The seed-heads of Poppy and Honesty, now void of seeds, but perfect for winter displays.
I have harvested all the seeds and am packing them up for distribution across the world…especially for the bees, but also for their extraordinary beauty, even when dried!
Dried Chillies, ready for packing into containers and storing in the pantry…an effortless way to store food!
And outside, in the gardens this morning, the colours of winter deepen as the mists continue their journey from the lough.
Nature’s baubles decorate the bare trees…
The mild, early winter creates a feast of chocolate scented berries, for the Blackbird, on the Leycestria Formosa…early mornings can be noisy, as birds squabble over this winter feast!
This old bread tin, bought in a Charity shop in Belfast last month, is ready to be packed with seeds, saved at Bealtaine Cottage…a perfect container for this purpose!
Potager beds continue to hoard food in this little micro-climate area at the back of the cottage.
Vibrant red dogwood splashes colour here and there, making winter as joyous an occasion in the gardens as any other season!
Midwinter, on the 21st of December, is a lovely time to be with loved ones and celebrate!
This year will be easy to gather, as the 21st falls on a Saturday…
I had arranged a get-together for the Sunday, 22nd, but…The Midwinter Gathering is transferred to a closer date…all on the list have been contacted and there’s sure to be some great fun on the day!
Enjoy your Gathering!
Blessings X
Your gardens still look wonderful with all the hues of color. Our trees have shed all of their leaves and everything is dull gray after having had several rather severe frosts. We currently are blanketed with a layer of snow as a result of living in the lee of the Great Lakes; a phenomenon which can pop-up daily and leave us with several inches of snow in a short period of time. The jet stream comes down from Canada and across the warmer water of the Lakes and sends great bands of snow across the boarding states. Our winters have been without much snow as of late and relatively warm, but it could all change… I hope that all of my herbs will survive the winter in their pots lined up along the foundation of the house. Do you have lovage seed available? I wasn’t able to get it to grow last year, but would like to try again. I so wish I could get to Ireland…I would like to see your gardens and to meet you. I really think we would have a great deal in common. bj
It sounds as though the winters are rather unpredictable…Ireland has gone that way over recent years. The weather is so mild here at present that the temperature indoors and out can be equal at times!
I’m afraid Lovage seed wasn’t saved this year! You are welcome to visit when in Ireland…of course!
Blessings
Colette
I really like the idea of getting greens off the top of the turnip. I’m going to give it a try. By the way, we Americans call the turnip (or swede) ‘rutabaga’, though I have to say I’m from Virginia and I never, ever even saw one before i moved to Ireland. They probably grow them in places like New England where the weather is a bit cooler.
Sounds very exotic…I wonder where that word emanated from?
Yes, we grow them in New England…but we call them turnips.☺️
Ah…the humble Turnip! 🙂
I have my mum’s old bread bin. I remember as a child, the baker coming to the back door with a big basket over his arm. We always had three tin loaves which could just about be squashed into the bread bin. Looking back, I don’t know why he had so many loaves in the basket, when our order was always the same.
This could be the beginning of a wonderful short story…
Loved the bread box. And red dogwood. Dogwood trees bring do much joy in fall and spring. What is a swede? Sue
Womenlivinglifeafter50.com
In Ireland they’re called Turnip and in England, Swede. A yellow fleshed root vegetable, round and delicious mashed with butter!
Thank you. I love turnips. My grandmother Mamie cooked them with potatoes and green beans. So good. Sue
Womenlivinglifeafter50.com
Nothing tops home-cooked food, simply presented!
Hi,
such wonderful pictures. I love the little bouquet with seed heads.
That bread tin is so nice and a great place to keep the seeds.
Have a magical day !!
Blessings to you, Moncha X
Happy Thanksgiving! Isn’t this interesting?
Enjoy your festivities X