More reasons to love living in the south.

Winter here, is usually pretty mild.

We might get snow in January or February,

but it never lasts.

None so far this year.

What we do have right now is...

 Daffodils

My Sweet Husband found these blooming in the yard already.

Since we were expecting frost,

he brought them in for me.

Last year they bloomed in snow.

 Purple Pansies,

We planted pansies in the fall.

These always remind me of a song I learned in Sunday School.

The song was about "little purple pansies" being a drop of gladness.

They were my Mom's favorite flower.

Don't they just make you smile.

 Yellow Pansy

We have yellow pansies too.

They are quite hardy.

Our temperature got down around 20 degrees F the other night,

the pansies did not seem to mind.

Yellow and White Daffodil 

We also rehabilitated an old garden area in the front yard this fall.

I spent hours on my knees clearing the area.

Then I planted bulbs that had been uncovered by work in other areas of the yard.

There are only a few blooming so far,

but as you can see, well worth the effort.

I took this photo at twilight,

I love the way the late evening sun shines through it.

 New Garden Area

This is a view of the entire area.

I was not sure how well the bulbs would do as the tree in the center is a young oak.

Some plants will not grow under an oak.

 Mary in Camellias

We have three different types of Camellias.

Two are blooming right now.

I love the way this one seems to be blooming just for her.

 Large Camellia

 Smaller Camellia

This one is smaller and more like a rose.

One way to tell the difference,

Camellias have no perfume.

Another difference is in the plant and leaves.

These bushes are at least eight feet tall.

 Frost Bitten Camellia

We have not escaped winter,

Some camellias opened at the wrong time.

This one did not survive the cold.

 Frost Bitten Buds

Here are two of the smaller ones that did not make it.

 Camellia Buds Waiting to Open

Not to worry,

The bushes are still full of these.

Paper whites

Remember the Paper whites from the last post?

Here is a last view.

As you can see, the flowers are almost gone from this year.

We will plant them out in the new garden area out front with the daffodils.

Then we will have blooms again next year.

Hope your winter has plenty of bright moments so far,

and I hope your homes are as warm and happy

as mine is right now.

Cheers,

Kat