With Moonrise still for sale, there’s nothing on the boat so going for a sail is pretty much a pain in the you-know-what right now. We have to drag all our cold weather gear, food, etc, down there if we want to go out.  Between that and the fact that I’ve avoided going down to the boat since early January due to protecting my delicate lungs from the cold air, these last couple of weeks have been focused on the garden, the chickens, and the house in that order. Not much about sailing, alas, but that’s how it is. Interest in Moonrise is picking up as our weather gets better  (I did not say that out loud so any weather Gods need to just move along.) We are still hoping to find a new home for her and spend some months enjoying looking at boats. Or buying one. Who knows? No need to rush these things, apparently. I want to be able to enjoy the looking.

Be sure to look at the dog on the right.

So, in terms of fairies, here’s what the garden looks like from a fairy’s point of view. And here’s a photo that might just be of a fairy. Enlarge it and look at the dog on the right. (Photo is completely unaltered, taken by a friend at another gardener’s house a few years ago.)  Don’t know for sure what that thing is but it’s not a dragonfly, and we don’t have any insects that big up here except for dragonflies. (Which is a good thing because I do not like big insects, which gives me pause in terms of cruising some areas.) So you be the judge and if you believe in fairies, clap your hands with delight because all the Hellebores are in bloom. Here’s what my garden fairies see as they wander through their world. Grab a beverage and drink in the beauty that is Helleborus orientalis,, in all its many forms.

So delicate they are almost translucent.

From my ‘black flower’ period.

A wee petticoat, perhaps?

These petals would make the finest chemise.

More black. Always so classic, so basic.

A note about the above flower: Most of these hellebores come from Heronswood Garden, and not the one in Pennsylvania. I mean the real one, the original one right here in Washington State. That black hellebore above is one of a kind, part of the genetic stock they used to create new and different varieties. It doesn’t even have a name. Only a number. As a certified (or certifiable, depending on who you ask) plant geek, I will have to find a safe home for this plant if I leave the house behind. I’m sure it won’t be a problem since in Washington state gardening is a contact sport and the place is lousy with knowledgeable plants people.

A study in black(ish) and yellow.

And to prove I actually did buy just about anything black:

A little black mondo grass adds just the right texture and color to set off these little tulip leaves.

And a black leaved variety of Sambucus niger, the black elderberry. It has pink flowers. How can you beat that color combination? Glorious!