Sassafras Mama

Of all the months in New Jersey, May is by far the loveliest.   Trees have begun to leaf out and lawns are a lush, verdant green.   In my ya...

My first zinnia of the Summer season is a deep purple. I don’t recall having planted such a deep shade of purple before and I think it’s lov...

For my birthday last November, my sister gave me a house plant subscription.   Each month, a new plant came to live in my green menagerie.  ...

If the theme in my flowerbeds is lush and over grown (and it is), there there is no reason such a theme cannot be carried over to the front ...

The last of the dogwood flowers are in the very top branches of the tree.   They are rather hard to see because of the morning sunlight in ...

  Every year, in preparation for my coming dotage, I require an amaryllis bulb for Christmas.   T aids this tradition and word on ...

There was a snowstorm this week, a rather major event that brought us more than a foot of snow.   School was cancelled, which JT c...

In addition to the delicate flowers on the peach tree, there are other blooms to be found in my backyard.  Among the hostas, there are some...

April's blooms always make my heart sing.  Add in the twilight on an early Spring day and I am utterly charmed...

For the most part, we’ve enjoyed an unseasonably warm March.  The trees and plants have responded to the rain and warmth and everywhere...

There are signs of blooms everywhere I look outside, cheering on my rather late-blooming amaryllis with a hearty “you can do it!” E...

My amaryllis is looking tantalizingly close to a bloom.  It had better get a move on or it will be beat to the punch by the abundant crocus...

We’ve reached the point in the late Winter when there is a hint of light at the eastern horizon when I come downstairs at 5:30 each morning...

Once the amaryllis stem starts growing, it’s rather unstoppable, getting taller each day.  There’s a flower hidden in there and I’m excited...

As I slog out the last few weeks of Winter, the late-blooming amaryllis is a cheerful blessing, guiding me forward to the growth and resurg...

After all my fretting last week, this past weekend the amaryllis finally committed to making me a lovely flower.  Behold, the stem is on it...

Historically, this is the point in the amaryllis growing season when I begin to fear that my bulb is a dud.  It’s in a sunny window; I’m fo...

The mushrooms got eaten this weekend, so that project is complete and now all my attention is turned to the amaryllis, which is still in th...