"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it brings."

Friday, January 30, 2009

A little color on a gray day.

We're back to our pretty usual gray and wet winter here in the Pacific Northwest, although the sun did peek out for a few minutes yesterday.  I guess I really can't complain given the terrible weather part of the south and east are getting.  The gray weather can get a little depressing around here, but all in all we are luckier than a lot of other parts of the country, or world for that  matter. 
I was out in the yard with our dog for a bit yesterday and managed to find some color.
These mini daffodils have little buds showing.  Usually I have no luck with daffodils, all foliage and no flowers.  I was pretty happy to see that this spring I'll be seeing yellow.
Clematis armandii buds look as if they are starting to open.  I was worried there wouldn't be many flowers since I really cut it back last year.  I can never get it to grow along the fence like I want and see in other peoples yards.  It always becomes a tangled mess.
Some of the fish were out swimming.  These are a few Comets.  We also have red and white Sarassas, spotted Shubunkins and even a couple of small koi.  They stay pretty low this time of year, but once the sun is out they are pretty friendly.  They will follow us along as we walk past the pond waiting for us to feed them.  
Pin It

12 comments:

  1. Catherine,
    We are on the same wave length! I hate the browns and grays of winter. ANY color is appreciated. :-)I'll be back a little later to explore your blog more. For some crazy reason they actually expect me to work while I'm at my job. :-) Crazy employers! See you soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well the fish are colorful on that gray day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like those colors. My clematis vines get tangled, too. I try to tie them as they grow, but I get behind and have to guide and untangle them as much as I can. Some branches break, but they grow new ones. I think some attach better than others.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning Catherine ~ How wonderful to see color and new life sprouting on such a gray day. Pretty soon you'll be out playing in your gardens enjoying a lot more color.

    FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Catherine, Color is what I want too! Love the colors of the primrose and am wondering, what kind of bird is that in the first photo? It looks interesting from a distance, and like something we don't have around here.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the Primulas - they are one of my favourites. I too am clinging on to the optimism that the emerging bulbs bring.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such pretty colors-especially the comets. I used to have some but something made a good meal of them one late night. Broke my heart as I had had them for over two years:( I can't wait to see your Armandi in bloom. I tried it here but lost it. I think it wonderful though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jamie and Randy - Thanks for coming by. After seeing your color, mine seems a little blah. Wouldn't it be great to get paid for reading garden blogs?

    Tessa - They are so bright, and somehow they never get caught by the raccoons.

    Sue - thanks. Some people get their clematis to grow so nicely and drape just right. Mine usually gets away from me too until it's too late.

    Flower Lady - I can't wait for those days. I love daffodils and can't wait to see those little ones open.

    Jan - That bird is a dark eyed junco. They are a little drab in the winter but have more color during the summer. We have lots of them, they like to pick up scraps under the feeders and hide in the bushes. They aren't nuisance birds though. I like watching them hop around outside the window that my computer is in front of.

    patientgardener- Primulas are a favorite of mine too. These ones are in my daughters garden and doing the best of all.

    Tina - Those comets are the best. They sure have reproduced and luckily are fast swimmers since we get raccoons. Our first three we called the 3 amigos, and they have gotten pretty good size.

    ReplyDelete
  9. As a PNW-er too, I'm so grateful for our mild weather. This is why I live here. I'm a wuss. The primroses and pansy are lovely. I bet your girls love the fish.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It looks like a lot of color to me! Of course, there's nothing here. I haven't ever seen Clematis 'Armandii' in bloom. It looks interesting ~ I better check back and see! The only way I get my clematis vines to "behave" it to keep tying them. I wonder if that's what everyone else does??

    ReplyDelete
  11. Grace - really we are lucky aren't we? I don't know how people deal with ice storms and all that snow. My girls love feeding the fish, they eat right out of their hands.

    Kathleen - I will post pictures when this clematis blooms. It has a really nice scent to it also and is evergreen. I think you're right about the tying. They just don't seem to really grab hold of anything that we

    ReplyDelete
  12. You've got more color going on over there than I do! Your sweet primulas, I think mine went goodbye with the backyard redo. And the fish are great. Love the junco, looks so plump. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit and leave a comment. I try my very best to answer any questions you may have, but usually don't have time to respond to each comment. Please leave a link to your blog so I can visit you in return.