of Brazil, is one of the most common Bromeliads grown.
They are a durable plant for the home -- often withstanding periods of neglect.
Blooming Time: Pendulous flower clusters on long pink stems at any time of the year. 
The flowers are pink, green, yellow and navy blue.  What other flower has that many colors?
It blooms for me in the winter, just when I need a pick-me-up.

winter water garden

Sun impatiens & 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia have bloomed in my winter water garden in my kitchen window since I took the cuttings last fall.