How To Beat The January Blahhhs!

It was on St.Patrick’s Day this past year that I attended Canada Blooms. Of mixed opinion, it did afford a day out where one could surround themselves and breathe in the ‘green life essence’ that surrounded them.

  These were my two favourite displays! I was slightly dumbfounded with the lack of plant material available for sale, especially the delightful Helleborus x hybridus ‘Golden Lotus’ that was the highlight of the photo above!

When you find yourself on the inside, looking out upon a dreary, wet, foggy, way-too-mild-for-January day, and you’ve tidied and organized not only your living and work space, not to mention updated and flogged your Facebook pages, and, you’re caught with laundry….. Sweet Jesus, what is there for a guy to do?

That was one of the highlights of the past year for sure! The Ontario Rock Garden and Hardy Plant Sale that Julie, Doreen, George and I attended at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. I’d heard of NARGS and was seriously considering joining, knowing that a few of my plant hoarding friends were members. This would be a perfect introduction!

It was so rewarding and comforting, rubbing shoulders [literally] with other like minded plantaholics, and I even ran into two or three people I knew…. and a few who I should have recognized but didn’t, so preoccupied was I with finding new and rare treasures! [Sorry about that Barry P!]

We were the second people in line: I was so thrilled to discover that like myself, Julie likes to get there early. Secure the best possible spot in line! Needless to say, I was able to find a few tantalizing treasures, which did, yes, include yet another blue flowered Corydalis! Not that I needed anymore!  I’ve been looking forward to the 2012 sale ever since, and have already allocated half a pay so that I can be sure of being able to enable my addiction as best as possible. That was one of the big highlights this past year……

And then there were those closer to home:

A return engagement to Lost Horizons allowed for me an opportunity to indulge in conversation with the man who opened my eyes to the wonderful flora of Asia. It was also an opportunity to pick up a few much lusted after plants…. including a second Paeonia mlokosewitschii and the beguiling Deinanthe caerulea – both considered by plant connoisseurs to be ‘holy grail’ selections.

Deinanthe caerulea

It was also the year that another two of my ‘Holy Grail’ selections decided to bloom – proving that life’s best pleasures do indeed come to those who wait. Glaucidium palmatum [above] and Anemonopsis macrophylla [below] afforded me one bloom from each, but what magnificent blooms they were!

It was also the year that the carnival came to live in Teza’s Garden: Acer campestre ‘Carnival’ had haunted my dreams for the past four years, having first stumbled across it in the magnificent display garden of Lost Horizons. All in all, 2011 was a stellar year as far as personal rewards and satisfaction were concerned. And to think that it would provide me with hours of enjoyment on a wet, foggy, way-too-warm January day!