Follow-Up Friday: Christmas Card Day

Due to a number of circumstances, the last time that I was able to post an entry here on Blogger was December 8th 2016 and I'm glad to be back! In any event, last Friday, December the 9th, was a holiday known as Christmas Card Day and I'm sorry to be telling you about it one week after the occurrence! But since Christmas is ten days from now, it is certainly not too late to do something about Christmas cards!

Is Spring of 2013 FINALLY, FINALLY springing? (PART FIVE of FIVE) ASK THE PLANTS, ORNAMENTAL GRASSES and a few FLOWERS!

MAC, A MALE CARDINAL

April showers woke-up Ajuga flowers! These are the light purple ones seen here where they "live" with my Crocuses in the "home" of my Actinida kolomikta and Actimida (Kiwi Vines). They are all thrilled to have Cam's beau alight on their "home," especially this morning when the crocuses and ajuga are scheduled to be some of the "things" featured in today's post: part five of my series (which I introduced this past Friday on Blogger) where the things I grow are assisting me in answering the question: Is Spring of 2013 FINALLY, FINLLY springing?

Both the ajuga and the crocuses share the "limelight" today with my plants (Farfugium japonicum AKA 'Cristata', Creeping Jenny, and my Pyracantha coccinea AKA Orange Charmer Firethorn), as well as my ornamental grasses (The Hakanechola Macra Twins AKA Japanese Forest Grass All Gold and my Ophipogon planiscapus Triplets AKA Black Mondo Grass).

The First Day of Fall in 2012: It is the "BEST of TIMES" (AND) it is the "WORST of TIMES . . . "

September 2011

Second Tuesday in September 2012

Third Thursday in September 2012

Today, September 22nd 2012, is "offically" the first day of autumn; and I'm spending it in the throes of the upheaval in my rooftop garden (located in NYC) an upheaval that has interrupted my life, as well as the lives of the 80+ things which I grow here, and the lives of the occasional bee, loner cardinal (who I've now named Cam), and Cam's entourage of House finches, Mourning doves and House sparrows.

The disruption has thrown my Blogger posting schedule off a bit; and I apologize if you visited me here on days I've agreed to post only to find nothing new; but, as you read along, I'm sure you will realize why this occurred, for, as you know, under most circumstances I keep a schedule I've committed to!

Be that as it may, you my recall that in my last entry here on Blogger, which was Friday, September the Fourteenth, I posted an entry where I discussed a few of the things which I had lost in my garden due to their dying or their need to be relocated.

"But I was thinking of a plan to dye one's whiskers green . . .

. . . And always use so dark a fan

That they could not be seen . . ,"

The flowers on my Lavandula angustifolia (English Lavender), an herb which grows in my urban (New York City) terrace garden, have turned a brilliant indigo, as evidenced in the photograph above today's blog entry. My English Lavender is so pleased by this brilliant color that it seemed he wanted to befriend one of the grasses in my garden, and so he stretched his arms waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out so they nearly touched the delicate flowers that are still growing on my exquisite Hakanechola Macra AKA Japanese Forest Grass All Gold, which is the ornamental grass featured in the right hand corner of the image posted above. As my normally mild mannered Lavandula angustifolia tried to touch the tips of my Hakanechola Macra, I heard him recite, "But I was thinking of a plan to dye one's whiskers green. And always use so dark a fan That they could not be seen."

"There is no blue without yellow and orange." Insights & Controversy Regarding the Color Yellow PART TWO

And now . . . continued from 
Part One RE: 11:11 AM's  post:

Neither my Actinida kolomikta and Actimida (kiwi vines) or my ornamental grass which is a Hakanechola Macra variety (AKA Japanese Forest Grass All Gold) seemed to be this upset last year when this color change occurred and, therefore, their mood was a bit of a mystery to me. It was not until one of my still thriving yellow Tropaelum majus (seen below but nearly off camera to the left of its "family" in a group shot which was taken this past Thursday in my rooftop garden) and following  this are a few images of a lone Tropaelum majus flower.

According to my Tropaelum majus — who gets its "common" name, Nasturtium, from the references to "nose-twister" and "nose-tweaker" (hence no surprise that it's nosey) — it seems, that has it come to the attention of my Actinida kolomikta, Actimida and Hakanechola Macra that the painter Edgar Degas, once said, "What a horrible thing yellow is"!

My Tropaelum majus believes it was my Actinida kolomikta, Actimida and Hakanechola Macra's hearing Degas's opinons regarding the color yellow was devastating for them. I think highly of my Tropaelum majus, [as evidenced by the what I have posted about it on TLLG as well as nybg's (New York Botanical Garden) tumblr (which you may refer to by clicking here).

Evidently, not only did my Actinida kolomikta, Actimida and Hakanechola Macra concur on their admiration for Degas' paintings, but, they were in awe of his statue,  Little Dancer of Fourteen Years.  (Stay tuned for PART TWO AND THREE).

"There is no blue without yellow and orange." Insights & Controversy Regarding the Color Yellow PART ONE

Today has the unusual "feature" in having the date of 11-11-11 and in honor of that, today's posting will not be my new "feature" of having Friday being Follow-Up Friday (mentioned here), but instead I have three parts (one for each eleven). Part One is being published at 11:11 AM, Part Two is being published at 1:11 PM, and Part Three at 11:11 PM.

The setting or scene for this three-parter is evident in the image posted above, which is an aerial (partial) view of my rooftop garden (in NYC) and it is what is featured in the image at the top of part one of today's blog entry. 

This image was recently posted on both facebook and nybg's (New York Botantical Garden) tumblr, and it was taken by Juan V this past Tuesday. To the right of his photograph, you can see my Actinida kolomikta and Actimida AKA Kiwi Vines, and in the lower lefthand corner of the picture, you can see my ornamental grass known as Hakanechola Macra AKA Japanese Forest Grass All Gold. They are the protagonists in this three part blog entry for this And now, "11, 12, 13" weekend. And now, without furthur ado, I give you PART ONE:

On Not Being "Eye-Candy" for Halloween

If you have followed this blog, then you have probably surmised from a number of my previous blog posts which you may refer to by clicking here as well as here and here, I am a MUTTS (the name of this comic strip) fan, and I highly encourage you to follow it regularly. If it is not available in your local newspaper, you can always catch it by clicking here.

Like a few of Mutt's characters, Earl and Mooch, a couple of the things which I grow in my urban (New York City) terrace garden, have been noticing happy faced Halloween pumpkins, and they too have been wondering, What's so funny? For example take my Rose, Tropaelum majus (Nasturtium), Hakanechola Macra (Japanese Forest Grass All Gold), and my Strawberry plants, all in close proximity of the Halloween pumpkins that are currently in my garden as seen in the photograph posted below:

One of them (ahem) my yellow rose, became disgruntled the other day when she realized that the New York Botanical Gardens  (NYBG) had posted a photograph of a pink rose with raindrop kissed petals and labeled it as one of their selections for "Morning Eye Candy" and she took it upon herself to post her response on their blog! (Please click here to read it, although you may have to scroll a bit, but you'll recognize her picture immediately as it looks very much like the one of her which is posted below):

In any event, my feisty yellow rose (who also posted on my blog this past May in an entry that you may refer to by clicking here), was taken aback that other roses have been referred to as "Morning Eye Candy" by NYBG, AND, that is why my pumpkins are laughing. 

If  there's one thing pumpkins know about (because of their presence at Halloween), it's candy, and evidently they do not perceive the term "Eye Candy" to be complimentary. But then my pumpkins are vey well read,and so they laughed and laughed when they told my yellow rose the definition of "Eye Candy"; and I'll quote what they told her (and you can check their source by clicking here) as I was nosey and eavesdropped.

Singing in the Rain: The Flowers are Singing Praises for April's Showers (ahem, April's Downpours)

Tomorrow marks the end of the thirty days of this "so-called" cruelest month of April (alluded to in a previous post that can be seen by going here), and, it has been a cold and rainy one in New York City, where I live and have an urban garden on my terrace. 

Thankfully, with the help of April's rain, my flowers are singing; a sentiment appreciated and expressed by Mutts (in the comic strip posted above this blog entry). If you listen closely, the songs of the flowers might even be heard by you, dear reader, as you view my garden photos below:

TULIPS

As you can see, my white tulip (that I discussed in a blog entry this past Tuesday), has been joined by a friend, clothed in purple. I did not guess the color properly from looking at their tips (as you my recall from that post which you may click here to read if you'd like to refresh your memory or just to take a second look at the tulip's tips before they opened), but I am overjoyed by its magnificent presence.

Honoring the Season of Feasts with Hakonechola Macra (Japanese Forest Grass)

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent, a season that began on November 28th 2010.  Dennis Bratcher writes,"the fourth candle of the advent wreath is lit on this day and the light of these candles reminds Christian believers that Jesus is the light of the world — the light that comes into the darkness of people's lives to bring newness, life and hope. It also reminds people that they are called to bring light into the world, and to reflect this grace to others. The progression in the lighting of the Advent candles symbolizes the aspects of waiting, as the candles are lit during the four week period, it also symbolizes the darkness of fear and hopelessness receding as more and more light is shed into the world." Even though I have done volunteer work by bringing Holy Communion to the homebound every Sunday, as well as special feast days, for the past five years, I confess I still struggle with having the faith Bratcher describes.