Winter Blooms

On Christmas Eve, it snowed... just a little bit, but enough to bring a smile to my face and a dusting to the ground. One of my favorite plants in the winter is the Holly. Deep green or variegated, red berries or yellow, their strong beauty in the winter landscape is a welcome sight.

Here is my variegated Holly bursting with red berries this time of year, under a dusting of snow.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and has a very happy new year!

Plants Painted with Frost

A quick walk this morning to the bus stop took us longer than usual. We kept stopping to look at the beauty of the hibernating plants that were painted with beautiful frost. Discussion then continued whether the frost was painted on by Jack Frost (from the movie Rise of the Guardians) or Elsa, the Snow Queen (from the movie Frozen). Both talented and excellent winter figures, but my money is on Mother Nature...

Here are some of the beauties we found:

Rose Hips as Winter Food for Squirrels

My backyard is still under over a foot of snow with more expected this week. My bird feeder has been a busy gathering place for my feathered friends. And the squirrels are just as happy to dine on whatever mess they find on the ground from those messy birds.

But yesterday, I saw them munching on a different treat - rose hips.

During the summer, my carpet roses are a beautiful shade of pink and emit a sweet scent. Rose hips are swollen seed pods that form under the blossom, turning orange and red, and last for months after the blossom is long gone. Here's how mine looked in October.

Rose hips are a tasty treat for squirrels, birds and rabbits. Humans can eat them too, but only the fleshy outer part. The hairy inner seeds can irritate human intestines. Personally, I've never eaten one, but I've read that they taste like a tart apple crossed with a rose petal. Rose hips are rich in vitamin C and can be made into jams, jellies, syrups and tea. 

Looking at these two, enjoying the rose hips, I'm so happy I didn't deadhead the roses at the end of the season. I left them because they were attractive, but also a valuable food source for wildlife during a time of year when food is scarce.

Yum!