The Name Of The Plant

The little lost plant in flower is a Kalancoe, a member of the succulent family.It has nice thick rounded green leaves, and many terminal stems with masses of flower buds.
I hope my kitchen will keep the plant happy and induce it to flower lots.
The gritting trucks were out last night as it was forecast to be below freezing.The lost plant is snug as a bug in a rug!
New Years Eve is nearly upon us again. It has been a busy year for Snappys Gardens Blog with the garden, allotment, plant stall, Flower shows, and occasional trips to Harlow Carr.
The blog has become part journal, part educational, part photographic record, and a place to ponder gardening questions, and identify mystery plants.
The impending new year makes me look forward to making the garden more beautiful, and back as i remember the many things i have grown or tried to grow. I hope that 2009 is as good as 2008, and that the healing, magical garden inspires me to write, and for people to read, and comment when they feel moved.
Even in the cold and dark winter I feel compelled to look for interesting subjects to write about or to photograph. Nature has infinite amounts of colour and wander for me to write about.
Cat showed me how to make paper seed pots with my paper potter. It uses newspapers cut into long strips to make an eco friendly container to start seedlings off in.
That will be one of my first experiments to see if the newspaper pots work. Now I need to open my chocolate tins (one tin has flower seeds, the other tin has vegetable seeds), to see which seeds to try and the time to read seed brochures to plan next years flowers.

Little Lost Plant

I rescued this plan from the roadside by the garage near my house. I was walking back when I saw it fallen by the pavement, all frozen and potless.
I repotted it, and put in inside my kitchen where it will hopefully keep flowering with its little pink rose like flowers.
Where there is a limited pallette in the garden in December these house plants can bring you some colour.
I will remember the name of the plant eventually, but it eludes me this early in the morning...
Only two days left left in 2008 now. I went to Hil's for dinner last night and came back with some Giant Pumpkin seeds to try to grow at the allotment in 2009!
I was alsp given two bags of Red and White Onion sets too. I will go to the allotment on Wednesday to do some digging over of my borders.
I am thinking ahead to the end of March already for planting.

Garden Gifts And Hyacinths

My first day off in six days and im blogging. I cleaned the house up and replenished the bird food in the garden.They were flying in today to eat the bird seed, sunflower hearts, peanuts, and fatballs..
These Hyacinths are starting to form the flowers in the centre of the very bright leaves. These started growing in a dark cupboard without soil or water.They know when they are ready to grow!
I got some gardening gifts for Xmas. A newspaper recycling paper potter which i still dont know how to use! (to make seed pots for the spring), A musical egg that opens to reveal a robin that sings theres no place like home, and a book about Royal gardens in Britain.
I got a white furry Cactus complete with xmas ribbon glued to the pot. Mum sent me some Bird Of Paradise seeds to try and grow.
In the cold grey days its good to see plants growing, reminding us that Spring is a few months away!
I even watched the Queens speech on the BBC i player last night.It a part of xmas as much as holly, xmas tree's and turkey dinner!

Xmas Day 2008

A short post on Xmas Day..Merry Xmas to you all!

Xmas Eve

Its Christmas Eve...not long before it is Christmas Day.I hope that all your Xmas's are happy and that you get some nice garden presents...
Happy Xmas from the snappy gardener.

Persian Jewel

Three days before Xmas now. Where does time go?I spent a weekend at Cats watching films and chilling out after the stresses of work.
We watched White Xmas (Vermont, it supposed to be lovely this time of year...), and the King And I.
This pink Cyclamen is very Christmassy, along with Poinsettias, Holly, and Misletoe.
Im working the next five days including xmas day but I should still find time to blog.
I think its too mild here for snow, but would love to know where in the world does it snow on Christmas Day?
I hope you have all finished buying presents, decorated your houses and Tree's, and are ready for Xmas 2008..

Viburnums Time

How quick does a year pass? These Viburnum flowers were in flower last year when I moved in. Despite several scalpings of the Huge Viburnum bush it continues to flower its head off.
I love the three stages of this plant. The pink flower buds, the fragrant white flowers, and finally the blue/black berrys that the Blackbirds like to eat.
I have given away a baby plant to Fran, and have one flowering in a pot.
It just needs attention to keep it from growing all over the plants that are beneath it.
The pinks and whites are very cheery though in an almost bare garden.
It would make the ghostly gardener smile that his planted Viburnum continues to flower away year after year.