Interior Garden

Amaryllis and Kalanchoe

This January (and during my forced vacation between jobs over the holidays–how can that be bad?) I pruned. And pruned. Rediscovered the driveway, the mock orange, the viburnum “Lantana”, and Chief Joseph (a neighbor asked about it, because you can finally see the little pine with its golden needles from the street after I severely limbed up the holly monster).

Next blackberries: I love wading into the evil wielding pruners and clippers, reclaiming territory snatched by the occupier. It rolls over my back acre like Panzers. Even though it yields juicy berries by the bucket-full in summer, it is a two-faced liar.

Only the witch hazel and the hellebore are blooming. Hummingbirds swirl possessively around the feeder, impatient for early spring snacks: forsythia, flowering red currant, and flowering quince, which won’t be making an appearance this spring anyway since I whacked it back dramatically for the painters last summer.

So, the photo is from the indoor garden: amaryllis and kalanchoe in bloom. The kalanchoe was given to me four years ago by a colleague when I had surgery for stage 1A endometrial cancer. She died of ovarian cancer last October. The kalanchoe lanquished bloomless all these years until now. Thank you, Jody.

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