A wish, a dream, and a promise

A good title, isn't it? (It brings to my mind The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.)  The title and this post have been inspired by the lovely post Toive, unelma ja lupaus vuodelle 2016 (and the related challenge) on the wonderful Ruusunmekko Garden blog. Many Finnish garden bloggers have already written posts about their wishes for the new gardening year... posts accompanied by truly enchanting photos.

I have been posting almost every day recently. I still wanted to publish this post, because it has been waiting for some time already. Now I'll slow down and concentrate on visiting and commenting...

Dreams are pink (and rosy), aren't they?

At the moment, I wish especially that the plants (mine and yours) would survive this harsh and capricious winter. The temperatures have been around -30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) for quite a while and and in the beginning there was very little snow. We are lucky to live near a lake, however; there was a layer of snow (very light and fluffy) on the ice, and armed with a snow shovel, a large plastic tub and a pink plastic sled, I collected some to protect the most delicate plants. I had tried to protect them using dry leaves, burlap etc., but the weather conditions have been more challenging than expected. Fortunately, we finally received some more snow.

We'll see. Gardeningwise, last spring and summer weren't very successful  and one was hoping for a better year. Otherwise,  I will need to start to recycle old photos from the previous years (oh no!).

I'm dreaming of my present/future garden looking a little bit like my previous garden, lush and vigorous, but also something more... magical. A garden with climbing roses, hidden meadows with wildflowers, and secret paths out to the woodland beyond. A garden where fairies come at light summer nights and plant seeds picked from distant enchanted forests and where in moonlit winter nights wood sprites and hares dance in a circle. :)

I promise to try to choose the right plants to the right place, considering our climate, the soil, light requirements, the cold and wind tolerance... and I  promise to ignore this promise if, in my pursuit of beauty, I meet something completely irresistible, like honeysuckles. I promise, however, to try to make all my plants happier.

♥

Even though the new year is already well on its way, it's good to pause and reflect on the goals to set for the next months.

Many of you already know Donna's inspiring blog Living From Happiness. Just before the New Year, Donna chooses a word to guide her through the coming year. Her word for this year is "Innovate". You can read her thoughts about inspiration, change, and creativity for example in these interesting posts: Innovation in 2016 and My Manifesto: An Innovative Life in 2016.

"For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." (T.S. Eliot)

♥

Wishing you bright and cheerful winter days...

as well as beautiful but not too hot days

to the friends on the southern side of the globe!