FRIDAY'S FLOWERS

We woke up to snow on the ground this morning.
It's our first for the season,
so we can't complain.
Everything outside is frozen, in hiding or underground,
and for a gardener that can be sad times.

Lucky for me there are blooms inside!

The Amaryllis my neighbor have me for Christmas
is just now starting to peak out.

Downstairs the violets are blooming as well.

The pink ones are in their glory.

My guest bedroom has a little pot of paperwhites
that opened up two days ago.

And in my sitting room...
something to make me smile.

Happy Gardening!

GIFTS OF THE SEASON

The Christmas Tree

Mistletoe

Pine Tree

Cranberry


Kalanchoe

Holly

Christmas Cactus

White Poinsettia

Red Poinsettia

The Evergreen

Amaryllis

Rosemary

Paperwhite


Nature's Christmas gift to us,

and all favorites of mine.

Happy Gardening

and

Merry Christmas

*

I'm linking this post with Laurie @

My Favorite Things Saturday
Party

THE CHRISTMAS TREES OF BUTTERMILK COTTAGE

Five years ago my sister and I purchased this home.

We call it Buttermilk Cottage.

She resides on the ground floor

and I nest upstairs.

We both like to decorate so Christmas

is a favorite time of year.

Susan and I have different styles and having our own

space is important to us.

Step onto the front porch

and meet our first tree.

It's an artificial tree that has been embellished with boughs

or real evergreen.

I'm the outdoor girl and a nature lover,

this tree is my creation.

I've decorated it with things I've pulled from the

garden such as twig baskets and small tin birdhouses.

I also added some handmade ornaments I made from

paper, ink and yarn.


When you step into the living room, you see Susan's first tree.
We are all about theme trees here at Buttermilk Cottage.
This tree is home to all of Susan's sheep ornaments.


She is a big knitter and has been collecting sheep ornaments for
many many years.

This tree is adorned with all things knit related, like this knitting Santa.


Enter the dining room, you'll see Susan's second collection of
specialty ornaments. This is her "Santa on Animals" tree.


Reindeer is not the only animal Santa loves to ride.


Again this collection has happened through the years.

Down the dining room table a grouping of small trees

in my grandmothers pots. You can read about it here.

In the kitchen, it's the Kitchen Tree.

Sweet things with a kitchen theme.

Atop the tree sits the chef himself.

Upstairs now, this is our fairy tree.

My niece's tree.

My space takes on a little different look. I told you I was the

nature girl and so my rooms have that look.

Three simple green trees in my white pitchers.

I'm a gardener and must bring in many of my plants to winter.

With that much green I don't have much space to add a tree.

I have done a Cat Theme tree for many years but now that I have

a yard and garden my taste have changed.

Now I usually just have real green things around like these

beautiful paperwhites.

This week I'm linking with

Between Naps on the Porch's

Deck the Halls

Savvy Southern Style's

Boring to Better

Shabby Cottage Chic's

Transformation Thursday

My Romantic Home's

Show and Tell Friday

French Country Cottage

Feathered Nest Holiday Time


Please be sure to visit these lovely sights.

IT'S PAPERWHITE TIME

Paperwhites are by far one of my favorite things about

the holiday season.

Does anyone else get excited about planting Paperwhites

at Christmas time? I absolutely love them.

I love their delicate look, and

I love their heavenly aroma.

I picked up this bag of twenty five bulbs at Sam's Club last week for

about twelve dollars.

Any container will do for paperwhites.
I prefer a tall glass vase
to show off their great root system
and to support their stems and leaves.



Your can plant paperwhites in potting soil or do what I do
and use river rocks.
You can get them at any crafting center.
I picked this bag up at Walmart for
four dollars.



We are decorating Early here at Buttermilk Cottage. This year
we are once again hosting The Fiber Arts Show and Sale
one week before Thanksgiving.
You can read about the show here.


The instructions on the box said the flowers would bloom
in about six weeks. I've found through experience, in my sunny
room, they only take about three and a half.
They're at their peek at five and
fading by week number six.




I like to start a second and sometimes a third batch week
after week to have them blooming all during
the holiday season.




Here's a peek at mine after the first week.
It's just about time to get batch number two
into the water.

I will be linking with Cindy at
My Romantic Home
for her Show and Tell
party.
and

French Country Cottage's

Feathered Nest Fridays

Happy Gardening everyone.