Rewind

It’s January and the new year brings frigid cold temperatures to my region. Perhaps you, like me, feel trapped indoors. I’m warm, but my mind dreams of days when I can stroll through damp grass early in the morning while birds sing to each other from their perch high in the maple trees.

Cold January days, when grey clouds stretch to the horizon, provide the perfect backdrop for Rewind newsletters. I’ve collected some of my best flower photos from the past two weeks (with a few archival photos added to the mix) and curated them for a brief sojourn away from winter.

If you like photos featured in the Roots & Vines newsletter, then check out my new online store. You can purchase both print and digital copies of selected flower photographs from my collection.

Look for a new essay at the end of the month — I’ll explore the tender process of starting seeds indoors.

A look at the kitchen garden during the deep freeze of January, when daytime temperatures reached -9 degrees Fahrenheit. Low temperatures calibrate the insect pest population in summer, but they make for long winter days trapped indoors.

When it’s too cold to go outside, I rely on my flower photography to buoy my spirits. I took a creative risk in 2024 by adding an online store where interested readers can purchase print and digital copies of my favorite flower photos. You can explore the store here.

Houseplants take center stage during winter months.

Indoor seed sowing is only a few weeks away. I have new seeds and a repurposed metal shelving unit to hold all those heat mats, grow lights, and baby seedlings.

Dahlia tubers rest in a small refrigerator, where they’ll remain at a steady 45 degrees Fahrenheit until April 1st.

On April 1st, I’ll gently wake up the tubers by placing them in potting soil beneath grow lights until the danger of frost has passed outdoors.

I ordered new bunny tail seeds for 2024, and I plan to distribute them liberally throughout the raised garden beds.

Foliage and products featured in today’s essay: cosmo flowers photograph (Roots & Vines Photography), seeds from Floret Flowers, Johnny Seeds, and Seed Saver Collection. Dahlias include Bee’s Mix (Floret Flowers) and Linda’s Baby (Eden Bros).

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See you back at the end of the month for a new essay!

-Betsy