Every shade of green or pink or orange seems to speak to me.
I take a deep breath from this visual feast. It’s time to have a cup of coffee and chat with my plant loving friends.
We stop at the counter where coffee and tea are ordered, and opt instead for cold drinks.
Even though it is the dead of winter, it is very warm in the greenhouse, doubly so as we are wearing our winter coats!
Mugs and other gifts in greenhouse.
Sitting at our table nestled among the greenery, I see a display of mugs with clever sayings.
My friend has already spotted a pretty yellow, white, black mug with a bee saying. She purchases it even though she claims to have more mugs at home than she can ever use. Can we really have too many mugs though?
Then I see on each table little shamrock plants. How can I resist? Again, can we have too many plants? The one on our table is coming home with me. My mug purchasing friend justifies her purchase and I use the same reasoning: it is a souvenir of our afternoon together. I am adding this oxalis to the jade plants I bought last year when I had coffee with another friend at the greenhouse.
My self-professed virtuous third friend announces she is walking out empty-handed. Ha!
As is about to leave, on the last little piece of counter near the cash register, what does she see? A miniature cactus in flower. You guessed it - she had to have that little beauty. All three of us left our "coffee" meeting with a purchase. Clever marketing.
This is truly such a lovely meeting place!
The greenhouse provides a needed respite from winter’s frigid grip. All the colours ignite in me the urge to go home and paint. For other florals I have painted over time, visit my website. I have painted tulips, fields of flowers, flowers in cans, flowers on hearts, and also painted on paper bags. I love painting flowers!
Even in the coldest of seasons, a trip to this oasis gives me a connection to the beauty of nature and I feel fortunate to experience this explosion of colour during winter.
What a wonderful place to visit on a cold and wintery day. I’d be like you, there would definitely be something that would take my eye. Usually for us Oxalis is a dirty word, we were forever digging it out at Rhyll, and here we have a constant battle with the small burgundy one which finds spots that are always difficult to get to. It must have come in with some mulch or potting mix as we didn’t have any for the first couple of years. Such a lovely post this week Louise 💐
I did read that oxalis was considered a weed in some countries. We have what we call clover in our grass and that is considered a weed that looks a lot like oxalis. The greenhouse had several types of oxalis probably because St Paddy’s Day is coming up next month. But I like oxalis because of the shape and colour of the leaves and because it is a plant that I had in the house long ago. Thanks Sally for letting me know that it is a dirty word in Australia! lol!
Things are moving over here, the snowdrops are nearly over and the crocusses are firing on all cylinders and there’s even some primroses and helebores. Though it does help to have a bit of sunshine. Seems the sun is out in Ontario, Louise.
Still deep snow in some areas here Graham. However, mild weather yesterday and the rest of the week and snow is me,ting pretty fast. We are starting the messy, slushy period that I hate the most. I enjoy seeing your lovely countryside any time of the year. Have a great week.
Dear Louise thank you very much that you give us the possibility to share this green and colorful oasis with you. In wintertime and when gardeners send first spring signs to us often we’re guests in the gardencenter. Your description is perfect with the smell of damp earth, flowers and plants. What should we need more…..
Hi Birgit,
When do you start seeing flower shoots coming up from the ground in Germany? We have to wait until May depending on spring weather. It’s always lovely to spend some time in a garden centre in winter. You are right, we need nothing else to lift our spirits!