I turned this Hellebore (H. orientalis) bloom up so I could get a good picture of the inside of it. This plant was a seedling from one of my original plants in my front yard. I shared pictures of the parent plants on my previous post. As I was crouched down taking pictures I noticed that this plant has seedlings underneath it. Pretty neat that I will have 3 generations of them in my yard.
Since most Hellebore flowers face the ground I just held my camera under and took a picture not knowing how it would turn out. I saw that there were several aphids hanging out inside the flower. They can be a problem with Hellebores, although it's usually mid summer that I start seeing them.
Some of our Primroses already have buds on them!
A Pansy in Sweet Pea's newly rearranged fairy garden.
Another Pansy in one of the deck planters. There are quite a few Pansies blooming in containers now.
I thought I would show what we were working on the last few weeks. The old tile had been there for probably 20 + years and was very outdated, ugly and cracked. The picture doesn't really capture the color of the tile or glass tiles very well, they are a bit more vibrant in person. Things I learned to do on this project: Demo the old shower, solder copper pipe (I mostly assisted on this, but I'm sure I could do it myself now), hang cement board, use thin set to set tiles and grout. I already have big plans to try and use my new soldering skills to make a copper trellis/obelisk this year.I have to keep reminding myself that it's still Winter and we can still have lots of cold weather, including snow, coming. For now I'll just enjoy these very early signs of Spring in the garden.
Visit Tootsie at Tootsie Time and see what other gardeners have blooming inside or outside now.
Visit Tootsie at Tootsie Time and see what other gardeners have blooming inside or outside now.
Wonderful! I actually saw snowdrops in bloom yesterday, made me swoon
ReplyDeleteI love pansies ...
ReplyDeleteYour hellebores and pansies are lovely, so is the opening primrose. Pansies always make me feel happy. Great tile job. It's something we've got coming up too.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend ~ FlowerLady
Hellebore and Primrose..2 of my favorites. So glad you are getting to enjoy yours for a while. The shower looks great. I tiled my kitchen floor but have not got up the nerve to tile my shower...scary!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to see signs of spring - you must have been delighted to see the hellebores open Catherine. I don't think that an aphid would dare show its face here as the garden is still covered in snow. Snap - we've just completed a bathroom refit too - similar colour tiles. You certainly have picked up more new skills than I did :)
ReplyDeleteYour winter flowers look wonderful Catherine!! What a fantastic job on the shower, I know you are glad that's finished!!
ReplyDeleteHow lucky you are to have this color in your garden when I am hiding out in the house from the freezing temps!
ReplyDeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteI am impressed. You are not only talented in the garden, but indoors as well :-). Although, I don't like aphids, I smiled when I saw yours because it shows how vibrant your garden is, even in the middle of winter.
Your plants are so pretty and colorful enough to make me long for Spring!
ReplyDeleteYour tile looks gorgeous.
Hope you have a nice weekend.
Wonderful to see spring flowers - that has cheered me up, by reminding me that spring will come even after all these days of snow we're having in UK.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, I was surprised to hear about the aphids. I expected that the cold would keep them at bay.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy those Primroses, they are beautiful.
The hellebore is great but the shower even more wonderful! It looks fabulous. I like the colors. We'll be doing our backsplash in the same glass tile but square tile-not the longer ones. But if I could find it I would. Great job on soldering and hanging cement board! I love it!
ReplyDeleteOh, you have so many beuties in bloom! My Hellebour only bloomed one day then the cold wether nd the snow arrived. Now they are all hidden under that white blanket. I do hope the buds won't get hurt. I love your new tile. It looks grate! Weel done! Of course you could have made it on your ow ;P I can, and have been doing it for a living. It's not as hard as the men says "lol"
ReplyDeleteNot fair. Not fair! Sniff. Boo hoo. I won't see any blooms outside other than frost flowers and snow balls of the snow kind til about late March. Seriously, though, this is wonderful, and gives me hope for spring finding us eventually.
ReplyDeleteHello
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inclusion in the Liste.Wenn I see the pictures I'm a little envious when we have snow and it is very cold -14 ° C. But I can not give me freuen.Die here at the beautiful flowers are the first always schönsten.Da I can not speak English, I translate it from google, I can hope it can be understood ..... Gruss Sandra
Hellebores have such delightful faces and last so long being bracts. You are looking so spring like compared with us in snow lain England.
ReplyDeleteGlad the bathroom is finished.
Oh my goodness, Catherine, the hellebores had my excited, and the primrose, but the tile job blew me away! I can't wait to see that copper art you make! :-)
ReplyDeleteFrances
Oh, look at all those hellebores in the last post and this one! Good job on the tile project. My goal this month was to get some painting done that has been on the to do list for a long time. So far the 2 maroon basement walls have been painted sandy-cream (4 coats needed), and the stairwell and landing to the basement have had a quick touchup coat. Now on to the pale yellow paint in the nursery . . .
ReplyDeleteYou REALLY DO have flowers blooming all year long don't you! That is so great!!!
ReplyDeleteI need to go look at my Hellebores and see if it's still there. It finally got pretty this last year and now I haven't seen any sign of it. Hmmmmmm . . .
Hey your bathroom looks great. Wanna come and do mine now that you have it down pat? We did Bob's first when we bought the place cause it had some dry rot and mine is the one everyone uses and sees - boy is it uggy!!! Yellow, brown and then I added wine and green. LOL We'll get to it some day. The place was such a fixer upper we've just had a lot to do.
Anyway I love that your gardens are still full of blooms. My little winter pansies haven't started blooming again since the freezes we had. Cross your fingers!
How nice to see the Hellebore blooms Catherine.
ReplyDeleteYou guys did a fantastic job on your shower. Don't you just love having projects completed?
I just finished painting our guest bedroom. So glad that's over.
What gorgeous blooms! I especially like the unexpected shot under the hellebore. The primrose is just lovely. :)
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful blooms. Don't think my hellebores are even considering blooming yet. I love the tiles, & chose the same faucet set for my shower. Good job!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful colours in the pansies! Nice!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you can have flowers in bloom this time of year!
ReplyDeleteDo you get much rain or clouds? I have always heard that your part of the country doesn't get many sunny days. Is this true?
Pansies are sweet! I just love the shots of your hellebore. We did a tile re-do last year, it is a nice border you added.
ReplyDeleteRosey
Lucky you having something in flower, I am wondering what I am going to show on GBBD. Not heard of Fertiliser Friday before sounds intriguing
ReplyDeleteCatherine your tiling work turned out just so pretty.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love seeing the primroses blooming already.
Everything here is under a foot of snow now. I walked out in my boots to get pictures and came back with them filled with snow.Yuck! LOL!
Great job on the shower, Catherine- it is inspiring to me because I may be taking on a project very similar soon. I have to get the outside of the house up and running first, before taking on the inside (which is functional, but outdated). The first work we did on our old house was opening up the attic and building 2 rooms in the basement! Then it was on to Venetian plaster on the walls in the dining room- this house is much different :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder that I want Hellebores in my garden...they should do okay here (in Redmond), I hope!
Wow! How lovely to see the first bloom of Hellebore! That such beauty would humbly bend over is a mystery. You are so lucky!! Gosh what a long growing season you have Catherine. Lovely photos!
ReplyDeleteOh what a pretty blog you have this is my first visit! I'm a new follower now. Love the picture in your header...I adore hummingbirds! Your pictures are so pretty..wish I had something blooming in my yard now! Thanks for visiting! Sonia/Miss Bloomers
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine, what a lovely post. I enjoyed seeing the hellebores, I just love them and the pansies and primula. We have had temperatures of -8 at least for the past 3 weeks and we're all fed up with it. Goodness knows how many plants we'll lose. Ireland usually has very mild winters.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
BT
xx
You are a jack-of-all-trades Catherine. I love it. I wish someone would show me how to do these things! Isn't the cement board heavy?? I can't imagine lifting it. I love your colors ~ very updated. I think I put that same shower head in my master bath! Congrats on doing such a terrific job. You must feel good about having it all done.
ReplyDeleteNow, to the flowers. I want to move there. boo hoo. So amazing you have all those beautiful blooms the first week of January! The hellebores are fabulous. I planted four last year (after seeing them on everyones blogs) but I'm sure it will be quite a while before I see any blooms. The primrose bud looks pretty too. I planted a couple new varieties of those last year as well and now you have me anxious to see if they make it thru the winter.
I love the pansies, especially the one with yellow and rose colors. The tiling looks beautiful. Can't wait to see the copper trellis this spring -- copper makes such an interesting addition in the garden.
ReplyDeletePansies are wonderful, aren't they? One of my all time favorites.
ReplyDeleteThat shower looks amazing, I love the glass tile. Looks like you've been busy!
The Hellebores are great! I can't believe that they are blooming already...we are later.
ReplyDeleteI love primroses, I am like a kid in the candy store with all the fun colors. Hard to chose just one.
Demolition and tiling, you rock!! Love the glass tile.
Hi Catherine, These photos are great!
ReplyDeleteYour pansies are stunning. You astonish me with the tasks you do! All the best with your projects!
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is "wow"....your plants AND your photography. B : )
ReplyDeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see these early bloomers, and what color!! And, how lovely to have three generations of Hellebores. I love the Pansies. Your tile is beautiful, and I look forward to seeing your future copper projects.
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteThe hellebore is very cool, we have only one even looking to bloom so far, but it is in the teens out there right now.
Awesome shower project. I did two of them in our house a lot of work I must say.
Good morning Catherine, oh heleboros are the joy of winter!!! a beautiful white one.
ReplyDeleteNice bathroom redo.
Muchos cariños,
Maria Cecilia
So lucky to have colors in your garden in such a snowy weather :)
ReplyDeleteI have to say I love the pansies. The colors so vivid and wonderful
ReplyDeleteWow, woman, you got your torch on! Awesome. I am such a lame-o with house projects, I am always so impressed with people who just roll up their sleeves and get 'er done. The glass tile looks great! My first hellebores are budding out but not open yet, and I notice something has been chewing on them. Wonder if it's aphids? Shouldn't they be dormant at this time of year? Yuck! Hope they leave your flowers alone!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the beautiful flower shots. I started at the bathroom picture. We just redid our bathrooms and used the same glass tile! You're right, the picture doesn't do it justice. Everyone loves that tile. We even did it in the same band, and actually the shower looks very similar too.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten very behind in my blogging. I'm glad I made it to see your hellebore. I am so excited to see if mine bloom this year. I just want spring to get here soon!
ReplyDeleteYour work around the tub is fantastic! You guys are so handy inside and out!