More and more, people seem to be decorating their homes for Christmas very early and pulling everything down on the twenty-sixth. I like to be a bit more old - fashioned and leave my decorations (when I put them up) in place for at least the full 12 days of the holiday (until January 6, when the western church celebrates Epiphany and the eastern church celebrates Christmas.) If I'm supremely lazy, I remind myself that Candlemas (February 2) is the final acceptable day to take down Christmas decorations according to tradition.
"Down with the rosemary, and so
Down with the bays and mistletoe;
Down with the holly, ivy, all,
Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall"
—Robert Herrick (1591–1674), "Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve"
With that in mind, let's continue the celebration of this twelve-day feast with a visit to Willow Tree Gardens. (Whew, all of that to justify posting pictures from a few weeks ago.)
Another sedum/sempervivum planted tool box. While my garden doesn't have space for one of these too be shown well, I find them delightful in other settings.
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It's a bit chilly outside, let's pop in and see what's up. The annual house has been conquered by Santa and his helpers.
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It's amazing that I've visited a lot of places carrying holiday decorations this season and haven't found two trees that are alike. How do they do that?
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There must be a finite amount of sparkly doo-dads and whatchamacallits but each store somehow has different lines of merchandise. It boggles my mind!
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Funny that I'm so attracted to wreaths and swags as I haven't put one on our door in years. This doesn't keep me from buying them. Maybe this year I should drag one or two out of their boxes.
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My church choir is having it's 12th night party at our house on the 10th of January so I can keep pulling things out until then.
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Love this glitzy treatment of the piano. Makes it a bit difficult to play but hey, one can't have everything, right?
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Here's that crazy sleigh-flying alien responsible for all of this. I hope he's prepared to clean up his mess! Then it's back toArea 51 I mean the North Pole(that's it, the North Pole) with you!
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How do they keep the pumpkin from rotting and becoming a mass of goo and how do they keep the succulents from being over watered by the presence of fluid from the rotting pumpkin? Do you suppose it's just piled on top rather than planted inside? Even so, that is a long-lasting pumpkin!
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I'll leave you with a couple of sweet bird ornaments from the following bird-
themed tree.
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Whether you lean more to being done on the 26th or to leaving the decorations up until Epiphany or even Candlemas, I hope your holiday was/is full of beautiful sights and sounds that bring you great Joy! The important question is, have you been out shopping at the after Christmas sales and plotting for next year?
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"Down with the rosemary, and so
Down with the bays and mistletoe;
Down with the holly, ivy, all,
Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall"
—Robert Herrick (1591–1674), "Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve"
With that in mind, let's continue the celebration of this twelve-day feast with a visit to Willow Tree Gardens. (Whew, all of that to justify posting pictures from a few weeks ago.)
Another sedum/sempervivum planted tool box. While my garden doesn't have space for one of these too be shown well, I find them delightful in other settings.
It's a bit chilly outside, let's pop in and see what's up. The annual house has been conquered by Santa and his helpers.
It's amazing that I've visited a lot of places carrying holiday decorations this season and haven't found two trees that are alike. How do they do that?
There must be a finite amount of sparkly doo-dads and whatchamacallits but each store somehow has different lines of merchandise. It boggles my mind!
A cowboy Christmas.
Funny that I'm so attracted to wreaths and swags as I haven't put one on our door in years. This doesn't keep me from buying them. Maybe this year I should drag one or two out of their boxes.
My church choir is having it's 12th night party at our house on the 10th of January so I can keep pulling things out until then.
Love this glitzy treatment of the piano. Makes it a bit difficult to play but hey, one can't have everything, right?
There seems to be a lot of white being used on the trees this year at Willow Tree; trend or happy accident?
"Beach glass" chandelier. How would this look in a greenhouse?
How unfortunate that we don't have beautiful red Cardinals in the Pacific Northwest!
Here's that crazy sleigh-flying alien responsible for all of this. I hope he's prepared to clean up his mess! Then it's back to
How do they keep the pumpkin from rotting and becoming a mass of goo and how do they keep the succulents from being over watered by the presence of fluid from the rotting pumpkin? Do you suppose it's just piled on top rather than planted inside? Even so, that is a long-lasting pumpkin!
I'll leave you with a couple of sweet bird ornaments from the following bird-
themed tree.
Whether you lean more to being done on the 26th or to leaving the decorations up until Epiphany or even Candlemas, I hope your holiday was/is full of beautiful sights and sounds that bring you great Joy! The important question is, have you been out shopping at the after Christmas sales and plotting for next year?
