Somehow it’s already the Winter Solstice and when you’re focused on making it through the busy weeks before Christmas these things can sneak up on you. Not that the timing changes much from year to year, but with all eyes focused on food and gifts and vacation plans, this celestial switch from shortening days to lengthening ones can slip by. Winter has a timer running now, and although here we are plunging into a few days of cold again, on this longest night of the year we start climbing back out of this winter darkness.
Just a few days ago ‘Faringdon Double’ was just beginning to nose up. A couple days of warm weather later and he’s been tricked into bloom. We will see how he holds up to the cold.
On the plus side the warm weather thawed the soil and allowed me to plant the last couple hundred tulips which have been sitting in the garage. The garlic should have also gone in as well, but maybe eating it isn’t the worst solution along with a year off from garlic growing and buying a few new cloves for planting next fall. Who says that just because you can, you must?
The arriving cold brought more snow than expected which should act as a decent cover for all the autumn/winter snowdrops already in growth. This is ‘Potter’s Prelude’ in case your ID skills are iffy 😉
Actually I use the ‘because I can’ logic all the time, so maybe during our likely January thaw they will still get planted… or not… since there’s always plenty of other things which need doing around here, like things which flood the basement with water and need unplugging and cleaning up, which fortunately didn’t happen on Christmas Eve but there’s still time.
Also, since this blog rarely offers useful or timely information I guess now might be a good chance to point out that there’s still time to blow on an ember or throw gasoline on the flames of obsession, if those flames are for snowdrops. One of the first, and one of the longest running purveyors of named snowdrops in the US, Mr Hitch Lyman, should be sending out his list during the first days of the new year. You can’t request it online and you can’t dilly dally since once the list goes out it sells out, so dust off that stationary and get a note off to him asap if you want your own copy.
Mr Hitch Lyman, Box 591, Trumansburg NY 14886. Years ago I believe $2 or $3 was added to cover the cost, but I’d play it safe with $5 these days, and in my opinion the art and the read are worth it even if you don’t fall for the drops. I may be biased of course.
The front porch is ready for the longest night. A few more inches of snow have fallen since and it looks absolutely seasonal now.
I apologize for again drifting into snowdrops but another timely note is that the date for this year’s Galanthus Gala has been set. Snowdroppers from near and far will be descending upon Downingtown Pa Saturday, March 1st for a day of lectures, sales, and camaraderie. There will still be ups and downs this winter, but the date will be here before we know it, and what better promise on this longest night than the promise of a new season and a Gala. Of course I’ll mention it again once tickets go on sale. I’m sure you would expect no less from someone who does tend to go on far too long about those little white flowers.
Enjoy. If it’s cold where you are, I hope for warmth, and if you’re ramping up for celebrations I wish you a blessed holiday season.
**Hopefully no one is too upset that the longest night was actually the Friday night before the solstice, but I started the post yesterday and just didn’t feel like changing everything today 😉
sorta like suburbia 
An impressive number of tulips not to have planted, and also now to have remedied that situation. A lovely porch as well, and a fun read overall. Were one to quibble (and who would do such a thing, certainly not me, but there are quibblers, and shouldn’t all voices be heard before we dismiss them as the annoyances they may well be?), then perhaps one might say that in your eagerness to get to the March Galanthus Gala, you have moved the Solstice of 2024 a few days in to next year? A harmless mis-statement, of course, but as one all too aware of the hot breath of Time upon my neck, it must be pointed out. May you and your wonderful plants have a Merry Christmas!
Oops. Last week I almost dated a few papers 2025 so you might be right about the over-eagerness! It will come soon enough, no need to rush it, and perhaps I shall go ahead and correct the year to ’24 just in case others notice. Thank you for the correction, and of course your comments are never annoyance nor quibbling and even when there’s a painful pun involved they are always welcomed!
Merry Christmas to you as well.
I love your front porch decoration… is that curly willow?
Wishing you and your family a splendid Christmas!
Thank you and a merry Christmas to you and yours as well!
The porch arch is indeed curly willow and it keeps coming back by popular demand even if the arch is a little fiddly to put together. The willow is planted much too close to the house so sawing it to the ground each winter also keeps it off the naughty list 😉
The garden and porch look perfectly Decemberish. The first snowdrop catalogs I ever got were from Hitch Lyman. Lovely treasures.
Happy holidays Linda! Good to hear from you.
Yes, same here. The first Hitch Lyman catalog to show up in my mailbox was an eye opener as well as a gateway drug to the world of named galanthus. It’s a fun winter distraction.
Happy Christmas, Frank, enjoy the winter break. The weeks are flying by and before we know it, it’s back to the chain gang, well no, just kidding. We have horrendous rain and storm, I wish I could disappear down a hole and come back again in March!
Thanks and a Merry Christmas to you as well!
Yes, it will go fast, you’ll have a trowel in hand before you know it, and at least the rain will soak nicely into the soil and make for easy digging. Perhaps you can find a hole which leads to blue skies, warm weather, and a beach! That’s what I’ve been thinking, but my bank account and the latest round of bills has responded with a firm ‘no’!
I shall just have to sit back with my coffee overlooking the bird feeder instead. It’s not the worst thing to do on a cold morning 🙂
Beautiful porch entrance. Enjoy the holidays and the garden in winter. Can’t wait to see those tulips–they’ll be blooming before you know it.
Thanks, and you as well! We had a bit more snow this morning, which looks beautiful, and the roads are already clear which I’m sure makes some last minute shoppers very happy. I love this weather now, just not so much in March 😉
A belated happy solstice Frank! It may be a week or two before we notice any difference in light, but the thought alone that we are back on the upward slope is good. Your porch looks really cosy, as do the snowdrops under their winter blanket. I am actually looking forward to seeing all your drops, as they are sadly lacking here. Have a great Christmas!
Thanks, and yes, here too it will still be at least a month before the longer days begin to do their magic. By February maybe a glimmer of light on the drive to work will seal the deal, but for know maybe I can think myself into some optimism. Have a wonderful Christmas!
Your porch looks beautiful, so festive! A couple hundred bulbs, wow that will be a gorgeous sight. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! Even if all the tulips fail, at least I won’t feel guilty for digging them all and then not replanting 😉
I giggled when I read about you planting “a couple hundred bulbs”. I also got jiggy and planted some tulip bulbs when we had a warm spell, all three of them. I imagine in your mind that is merely a thought buried but to me it will be a happy, bright sight when they pop up this spring. I will look forward to your massive display via your blog. It will be inspirational. Perhaps I might get a couple dozen planted next fall. 😉
Your porch display is truly inviting. I hope all who pass under the lighted arbor bring you and yours a delightful loving presence to enjoy the holidays.
Who knows? Maybe Santa will bring you some Snowdrop bulbs this year.??
Cheers!
Hahaha, whether it’s one tulip, ten, or a hundred it doesn’t matter, just seeing that sprout come up after the cold eases is hope renewed! -and there’s a good chance fewer and fewer tulips will be dug and replanted from now on, they may have to fight it out with everything else I end up planting on top of them!
I’m pretty sure Santa already ordered me some new snowdrops and sent them to my house so that I could plant them before things got too icy. That Santa is a smart one 😉
Have a great holiday season! May it be filled with friends, family, and fun 🙂