My (tea) cup runneth over - with paperwhites!

A few days before Christmas, I decided I should try to grow some paperwhites. I bought one of the last boxes of bulbs at a Whole Foods in Atlanta, and when I got home I carefully planted them. Following package directions, I put them in growing medium and then placed them in the cool garage for two weeks. Here are some early results!

Just as promised, after two weeks some leaves appeared, and soon enough I had flowers!

They're temporarily in a large teacup planter on the dining table.

Strong roots appear to have developed, and I can't get over how easy these are to grow!

I've read these can be transplanted to the garden pretty easily, so when the blooms have run their course I'll give them a new home outdoors. If you have any advice in this area, please chime in!

Oops A Daisy!

Well, the paperwhites were lovely but the scent struck my husband as "rotten eggs," so the teacup planter on the dining table has a new occupant, this pretty yellow gerbera daisy plant. (At least I *think* that's what it is!) The hubby was guest speaker at a local Kiwanis banquet the other night, and I was the lucky recipient of one of the table decorations. Isn't this a nice pick-me-up after all the gray, rainy days we've had in Georgia lately?

I was reading a digital photography newsletter recently and its photography advice for the week was simple: Get closer! So I did.

And then I got closer still! I love photographing flowers and can't wait 'til I have some serious blooms in the garden this spring. Meanwhile, I will actually become a member of a garden club for the first time in my life a week from today! My friend Deberah (art director of the magazine I work for) and her sister Wilma are both talented gardeners, and they have organized the new Crossroads Garden Club. It's open to new members, and it will even have online memberships available. Since some of you local tea friends are garden-lovers as well, I wanted to be sure you know about the new club. Go here to visit Deberah and Wilma's terrific new blog and learn more about the Crossroads Garden Club!