Bring in a tree, a young Norwegian spruce,
Bring hyacinths that rooted in the cold.
Bring winter jasmine as its buds unfold –
Bring the Christmas life into this house.
The Christmas Life by Wendy Cope
Christmas has started early this year in our house. The first small tree went up last week, fairy lights are twinkling around the entrance and I have started to bring in bare branches to create a woodland feel in our drawing room. Yesterday we had an early Christmas feast before my middle daughter heads off to Australia. Crackers were pulled, Christmas pudding consumed and a few gifts exchanged. There is still plenty to do before the actual big day – the large real tree arrives later this week, cards need to be written and presents purchased and wrapped. Gradually, piece by piece, I am bringing Christmas into our home.
Whilst Christmas itself will probably be a white and green affair, the colour at the moment is pink. I still have a greenhouse full of these beautiful Avignon chrysanthemums which I am making the most of and a gift of beautiful pale pink cyclamen which have been brought inside out of the December cold and rain to add some life to my book shelves. To add a touch of green I am filling jugs and pots with festive berried ivy which is a favourite at this time of year.
I always enjoy the festive season but Christmas these days is tinged with a little sadness – Christmas Eve will mark 6 years since my father passed away and it is 2 years since I lost my mother at the beginning of Advent. Having spent every Christmas since the birth of our first daughter as a family unit this year we are missing both our son who is teaching snow boarding in Canada and our middle daughter who will be celebrating in Australia and starting her new life there. So 2019 will mark the first year since our children arrived when I do not have any family reunions planned in my diary. Despite all these absences our smaller family gathering will be a merry group, celebrating Christmas as we always have with music, flowers, feasting and twinkling decorations that will drive the darkness from our door.
I have written many times about my aim to have flowers to pick from my garden for the house 365 days a year. November and December can be quite a challenge but my greenhouse chrysanthemums always save the day. Waiting in the wings are the first batch of Paperwhite narcissi, which I planted in my small greenhouse in the vegetable garden at the beginning of November. They are just starting to flower and I expect to be picking bunches in time for Christmas – I cannot wait to get that distinctive fragrance back into my house. As I lift the chrysanthemums for their winter rest I will be filling the space with more Paperwhite bulbs and other narcissi to keep the flowers going through January and early February after which time the garden should start to fill up again. Already there is winter jasmine flowering and my earliest snowdrops are going over. I have plenty of helleborous niger to start to pick and all the other hellebores are sending up new shoots. Although the winter garden feels much calmer than in its spring and summer growth rush it is never asleep – there is always something to find, something to look forward too.
Looking back in my diary I can see that this time last year it was snowing and I took my first wintery pictures of a very wintery garden. This year temperatures are still quite warm and I am missing the feel of a festive nip in the air. My Instagram feed is filling up with snowy scenes from America, Canada and Scandinavia and I hope that we will have some to enjoy here soon, but I am certainly not betting on a white Christmas!
I did promise a post on my December garden jobs last week, but writing has taken a back seat for a few days whist my daughter is home. Once we have said our good byes and I have shed a few tears I will be back to tell you all about the jobs that I am now very behind on and will probably be catching up with in January – it is always good to have a plan though, even if my time scales have slipped!
Before I go I have a winner to announce! Last week I ran a little festive Give Away for my loyal email subscribers to say thank you for supporting me even when I have not been writing regularly. I wish I could give everyone who entered a prize and thank you all for commenting and taking part last week. The name drawn from the hat and winner of the book ‘Beautiful Winter’ by Edle Catharina Normon is Ann. Congratulations to you Ann and please email your full name and address to me at peoniesandposies.17@gmail.com and I will get your book in the post to you.
As ever I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling In The Garden in her long running quest to get us all bringing flowers in from our garden every week of the year. Thank you again to everyone who joined in with my Give Away and I will be back with more flowers next Monday.
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As usual. it is all so lovely Julie. typing with one hand is a challenge, so this is short! Yes, our small family is even more so this year as daughter is staying over there through the holidays. i can totally sympathize with you… and we shall talk at length when i come over!
We can think of each other at our smaller festive celebrations this year Libby and commiserate with each other when you are here! I hope your hand is improving. xx
I have Avignon Pink too and they are so pretty. They look perfect here tumbled into the bowl and now I think I need some fairy lights up in the house. It’s a good idea to decorate gradually. We only have a wreath so far.
Thank you Alison – I still need to make wreath! Hopefully I will get it done later this week before the tree arrives. xx
The pale pink Chrysanthemums are beautiful, Julie, a floral parfait! I can sympathize with you on the bittersweet feel of the Christmas holiday period – with both my parents and my husband’s parents now gone, it just doesn’t feel the same. But decorating and celebration continues – good but different.
Thank you Kris. Christmas feels very different when important family members are missing doesn’t it. It is right that we should carry on with celebrating the festive season though – it is what they did after their own losses and what they would want us to do. As you say Christmas is still good but different. xx
There will be different memories to treasure from your smaller family Christmases, I am sure, but strangely quiet to begin with, I amiagine. Is Middle Daughter going to live permanently in Australia? And your son has spent a lot of time in Canada, hasn’t he?
You are going to have a beautiflly decorated house by the time Christmas rolls around, even if your garden tasks have to wait till January. I am amazed at your Paperwhites being about to flower – have you had any heat in the greenhouse? – and look forward to seeing them in a vase soon. In the meantime your pale pinks are such a gentle sight to see and perfectly co-ordinated< thanks for sharing – I am so pleased you are blogging regularly again
Middle daughter may well be going permanently Cathy – we will have to see. Our son is away for most of the next 2 years, although he will be popping home between jobs. He has spent the last 3 summers in California and I expect he will be back there again this year for a couple of months. The Paperwhites do really well in the greenhouse bed – I planted them at the beginning of November and expect they will be in my Monday vase next week. I just love to have them around at Christmas, but I always use them as a cut flower as I find them too floppy to use as flowering bulbs. Thank you so much for your support! xx
Enjoy those precious Christmas moments with your daughter.
Thank you Susie – I am making the most of every moment I am given!! xx