Mary's photo of Philly windowsill

This is a much better photo (by Mary Garner-Mitchell) of yesterday's windowsill arrangement. The tulips are real (bought them at the Philadelphia Flower Show) but the bluish muscari are not! Bought those, too, at the show, but they are artificial. Using them like this (mixed with real flowers) you'd truly never know.

Philly Pflowers

Debbe Peck bought this vase at the Philadelphia Flower show today, and I bought these flowers to put in it. Hotel windowsill. See the snow on the roof in the background?

blue hibuscus holder?

Had fun yesterday at Joyce Caldwell's house looking a birds' nests. Also noticed this "vase" in her living room. Not sure it was intended to be a vase, but it looks like a hibiscus holder, and, we discovered, holds water, so we added a couple of flowers from outdoors--a budding Lenten rose and a sprig of daphne--then moved it to the windowsill. Fun seeing the snow outside and remembering how freezing cold--stiff even--that Lenten rose stem was!

Blooming alstromeria--finally

On February 11, I'd have sworn this little snippet of alstromeria would never bloom. In fact, at one point in February, for an arranging workshop, I was trying to get several dozen stems of alstromeria flowers to open and they wouldn't. Gave them hot water, moved them into bright light, positioned them inside by the woodstove, sat them in a sunny south-facing widowsill--but they refused to open. We pretty much used the unopened buds as greenery. Now, though, this one little stem that I kept at home has opened and it's gorgeous. Better late than never, but this would have been so beautiful in those Valentine's Day arrangements!

green rose, variegated aucuba

These are materials I really enjoyed pulling together--some small aucuba leaves so variegated they were practically yellow and a leftover green rose from the florist. The latter was paper dry by the time I got around to using it here (I'd already used it in two earlier windowsill arrangements), but, even dry, it's still beautiful, and believe it or not, still fragrant. I'm hoping everyone who attended the workshop where my daughter and I offered these roses is still enjoying them, because this one I held back because its head broke off has cheered me for a over month!

snow on the roof, green leaves on the pussy willow!

Good thing I checked this vase today, because it was out of water. Also discovered the black pussy willow had put out fresh green leaves. Thank you, pussy willow!

slender twig, bodacious boot

Love my bodacious boots, which were required for a walk in my neighborhood today. Crunchy snow and roads covered with ice. I found the twig on my walk. As I post this, my cheeks, which I tried to protect by wrapping my scarf around them, are still numb.