GBBD - December 2010

It's December and we've just had our first dusting of snow. Not much blooming in suburban Maryland. Yep, this is all I got. My daughter received this bouquet after her 30 second debut as a rat in The Nutcracker. I could really wax poetic about what a brilliant ballet it is - how many different levels, styles, tastes it accommodates, but I'll spare you. There's a lot of ballet in the media right now, isn't there? Have you heard about that bastard's comment about the NYC ballet dancer?

This Christmas cactus may not look like much - especially covered in a thick coating of dust, but as you can see from this post last year, it holds a very special place in my heart.

This blurry photo features my friend Grace's Thanksgiving table. She used ivy from the garden along the long table (actually 2 long tables pushed together - this is what happens when you have 5 sons and a gazillion grandchildren). The yellow are the blooms from a large-blooming chrysanthemum my dad gave her a couple years ago.

So...this is all I got. However, I thought I'd leave flower lovers with more so here below are some photos from the trip Grace and I took to Longwood Gardens (a few more to come later). The conservatory is all dressed up for the holidays.

From the front, this wreath was pretty, green, and dotted with flowers. But from a different vantage point, you see that they're actually blooming orchids.

I also must show you this. Attached to the Longwood conservatory, there's a living green wall down a long and curving corridor. What I originally thought were elevator doors are actually...(get ready for this)...

..."bathroom pods". Behind each door is an individual bathroom and your view looking above - skylights way up at the top of the dome.


And if this is not enough, visit May Dreams Gardens for more on this Garden Blogger's Bloom Day. I can't promise you more toilets, but there will certainly be more blooms from all over the world!