The Garden in January

We're not having winter this year. I'm told it's a national phenomenon. Today was almost wintry, with gray skies and cold air. I took the opportunity to water.



Typically, it only rains in California when it's cold. I wouldn't have mentioned that, but I lived in Atlanta for a spell and I found it so remarkable that summer was the rainy season there. A life lesson: Things are different in different places. That what makes them different.



So it goes. The gray-skinned buckeye in the top picture will leaf out soon. I saw leaf tips emerging from buds this morning. I hope it flowers too. It would be the first time. Buckeye flowers would make my whole spring. Usually I cut the grasses back in winter, but this year I only cut back one that I thought really needed it.

This is my favorite picture from today and, hey, it's all foliage. That should make some people happy.



I like the Phormium 'Black Adder' so much I bought a second one last fall. It seems to grow kind of slow for a phormium, at least in my garden. That's one of the reasons I like it. They get congested and unappealing so quickly. Take it slow.



The moss on the birdbath comes back thicker and more lush every year. In the summer it dries out completely. I once said "it disappeared in summer" and someone, a designer, on Twitter, said to me, "I don't think it disappears, I just think it gets really small." What an idiot, I thought to myself. Did this woman really think I thought the moss just seasonally DISAPPEARED? Like it de-materialized from this earthly plane? People who do not understand what figurative speech is drive me nuts. I un-followed her immediately.



Here are the glass balls I regret not buying more of when I was in Rome last summer. Well, I was already pressed for room in my luggage.



Besides, we have glass balls in California too.