So someone sent me a pair of "bacon socks" this week LOL! It was another rainy day, last of the month, & I had to use up fuel points or lose them ($1.00 off/gallon). Seven gas cans - pretty darn heavy when full. I was limping up the steps after a trip to the gas station/all the heavy lifting & saw an Amazon package by the door - Amazon? I hadn't ordered anything from Amazon so what is going on? As soon as I opened it and saw the socks, I knew who had sent them to me - we'd had a conversation on 'all things bacon' last Saturday ... both the 'gross' (bacon-flavored lip balm, bacon flavored chocolate mix ... truly ghastly - this person gave me some a couple years ago) and the "cute" - bacon socks & bacon Band-Aids. I'm glad he got me socks - I'll wear them at Christmas ... toes/cuffs are red, so they'll be a conversation starter.
Garden news - nothing going on. I DID get out earlier in the week and assaulted/murdered our forsythia bushes. Well, they're hard to kill, but I did cut them back to 3-4 feet (from about 12 feet & totally overgrown) and hauled away 6-8 trailer loads of branches. The bushes were so overgrown, I couldn't get around them with the mower in places and they were growing into each other (despite being planted about 15 feet apart) and some Crape Myrtle trees. Mom had been "snipping" them into a rounded shape - every place she snipped had grown 4-8 more little branches - then she'd snip the next year & that sprouted, so the bushes were nothing but these little "baskets" of branches sprouting - it was a MESS. All gone ... probably no flowers next spring, but I'll be curious to see what the bushes do. The Brown Turkey Fig is next, but I did look at a couple of videos on how to trim them up, so the bush should still be 'happy' when I'm done.
Looks like lots of "inside" time today .... one seed catalog from Pinetree Gardens to look through for the 100th time .... I'd love to order "one of each" LOL!
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Welcome Yule & the Winter Garden!
Gathering backyard botanicals for holiday decorations can connect us to age old traditions. Celebrations born of the season, and a long look back into the garden and forest floor. As we walk in our gardens at this time of year, the bones of the landscape are evident. We can see where to prune, and where we could improve on plantings in the year ahead.
Once December arrives, I bundle up, and head out with clippers and the intention to find greens to fill my urns, window boxes, and planters with the beauty of the season. Some days, I enjoy solitary time in nature. Other days, I find great pleasure in turning a walk with friends or family into an opportunity to collect botanicals. In the process, we engage in conversation about the environment and plants we share in common. As we walk in the crisp air, we collect treasures (nests, shells, seed pods, cones, herbs and fruit) to make wreaths into a celebration of place.
Since ancient times, the wreath has symbolized the wheel of life. When we make wreaths with loved ones, we bring nature indoors during the cold season, and create a token of our time together that brings a smile each time we enter that door.
After the holidays (Twelfth Night or January 6th in early tradition), I move my wreaths to trees along the edge of the woods. The fruits, seeds and berries turn wreaths into neighborhood bird feeders and places for nesting by spring. Similarly, I move my tree out into my yard, lights and all. The tree helps to illuminate the long winter nights. Over the holidays, I take time with kids to make peanut butter and bird seed pine cone ornaments that we can hang to bring the tree to life outside our windows.
Perhaps this is the year you could take a walk in nature with family and friends. Make your own wreaths from the special things you gather, and renew this ancient holiday tradition designed to engage us in the spirit of the season.
Here's one of my 'Wheel of Life' holiday wreaths
Lovely graphic!