This is my favorite holiday of the year. The light returns! A happy Winter Solstice to you. We can all agree that celebrating light is a wonderful thing.
My bedroom overlooks our rose bed, which has about fifteen rosebushes and is in front of the house. Lots of people walk by with their dogs, or just stroll by for a walk. So I am reluctant to cut any roses for bouquets, thus reducing the view for myself and passersby. But a big rain was forecast (finally!), so I cut most of them. Once it rains hard on roses, they don’t look so good for anyone, so best to bring them in.
If only you could smell them, so incredibly sweet! Homegrown roses smell the best.
The tomato yield has been super this year. I got them in our new raised beds in late May, which is early for tomatoes in Seattle. I thought it might be too early, but the soil warms up a bit faster in raised beds and I think that made a big difference. Also we had evenly beautiful weather this summer, the most beautiful summer I ever remember in the 20 years plus I’ve been here. I almost feel guilty since so many other places in the world had difficult weather, to say the least. But I have enjoyed the balmy, sunny days so much.
Early Girls (the bigger red ones) and lots of yellow pears. The darker burgundy-colored ones are very sweet. Plenty more coming up.
Some roses from my garden, with a few stems of lavender, on the first day of summer. The lavender is at the perfect stage for drying, before the individual florets have opened, but it works well in a bouquet, too. The peach one is Carding Mill, a David Austin rose.
Some garden friends got together and we made a bunch of these autumn decor cuties with sedum from our gardens, craft supplies like hot glue, and mini pumpkins. Super easy, super fun. We didn’t scoop and plant with dirt, just glued them on. Maybe some of the sedums will make it enough to be rooted later. Or not.
Some moss, dried cones, and colorful sedum make a beautiful fall decor piece. Doesn’t it look like a flower?
