First Spring Flower of 2010

I knew they(it) would be first, but not quite so early. We had 2 days in the 40s and this spot gets some sun most of the day.

It is a Snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii) and there is another nearby, but not with a bud. This week looks to be in the 40s all week so maybe the remainder will come up as well. I should have planted them all in one spot, but divided them up into 3 groups. The label said 6-8” but this specimen is only about 3”.

Nothing compared to the ones we saw at the Chelsea Physic Gardens last February. The garden runs the English Gardening School and they have a Distance Learning program that includes Garden Design and A Practical Course in Horticulture. Something to remember when thinking ahead to another career.

The Garden had special open weekends just to view the Snowdrops and other winter flowers, otherwise the Gardens are only open April to October.  There were Snowdrops galore, all kinds and sizes and lot and lots of them. They also had Cyclamen and Winter Aconite in bloom. I only have fall blooming crocus (I want more) and only one Winter Aconite(Eranthis Hyemalis). I started with a hand full, but possibly disturbed them while planting other things in the garden later in the season.

What will be next? Either my lone Winter Aconite or some Crocus possibly.

2009 Retrospective

Family Outings

• London in February to visit the eldest.
  • Canterbury
  • Kew Gardens
  • Greenwich
  • Little Venice, Michael Bond lives around there as we found out from his last letter to us.
• Intrepid Air & Space museum, finally
• NJ Botanical Garden and Skylands Manor exterior
• Biking on Governors Island
• Polo on Governors Island, amongst the hoi polloi.
• Harbor Day NYC (celebration of the Dutch in America)
• Guggenheim

Outings with Friends and by myself

• Henry Hudson Fest and the annoying Water Pod hipsters
• The Cloisters
• Christmas Fairs
• Staten Island Botanical Gardens (many many times)
• John Nobel Museum at Snug Harbor avec ma mere
• Clove lake park with Trudee
• Greenbelt Native Plant Center (our old farm)
• Fleet week Parade of Ships

Education

• Cask of Amontillado (Sherry tasting), learned I don’t like Amontillado as much as Oloroso.
• Networking for Introverts (NYU Continuing Ed)
• Career Match (NYU Continuing Ed) I’m a Gold/Green (reduced set of Myers/Briggs type indicator)
• IEEE PES, VTS and CS meetings
• Coffee Break French

Music

• Last LaGuardia Symphony Orchestra Concert
• Richmond County Orchestra’s Nutcracker
• Something Cool (Jazz and Blues)
• Aurora at The Cup and The Cargo and The Knitting Factory
• Big Frank and the Healers

I never seem to get accomplished as much as I would like, but looking back I’ve done more than I thought.

Hoping to do more in 2010