Gardening Joy in December

Hello Friends!

I hope you all had a PEACEful and JOYful Christmas and are now looking forward to a brand New Year waiting just around the corner; it's an empty page just waiting to be filled with joy, gratitude and new adventures ~~~

Now that the daily Christmas Countdown posts are over I am finding it strange not to be writing every day. I learned much about the Christmas season as I researched each new thread, and that is a joy in itself; also a joy is that I have renewed the habit of writing ~ although I did very little over Christmas and Boxing Day ~ I was given some pretty new note books for Christmas so some of my writing will be placed on those delicious new pages that are waiting to be filled with words ~~~

I had prepared everything in advance for the 25th so I was able to take a well earned "down day" and indulge myself in watching Christmas specials on television, reading new books, and colouring in with new supplies ~~~

Rarely have I been so blessed as to be continuing to garden in December! With the generally mild weather, over the last few days I have found things that defied the earlier December frost and just keep on bringing beauty in their small corners!  Despite the grey December days, the garden is still giving pretty spots of uplifting colour with Kaffir Lilies and Osteospermums! I am in awe over the way these delicate plants overcome the cold and frosty mornings as they continue well out of their seasons ~~~

The bright sugary pink of the Kaffir Lilies look amazing against the glaucous leaves of the Euphorbia plant ~~~

A single bold and bright yellow Marigold braves the chilly days ~~~

Delightful purple Osteospermums still flower ~~~

and a golden yellow rose blooms still ~~~

I am not as hardy as the plants so I wrap up warm and enjoy stolen moments, picking a few herbs from the herb garden {mostly rosemary, oregano, sage, and lemon balm} for cooking. The flavours aren't as strong this time of year, but it is such a treat to pick fresh ones as needed ~~~

There are still a few small piles of leaves and while no one is looking I let my inner child gleefully kick and crunch her way along! Soon, the frost will speed up the decay and next year there will be bags of delicious leaf mould for the borders.  The circle of life goes on ~~~

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo