Chocolate or Spinach?

As they say............ everything in moderation but I have to warn you that reading this and viewing these photographs will tempt your taste buds no end!  So are you ready for something deliciously sweet and very gourmet for the New Year?

I don't understand why so many "so called" chocolate lovers complain
about the calories in chocolate, when all true chocoholics know that it
is a vegetable. It comes from the cocoa bean, beans are veggies, 'nuff
said. Author Unknown

How about a Gingerbread truffle with warming gingerbread spices or a Christmas Mess with a fruity berry mousse with crispy crushed meringue.........I think that might be my favourite (that's the one with the white chocolate covering).

Then there's the ultra smooth and quick melting festive hazelnut praline and the milk chocolate truffle.  Oh decisions decisions decisions......

One of my goals this coming year is to eat less chocolate............ but it looks like I'm not going to start off the New Year very well.

Though there's a glimmer of hope as I've had the willpower to put them back into the box.......... for now!

Maybe I'll just cut the chocolates in half and share the calories healthy antioxidants and natural mood lifting compounds around - it's a veggie afterall.  I'd much prefer these to spinach any day though I better start writing my gardening to do list to help me think about burning off all those calories.

The Chocolate Lovers Border

And if you can't get enough of chocolate then there's the fat free version that I'm thinking about incorporating into the garden in 2012.  How about creating a chocolate lovers border with the Chocolate vine Akebia quinata, the unrestrained  Chocolate Mint Mentha piperita along with the  summer blooms from the Chocolate cosmos 'Choca Mocha' Cosmos atrosanguineus and the dark leafed coleus plants along with  Heuchera 'Chocolate Ruffles'.  Ahhhhh what a chocolate fix that would be intertwined with a few soft centres  nestled inbetween for contrast!   I think I better get my copy of Christopher Lloyds  Colour for Adventurous Gardeners  (aff.  link) off the book shelf for a little bit of self indulgence.

Happy New Year Everyone!

© 2009- 2012 Leavesnbloom ~ All Rights Reserved.

"Ever since the creation of the world  his eternal power and divine nature, invisible  though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has  made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

.

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Only one more sleep till Christmas

After all there's only one more sleep till Christmas.............so I wish all my readers a Happy and Blessed Christmas and to also say a big thank you for all of your support, encouragement and friendship this past year.  Christmas Eve 2010 and 2009 saw the garden covered in ice and snow but this year we are having much milder weather which has meant that the first of the Cyclamen coum flowers along with the colourful ribbons from the Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena' are now in bloom.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

© 2009- 2012 Leavesnbloom ~ All Rights Reserved.

"Ever since the creation of the world  his eternal power and divine nature, invisible  though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has  made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

.

This is a copyright post written for www.leavesnbloom.com. If this is your first visit to www. leavesnbloom.com you might want to take a second to subscribe to my RSS Feed, http://feeds.feedburner.com/LeavesnBloom

What has the fairy left behind in your garden?

For the past few nights a little fairy has accompanied Jack Frost and together they've sprinkled some seasonal sparkle and glitter ..........though snowflakes must be on ration as they've only left us a little dusting each night.   For a belated Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and Foliage Followup here's  a little collection from this morning revealing some of their antics as the sun illuminated the trails they left behind.

I'll probably regret leaving this Spirea with seed heads in the Spring as those seeds are so easy to germinate.  Sadly the winter sun never makes it as far as this large clump of Aster seed heads but who needs lens bokeh when I've got natural orbs of Honesty seed heads!

The Hydrangea 'Limelight' literally is in the limelight at this time of year in the garden while the Corylus avellena 'Contorta' twists and turns and the daisy seed heads look like tiny white baubles on sticks.


The Hellebore top left has never flowered at this time of year before and I can't remember its name today though it's from Het Wilgenbroek Nursery in Belgium  while the Lenten Rose has been in flower for over a month now.  The little Cyclamen coum buds are ready to open while the first ribbons from the Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena'  are teasing out.

The Pulmonaria saccharata 'Rosea' is in flower all over the garden, the Teasel seed heads are being left to self seed while the Acer griseum is exfoliating.


While finally some of the leaves of the Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea 'Bagatelle' and Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea 'Helmond Pillar' are still hanging on likewise so are the last remaining petals of the Rudbeckia blooms.  

Brrrh my toes were too cold to take any more photos today so you'll have to imagine seeing the red crabapples, the last of the Cotoneaster horizontalis red berries and the purple Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii  'Profusion' berries - (pssst.....you can see those purple berries in the blog header though that's about to change) .  What a difference compared to my GBBD post last December when we were getting sick of the large heaps of snow the snowploughs had left behind and there was hardly a bloom in sight!  

This is a copyright post written for www.leavesnbloom.com. If this is your first visit to www. leavesnbloom.com you might want to take a second to subscribe to my RSS Feed, http://feeds.feedburner.com/LeavesnBloom 

and   my blog so you can stay updated on posts and information! 

"Ever since the creation of the world  his eternal power and divine nature, invisible  though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has  made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

.

© 2009- 2012 Leavesnbloom ~ All Rights Reserved.

Quiver 'n Quake

Quite an appropriate title today considering that the garden was battered by hurricane force winds last Thursday.  Rather than taking photos of flowers it's now the time of year to scroll through the archives and reminisce about those plants that were garden winners this year.  One newcomer to the borders was a really distinctive looking ornamental grass called Briza media.  It has spent its first growing season quivering and quaking in the breeze and that's not just because it's planted in my death row border i.e  the border where most winter casualties take place! 

Briza media on 1st June growing alongside Astrantia rubra

June Flowers

The semi evergreen blueish green tuffs of leaves sent up wiry stems with pendulous clusters of little hearts in early summer which in turn broke open to reveal tinsel like strands with tiny flowers.  (see ..........this post is seasonal after all!)

 The Briza media is lost in its present location - above those white violas in the photograph and to the left of the  Astrantia rubra

Hopefully it will cope with the winter wet in situ this winter as I'm just too cautious in moving it now that winter is well under way here.  

Tinsel tassles

Buying one little pot of this grass didn't give enough impact in the border and as a photographer I didn't quite expect to become so fascinated by its little flowers in the summer.  Hopefully in spring 2012 I'll purchase a few more plants and then propagate from these to make a substantial drift in its new border location.

Straw coloured seedheads in August that look like little minature hop flowers

• Flowers May - July.
• Height 18-24 inches  Spread 12 inches.
  
• Grows in sun or light shade.
• Moist well drained soil.
• UK fully hardy perennial.
  
• Plant individual plants 12 inches apart.
• Propagate in Spring by division or sow seeds in April.
• Perfect for borders, small gardens and waterside plantings.

We've another two storms forecast for this coming week including snow and the forecasters are not sure yet if they will have the same intensity as last Thursday though the deep low seems to be taking a more southerly track than last Thursday.  For my local readers here is a detailed forecast as it's going to be another week of battening down the hatches!

This is a copyright post written for www.leavesnbloom.com. If this is your first visit to www. leavesnbloom.com/ you might want to take a second to subscribe to my RSS Feed, http://feeds.feedburner.com/LeavesnBloom 

and   my blog so you can stay updated on posts and information! 

"Ever since the creation of the world  his eternal power and divine nature, invisible  though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has  made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

.

© 2009- 2011 Leavesnbloom ~ All Rights Reserved.

Decoration ideas with Poinsettias/Euphorbia pulcherrima

Euphorbia pulcherrima  better known as the Poinsettia comes in over 100 varieties and in an array of coloured bracts with different shaped leaves like pointed, round and now even curly. They are the most popular pot plant world wide with sales in Europe alone reaching a staggering  115 to 120 million plants per annum.  But why do so many people struggle to grow this essential plant of the Christmas Season?  For the last two years I've listed my own rules on caring for these pot plants in the hope that more people will succeed in growing them successfully at home.  My rules are not copied out of a text book but are from years of experience in looking after these plants in their thousands.  So if you need some helpful advice on how to succeed with these houseplants please click on this link: Care Tips for Poinsettias. Otherwise keep reading as this year I'm going to show you through a series of short videos how to be creative with these fashionable plants that appeal to all ages.


1# Great tips on using Poinsettias as cut flowers in floral art arrangements: Click here for those reading by email

2# As the the videos says they really are true transformers and with the right accessories you can create a cosy home spun look or ... present the poinsettia in style! How about a Poinsettia inside a ball of wool for starters? Click here for those reading  by email

Note: if you're wondering what one of those orchid tubes is in the video - see if your local nursery/garden centre has an odd empty Lucky Bamboo container lying around as they  are just the same thing.


3# Then there's the Poinsettia in the CD case and one in a vase with laminated greetings cards: Click here for those reading by email

4# Poinsettia in bouquet arrangements: Click here for those reading by email

5# As the video says Poinsettias are always in fashion just as recycling is in fashion - and this also holds true for Christmas decorations: With just a few flicks of the wrist, the most inconspicuous vessel or even your favourite pot from the summer season can be transformed into a trendy Christmas decoration: Click here for those reading this by email

6# How to use boxes and gift bags to display the Poinsettia: Click here for those reading this by email

 

and finally.....


Why not visit the Christmas Star website  for futher step by step instructions on how to make the items below and many more.

 I think a glue gun is probably a good investment at this time of year!


This is a copyright post written for www.leavesnbloom.com If this is your first visit to www. leavesnbloom.com you might want to take a second to subscribe to my RSS Feed, http://feeds.feedburner.com/LeavesnBloom 

and   my blog so you can stay updated on posts and information! 

"Ever since the creation of the world  his eternal power and divine nature, invisible  though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has  made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:20

.

© 2009- 2011 Leavesnbloom ~ All Rights Reserved.