Things have been busy and I haven’t had a chance to update for a while.  I have taken some photos every week and I’ll do a bit of catching up here, however brief.

We’ve had snow several times already this year, and it continues even tonight.  Above, a squirrel enjoys the view from our Jim Heltsley sculpture in the front yard.

More snow pics…

The squirrel enjoying some treats we set out for the crows.

  

The Masdevallia orchids in the greenhouse are setting flowers–not as many as last year, but they seem healthy, nonetheless.

The Persicaria capitata in the greenhouse is blooming better than I ever remember.  I cut it way back in the fall and that has paid off.  The cold doesn’t faze this plant at all.

Cymbidium flowers.

And more of Mom’s Cymbidium flowers.

Holiday cactus flower in the greenhouse.

The giant Huffbauer Cymbidium is setting flowers, too.  I was worried, since the buds weren’t visible when I moved it to the greenhouse.  But here it is with multiple spikes.

A few weeks later, the Masdevallias are opening.  The flowers are an amazing color and a fascinating shape.

Not the clearest photo, but the color and shape are discernible.

I love this photo of a Mas. flower and the leaves of Geranium maderense nearby.

More Mom’s Cymbidium flowers.

The Clivia miniata clones started to spike several weeks ago.

More Clivia buds.

And more Mom’s Cymbidium flowers.

Cardinal tree is still throwing a flower here and there through the winter.

Lot’s of buds coming on the Hellebore from Plant Delights in the Doug Fir bed.

The leaves of the Hellebore hybrid–big and showy.

Our sculptor friend Elaine MacKay passed away in January after a long battle with lung disease.  This is her sculpture on our back patio, complete with its own worry stone.

Another view.

I moved the forced hyacinth bulbs out of the refrigerator and into the windowsill in the kitchen.  This is an unusual color for me–lavender with a soft fragrance.

 

Close-up.

Another view.

  

This is an awesome Clivia hybrid–a pastel with whitish center and pinkish outside.  Some bugs obviously have nibbled it, but you can still see the great color.

Another view.

Another view.

The more classic Clivia flowers–likely to be orange and yellow.

Another view of Cardinal.

Brugs blooming still in the greenhouse, despite the snow.

You can really see the bounty of the Persicaria capitata here–lots and lots of flowers.

More Mas. flower pics.  As bright as these appear, the camera can’t capture the electric nature of this magenta.

And again…

More Mas. buds–love the way they appear like cranes amid the leaves and then open like even more exotic birds.

More holiday cactus flowers.

Inherited from the neighbors when they moved away, this jungle cactus looked anemic all last year, but I fed it with compost tea and pulled it down into a shadier spot.  It seems happier–blooming better than it ever has.