The fun thing about Christmas is you never know who’s just going to call you up. The other day I was really lucky to speak to one of my friends who is also an amazing gardener. I love my garden friends because they all teach me things, and in general a lot of my favorite people garden!

We talked about his garden and he reminded me that I needed to clip the old leaves off my hellebores. He had just done his the other day.

We had a really nice conversation and in part, we share this commonality of while other people love to travel and it’s not that I dislike traveling, I actually love being in my garden most of all.

Then I went out into my garden. I discovered two things: blooming camellias that are new plants to the garden that I didn’t think would bloom this year and a big old tree limb that came down one night this week onto a woodland bed where I had just planted some new little smooth and swamp azaleas.

And I think we have to talk about Christmas decorations as gardeners. I worked a bunch of little live trees into my outside decorations this year that I will plant out after Christmas.

On the interior jungle scene I overwatered my avocado tree. I think I have pretty much killed it, but time will tell. It was a gift so I am bummed. It might move to the greenhouse to see how it does. I have Rosemary in the greenhouse and although the greenhouse is not heated the Rosemary is doing really well.

The lemon trees and assorted Christmas cacti are doing amazingly well. However the cacti have pretty much bloomed so now I wait for the amaryllis ! And my friend Nancy gave me an amazing hot pink cyclamen!

My garden is quiet but there is still lots to look at and appreciate. I will admit that tree limb was REALLY heavy to drag out of the planting bed!

But oh the camellias! They were new and young so I wasn’t sure if they would bloom yet and they are awesome. Of course I sprayed for deer too…

So yes… the Christmas garden does grow!