When Will It Feel Like Winter

It's been a beautiful fall and you wouldn't know winter arrives next Sunday. Plants that should be dormant by now aren't. I haven't even burned wood yet. Maybe when winter arrives cool temperatures will come and stay till spring. One of the things I love best about the weather, is no large heating bill to heat the house yet. The heat does come on many nights because temperatures drop into the 30's and 40's but as the sun rises, so does the temperature. This fall I've gotten to feel how it might be living in a city where there is no traditional winter weather. With the arrival of winter, days start to get longer and I'm excited for the approaching gardening season as well as the Philadelphia Flower Show in March.

Today it was time to start decorating for Christmas. I'm late this year. Normally I start the day after Thanksgiving. Better now than not. Can't start doing anything yet until I get up the last of the fallen leaves. After cleaning the flower bed and bagging up leaves garland, the wreath, and some greens were added to my planter. All the while the smell of pine drew honey bees from some unknown hiding place. I don't think I've ever had bees buzzing around me in December.

Finally pulled the sweet potato vine and harvested several small potatoes. It should have been dead months ago. With luck I won't have to buy this type in the spring.

The poppy is unusually large for this time of year. 

The lambs ears are behaving like it's spring and doing better than I thought they would since they'd died down at the end of summer and I thought I'd loose the whole patch.

Periwinkle should not be blooming.

Glad to get rid of the kale. It was smelly.

I kept these in their pots and will pull them out in the spring to keep. I put too much green around them though and I can't see them in the planter.

Those pansies are showing out.

Now to start inside.

It's a long way from home in Virginia.

Blooming in the house. Can't believe I got her to bloom. It's a she, she's hot pink. A little heat, a little cold and blooms. I've had it for years and this is the first time it's bloomed since it's initial bloom when I purchased it.

Nothing like the traditional colored African violet.

One of 2 red amaryllis.

Got our tree today but it'll wait till tomorrow to get decorated. I'll show it to you later.

In the yard. Have to check on my bulbs. I didn't have enough chicken wire to cover all the bulbs and the squirrels knew. I will win this battle but I lost these bulbs.

Can't believe I forgot to plant the snowdrops and another type of lily. I made sure they won't be dug up until I can get some more chicken wire. They're a long way from home also.

That's a big pansy bloom. This is the first year I'm still in the yard doing thing. The weather has allowed this.