The December Garden: Winter Weather Deferred

I pause in my busyness to enjoy the December garden during this unusual weather event: El Nino brought the warmest month on record to the Poconos. Although it is cold today, the atypical high temperatures will return for Christmas. For the first time, I had a couple of plants blooming for Bloom Day which gardeners around the world celebrate on the 15th of every month at May Dreams Gardens. I wish that like our lovely host, Carol, I had hellebores and snowdrops, but I'm thankful for the blooms of my little vinca and tattered primrose. I was delighted, also, to find buds on my favorite hellebore. Normally hidden under the snow at this time of year, they hold the promise of spring.

Tattered but colorful primrose blooms

Hellebore foliage in the Woodland Walk

Lucious, pink hellebore buds

I have fabulous foliage in every garden, so I am linking with Pam at Digging for her December 'Foliage Follow-up' meme.

Sedum 'Angelina' in the perennial border of the Cottage Garden

Rose campion, lamium and creeping Jenny in the Horseshoe Garden

Fabulous ferns in the Shade Garden

Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' with graceful zebra grass beyond.

With the unusual weather the fish were active up until this weekend, so we closed the pond only a few days ago. That was the last of the chores for the gardening year, apart from putting away a few lingering items. We always forget something until we are warned of an upcoming snowstorm. No such warning on the horizon.

The fish were still active earlier this week -- can you see them bottom right?

This frog doesn't know he should have hibernated by now.

We switched off the waterfalls and closed the pond at last.

I even worked outside on the fuschia and coleus I propagated a few weeks ago. Of course, I brought them into the house where they will spend the rest of the winter in a sunny window.

 Dude has his thick, winter coat ready for when the real winter arrives.

Dude, are those dreadlocks around your face?

In the kitchen garden I continue to harvest carrots and parsnips as well as various herbs.

Parsley in the herb garden

Parsnips taste better after a hard frost. Yes, we did have one or two.

Parsnips are my family's favorite winter vegetable and a symbol of our Christmas dinner. I cut parsnips into two-inch pieces, sprinkle with garlic, rosemary, and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil and roast them in the oven. I wrote an article about parsnips here. I am choosing the parsnip as my December 'must-have plant' for my garden, linking to Diana's meme 'A Dozen for Diana' at Elephant's Eye on False Bay.

Rosemary for the roasted parsnips.

With so much to do before the family arrive for our traditional Boxing Day celebration, and before we leave to spend the New Year with my children in Arizona, it's difficult to stop for even a moment and consider the reason for it all. In addition, the dreadful times we are living in defy contemplation. Fran Sorenson at Gardening Gone Wild found the perfect poem, by Dr. Maya Angelou, called Amazing Peace: a Christmas Poem. It's hard to choose a favorite part, but here is a snippet:

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.  
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.  
Peace.  
Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.  
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,  
Implore you, to stay a while with us.
So we may learn by your shimmering light  
How to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.

-- Dr. Maya Angelou.

To read the entire poem I urge you to click on the link to Fran's excellent posting here.  Thank you Fran for this! I am using Angelou's perfect poem for Donna's Seasonal Celebrations at Garden's Eye View as we 'beckon this good season to wait a while with us.'

Wishing peace to all my gardening friends,

Pamela x 

Sled's ready; where's the snow?

Hoe, hoe, hoe.

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