Friday, December 16, 2011

Blooming Friday ~ Delights in December


Delights in December are all in the details.

The beauty of frost forming a dipped-sugar pattern on rose leaves


and sunlight glinting off the ice so that it sparkles like diamonds.




The creek on our farm's boundary is a scene of light browns, taupes and grays

with some green here and there from mature loblolly pines and American
hollies such as this one, leaning over the creek as if to see its own reflection.

The lacy design of the bark of these young sycamores, which would probably go unnoticed in the lushness of spring and summer, commands admiration in winter when it glows in the late afternoon sun.


Indeed the most delightful thing in December have been the warm golden days we have experienced ~ today was warm enough for a short sleeve shirt. The sunlight transforms what would be rather drab

(as you can see I have been mulching some of the beds
with hay for winter, and I'm not yet done cutting some things back
)


into something enchantingly beautiful. What could be more delightful?




The sun lights up the leaves of the rugosas, making them glow bright green, gold and pink



and sets the bright scarlet foliage of Rosa arkansana


and Rosa virginiana on fire.


The Oakleaf Hydrangea east of the house is still covered in burgundy and crimson leaves. The ones north of the house are still mostly green and will change even later unless they freeze first, which they often do.



The Japanese Apricot tree is blooming, the flowers and their perfume drawn out by the sun's warmth.


They are so sweet.

Wishing you a delightful weekend. Join Katerina at roses and stuff for more Blooming Fridays.


22 comments:

  1. Sweetbay, you are an artist-gardener !
    Beautiful !!!
    Thank you, for sharing the delights of your december garden.
    Have a nice weekend.

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  2. Oh my, what breathtakingly beautiful pictures for this time of year. There is no frost down here so I really enjoy those pictures. My favorite is the last one of the Japanese Apricot tree blooms. Wow.

    Have a lovely weekend and a great Christmas week.

    FlowerLady

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  3. I love the stillness on a frosty morning.

    The rosa virginiana foliage is superb.

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  4. Swetbay,

    The roses leaves are so beautiful, thanks for sharing them. I have seen an apricot blooming in Durham already too. Yesterday I noticed maples in full bloom in Hillsborough.

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  5. Lovely colors in your rosa vir. Sweetbay, and I too love the gracefulness of seed heads. I am floor by your BLOOMING Japanese apricot the most! Gorgeous!!

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  6. Enchanting is certainly the right word. Great color, great photos, especially the creek..

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  7. Just lovely!!! I really like the close up pictures of your pretty leaves!!!

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  8. Enchanting are the scenes and brought to life in your beautiful photography. I feel like I can reach out and smell the Japanese apricot. It might be an overused cliche in the blogosphere, but thank you so much for sharing.

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  9. Spectacular photos, Sweetbay. I could hear the quiet.

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  10. WOW! Tose frosty pictures are fabulous. The one of the creek is absolutely stunning! You are an artist...

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  11. Absolutely delightful<3 Thank you for the wonderful garden tour.

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  12. Splendid! I love the garden all frosted over and sleepy by winter.
    Joyeuses fêtes de Noël à vous!!

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  13. omg, I KNEW I could count on you to have some blooms! Those first frost photos are gorgeous but I really needed to see something different and your apricot tree is perfect. Just beautiful. Glad somewhere in the country there is something alive and beautiful and BLOOMING!! Want to house swap for Christmas??!! :-)

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  14. The frost photos are beautiful. I'll bet you have to get up early to capture frost before it melts.

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  15. Very lovely December blooms.
    I too appreciate the way the frost outlines the details. Seeing your Japanese Apricot tree in bloom amazed me!
    Happy Christmas,
    Sherry

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  16. Gorgeous colours! I love the oakleaf hydrangea. Wow, so nice to see your garden glowing. :)

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  17. Delightful indeed! The frost-covered plants caught my eye, then the beautiful creek, then the gorgeous colors of the hydrangeas--they're all stunning! Winter is anything but drab in your garden.

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  18. Those frosty photos are just stunning!

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  19. I enjoyed your pictures of frosty leaves so much! I miss snow... I have tried to catch the sun glistening on frost or raindrops many times but my pictures have not turned out as beautiful as yours. What a great gift you have of seeing beauty in little things.

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  20. Such beautiful winter images. I always find the way frost sparkles in the sunlight magical. Love the Japanese Apricot tree! How great is it that it flowers in December. I was so impressed with it that I looked it up online, but as far as I can tell it is not hardy here. I sure wish it was though, it is stunning. Happy holdays to you Sweetbay and all the best for 2012!

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  21. The colors of these are just stunning and as always, your photography is just magnificent.
    Sending you wishes for a wonderful weekend!

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  22. How amazing to see frost and flowers in your post! What a lot of beauty you have around you!

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