A Good Day In January

I remember seeing the sun. It was warm and glowing and lit the morning like blessings from Heaven. But that seems a long time ago. January has been sodden to the core with day after endless days of rain and more on the way. All normal for my part of the country.A typical January skySomewhere to the north, this moisture translates to idylic drifts of snow and winter wonderlands. (I can call it idyllic because I don't have to live with it.) Here we get mush.

Today between rain showers I went for a walk with Autumn the cat. An over exposed photo gives Autumn an angelic look. Talk to the ground squirrels about that!While I admired spots of color in the landscape, Autumn frolicked amidst the wet shrubs and rolled in clumps of moss and batted fallen twigs. She pretended to stalk hidden beasts until she was tired, then finally curled up in my lap as I sat on the arbor swing. It was a good day in January.

The old camellia bush at the top of the hydrangea walk is covered with buds and blooms. The air was warm today, but I fear for the shrub as freezing temperatures are predicited by next week, and I don't know how the flowers will do. For now the camellia is beautiful. I like how the bright red flowers contrast with the persistent dried blooms of the hydrangea 'Limelight'.

The hellebores are also beginning to bloom. These fabulous flowers will persist for months, beginning in purple, pink, and creamy colors, eventually all shading to pale green. For more information about hellebores, see my post, The Underworld of Hellebores.

Pieris japonica 'Cavatine' is growing well down from the patio. This dwarf andromeda grows to about two feet tall by four feet wide. It has lily of the valley type buds which swell over the winter, and they are nearly as pretty as the flowers.

Here are some more colorful accents to the gray January day:Clockwise from top left: I am amazed at this two year old decorative cabbage. It has grown atop a narrow stalk and is nearly two feet tall; Daphne odora 'Aureo marginata' is begiinning to bud; Nandina 'Firepower' is an evergreen shrub with lovely color year round; The first daffodil to bloom in my garden.

I really enjoyed all of these sights, but I was most thrilled when a Cardinal landed in a shrub about five feet from me.

I already had my camera in hand, focused in the direction of the shrub when this redbird arrived and posed for me, for just a few seconds — until he caught sight of Autumn! Could I have appreciated his scarlet vestments so much, if not for the gray background?

How I spent my Christmas making mortar

Christmas at our house this year was a multiple day celebration, beginning with Christmas eve service at our church and ending the evening of the 26th. I felt a deep peace when family and friends came to our home to visit.

 A sunset on Christmas day offered a reflection on the special meaning of this season.

We spent Christmas day with our sons, and then my brother and assorted nephews and nieces and cousins and in-laws came the day after. I was in the kitchen early, peeling potatoes and chopping onions for potato salad. I also was preparing a cranberry salad, a great recipe I got from a fellow blogger, Villager. My family sends special thanks to him. Outside, frost covered the garden.

These knockout roses look like they are covered with a sugary glaze for Christmas.

The frost may kill these leaves, but oh, so sweet, the passing.

These nandina leaves will not be harmed by the frost.

The colors of the nandina are highlighted by an icy coating.

The variegated leaves and lily-of-the-valley flowers of Pieris japonica 'Cavatine' are lovely with winter frosting.

I watched as potato and onion skins piled up. When I was finished, I shoveled them into a stainless steel compost bucket under the kitchen sink. Soon orange, apple and banana peels were added. Then came used tea bags and coffee grounds.  As preparations for our big family meal were completed, I pushed to squash the contents of the compost pail so I could add new ingredients. The bucket was overflowing when I finally emptied it into the larger compost bin we keep behind the house near the vegetable garden. I was happy with the meal we had prepared, and I was happy with the good compost I had brewing behind my house. 

I have been re-reading an old David Bodanis book I own called The Secret Garden: Dawn to Dusk in the Astonishing Hidden World of the Garden. This book describes the incredible microscopic life that exists around us. I recently read a section that explains why compost is the best thing to enrich garden soil.

We hardly ever think about the billions of invisible creatures that live under our feet, but these microscopic critters promote good soil structure, enabling plant roots to grow and obtain nutrients. Basically, the soil dwellers live in underground cities made up of apartment buildings built of tiny clay bricks, and these subterranean dwellings give soil its texture. The bricks are held together by a gummy substance produced by decomposing dead bacteria. Without the mortar of dead bacteria, the apartment homes collapse and the soil becomes hard and compacted.

Compost is good for garden soil because its main ingredient is the gummy mortar used by earth dwellers to shore up the walls of their buildings and to prop open underground passageways. Uncomposted substances like fresh grass clippings are not so good, however, because they contain billions of living bacteria, which promptly go to war with the preexisting occupants of the soil. As the battle rages, nitrogen is burned up and heat radiates from the sweaty, hot warrior bacteria. Nearby plants may overheat and suffer from nitrogen deficiency. It's best to put those grass clippings in the compost pile, and let all the bacteria die off before putting them in the garden.

Ingredients in compost are termed "green" or "brown." Green substances are like those from my kitchen: fresh vegetable and fruit scraps, and also freshly pulled or cut plants from the garden. Brown substances are dried things, like aged grass clippings, shredded paper and dead leaves. The best combination is about four times as much brown as green. Do not put meat products in your compost, unless you want all sorts of critters rummaging through it.

Today I noticed that frost has finally killed the Boston fern in the lady garden. It is headed for the compost bin, where it will eventually turn into mortar to build underground cities.This photo was taken in November. The fern will be replaced next spring.

So, a gazillion bacteria are living and dying in my compost bin right now. Next time I open the bottom door and that rich black mortar mix pours out, I will think about them.

Happy New Year!