Merry Christmas!

Today is the end of the Mayan calendar, the first day of winter, the shortest day of the year, and maybe the end of the world! Looking ahead, Tuesday is Christmas. I always feel like I'm rushing to keep up with Christmas. Thankfully, I have my beautiful (mostly) garden to calm my nerves.

Jude the Obscure has produced this big fat globe of a bloom. I love Jude's bloom form. The scent of this rose is probably the strongest in my garden. It smells very lemony to me. 

 

Intrigue

 



Heritage isn't as strongly scented as Jude, but the quality of the scent is one of my favorites. I'm not good as describing scents, but it has a sweet smell to me that is just divine.








Easy Does It



Hawaiian Sunset Vine and Mr. Bee

What's Blooming Now

In Florida Christmas is the time for more than just Poinsettias, although there's plenty of them in the big box stores now.

Behold Princess Alexandra of Kent! What a nice leafy bush!

 

 

And the Flowers!

 

 

 

 

My new rose $7 bargain rose Ch-Ching is doing great and I'm really more pleased with it than I expected to be. My nailpolish even matches the apparently non-fading blooms.

 

 

 

The Hawaiian Sunset Vine is Blooming.

 

 

When the sun streams through these flowers they really do look like a sunsets.  The vine grows so well it gets out of hand, but I don't have the heart to prune it with all those buds on it. I should also mention that the vine stinks. Really, it smells like cat litter to me. Its good looks makeup for the unpleasant aroma.

 

Can anyone guess which of these three photos is of Gruss An Aachen?

 

 

Answer: All of them!