Hello February, hello narcissus

Digitally painted photograph "Hello February"

At the base of the olive tree

the narcissus bloom

sunshine yellow

amidst the drabness of winter.

Sit still and quiet

breath in

and smell their heady fragrance

wafting on the breeze

Tom Tom kitty: The supervisor of spring

Tom Tom kitty perches at the picture window.
He must supervise the coming of spring.
All birds must be counted.
Every ray of sunshine must be soaked up.
Outside, bulbs reveal their brilliance
Turning Tom Tom's picture window into
A Monet painting
For a season

Life at Rosehaven Cottage: Tucked in the corners of the January gardens

The gray of January hangs in the damp chilly air over the gardens here at Rosehaven Cottage. There is no winter snow... just rain, fog, and an occasional early-morning frosting of shimmery crystals on the rooftop. The beauty of the winter garden often lies low and in protected corners where the frost cannot find it.

At the base of our young olive tree the sunny yellow heads of jonquils brighten the drab landscape, sending hints of their fragrance wafting on the chilly air.

Under the protective boughs of the oleander, the shy little violets bloom fragrant and sweet in the blue-purple color I associate with January.

On the shady side of the house, the camellias put on the annual show I wait the rest of the year to see. Their spectacular display of lipstick reds and rouge pinks are garden Valentines.

A surprise on the first day of Spring

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As if to herald the first official day of spring, the first Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy bloomed this morning!

I planted these from seed back in the autumn (along with parsley, lettuces, scallions, snap peas, and other winter veggies) in the raised planter bed I relocated to the front garden. The lettuce has all been harvested and so have the scallions. The Italian flat leaf parsley called "Gigante" is living up to its name on one end of the bed.

And up against parsley, these poppies have been growing, and growing, and GROWING! The plants are huge! But there haven't been any signs of buds all winter (even though most Oriental and Iceland poppies are a winter flower around here). I was very anxious to see what the poppy would look like because I've never grown these before. I had no idea there would be such a rich purple in the center of this large poppy blossom.

And so, instead of being the winter-bloomer I had planned, the Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy has joined the rest of the lovely blooms in the Rosehaven Cottage gardens to welcome the first day of spring!

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Some yellow "sunshine" for my frigid friends

While most of the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. are having the typical cold weather one expects in January, others are having a particularly cold blast right now. Oddly enough, our little part of the world is experiencing some bizarre but wonderful warm sunny days. Monday's temps broke records throughout the Bay Area. It was 72F (23C) here. I was stunned. As I went about my garden work, my body was loving the warmth like it was April or May but then I would notice that the light was different with longer shadows. Tuesday and Wednesday were not as warm but the temps were still over 60F (16C). Normally out temps are 10-20 degrees cooler. In 2007, we didn't see the sun for the entire month of January--literally.

Because this feels like such a special gift from above, I really wish I could share all this warmth with all of you, my dear friends. If I was a billionaire, I'd fly all of you here so you could soak up the real sun. Since I can't, I decided to share little bits of yellow "sunshine" from around the gardens.

Along with the warm days came the bloom of the first daffodil in our garden. I found it tucked up under the hydrangea in the front garden.

The narcissus at the base of the olive tree in the back garden are still blooming. When I was photographing them, I kept getting wafts of their heady fragrance. It was heavenly.

The Eureka lemon has a wonderful cheerful crop hanging on its branches. The great thing about citrus is that I can leave it on the tree for a long time after its ripe, and it's just fine. Some citrus will stay on the tree for months without going bad. Hubby had me pick a couple on Monday so he could make me some delicious pan-sauteed lemon chicken. It was so yummy.

And there's still many lovely little Kinnow mandarins that are ready to be plucked when we feel like a sweet treat. Similar to Clementines, these are wonderful guilt-free sweets for us both. Did you know that there really is no such thing as a "tangerine"? The proper name for the fruit is "mandarin". I didn't know that until a few months ago.

A Touch of Springtime in February

Ever since my family moved back to the state of California during the month of February when I was 10 years old after living in the state of Colorado for over 7 years, I've equated the month of February with sunshine, new life, and the sunny cheer of daffodils and narcissus blossoms.

The year was 1977, and it happened to be a drought year so the weather was unseasonably warm. But I had just been in a snowy and cold Colorado climate and been moved into the wonderful sunny climate of the San Francisco Bay Area with ice plant in bloom in people's front yards and spring bulbs blossoming all over. My first day of school in California happened to be on Valentine's Day. I remember it well.

Now that I'm an adult, I always look forward to the month of February. It's the milestone I look forward to as being the time when the sun will emerge more often than not, the daffodils will be out, and the hyacinths, crocus, tulips, and other bulbs won't be far behind. There are many areas on freeway embankments where volunteers have planted fields of daffodils for motorists to enjoy. These embankments will soon be glowing with daffodils.

February is also the month when the almond trees bloom. As I was out driving along the highway last week, I made my first sighting of the year of an almond tree in bloom with its pale pink blossoms. Spotting the first almond tree in bloom is always a milestone for me (and my mother).

Now I know that the ornamental pear trees with their snowy white blossoms won't be far behind. It's often a neck and neck race to see which we'll spot first--the ornamental pears or the almonds.

Yes, it is beginning to look a lot like spring in the Bay Area.

Our daffodil crop wasn't as prolific this year (probably because its time to dig and divide) but I was able to cut some for the vase on the mantle. There is a lone narcissus volunteer that sprung up in the back garden. I cut it as well and brought it in. The heady fragrance of the narcissus is a perfect complement to the subtle clean aroma of the daffodils. It's a little spot of springtime right on the mantle both for the eyes and the nose!

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

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