While everything outside has been tucked away under mulch, cold frames and/or AGRIBON row covers, the secret garden indoors looks lush and smells intoxicating and sweet:
The blossoms on this Meyer Lemon Tree perfume the air, while the pink geranium continues to bloom indoors. We ate the ripe lemon yesterday amidst snow and temps in the teens.
Fairy tale pumpkins continue to ripen in various stages. These take a long time to grow, but the flavor and texture are superb!
The Christmas cactus got relocated for the season, so Mr. Meyer Lemon could hang out by the south facing window.
The cold hardy avocado tree came indoors when temps dipped below twenty degrees F.
Cuttings from tree collards and pineapple sage keep company with this year’s lone red geranium.
I found this indoor herb kit for $1.00 at Goodwill. When I unpacked it yesterday, it offered seeds from 1989! I planted some newer basil seeds, but need to add more soil than what came in the kit before I can plant anything else.
The ivy anchors the living room, as trees, cacti, jade and other plants cocoon this room in green for the winter.
The Secret Garden, indeed!
Laura Bruno's Blog 
Posted by Tania Marie's Blog on November 19, 2014 at 3:05 pm
very pretty and magickally sweet 🙂
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Posted by laurabruno on November 19, 2014 at 3:37 pm
Thanks, Tania! I watched “The Good Witch’s Garden” last night, which I had seen in 2009, before I ever gardened. It’s funny, because she has all these flowers blooming in November, and no one can believe it. Fun times, as I looked around the room while watching the movie. 🙂
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Posted by Tania Marie's Blog on November 19, 2014 at 3:51 pm
you’re the current “good witch” of goshen 😉
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Posted by laurabruno on November 19, 2014 at 3:59 pm
LOL! Probably the first and only. Too witchy even for a Goshen Halloween Party! Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. Watching that series so reminds me of my time here. Little did I know that that series was part of all those 2009 dreams telling me to move to Northern Indiana from Northern California.
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Posted by Tania Marie's Blog on November 19, 2014 at 4:05 pm
lol…wait until they see you ride across the moon on your broom. 😉
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Posted by laurabruno on November 19, 2014 at 4:48 pm
I do have a broom closet. 😉
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Posted by diana on November 19, 2014 at 3:10 pm
I wonder if those 1989 seeds would still grow! One thing is for sure: they are non-GMO 😉
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Posted by laurabruno on November 19, 2014 at 3:39 pm
Haha, Diana, I hadn’t thought of that! Maybe I will test them in the spring — rosemary, dill and basil. For the winter, I want cilantro and perhaps a double batch of basil. We hardly got any basil this year due to the cool temps, so I don’t have my usual frozen stash of pesto. I do love pesto in January. Definitely beats the winter blues and greys! 🙂
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Posted by manyhahama1955 on November 19, 2014 at 3:28 pm
Lovely…..I love the Secret Garden…it has always been one of my favorite books. Where did you get and what kind is the avocado tree? I would love to grow one of those. Have a beauteous day! sophia
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Posted by laurabruno on November 19, 2014 at 3:43 pm
Thank you, Sophia. Yes, it’s one of my favorite books, too, and I also love the concept of a secret garden. I even looked into getting a garden tower and surround fluorescent lights for our basement so I could grow one down there. In the end, I just opted to have some seed starting lights and trays down there, and perhaps grow microgreens upstairs, plus the outdoor, covered greens. Some day, though, I would love to have a truly secret garden, indoors or out.
The avocado and lemon trees came from: http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/ … You pay more, but they’re older trees that will fruit sooner. Of all the various companies I ordered trees and bushes from, this company was the best. They ship via Fed Ex, and the plants arrived lush and potted, which is much easier to handle than bare root. More expensive, yes, but you can plant even in the dead heat of summer, whereas bare root has very specific times of year when you can have things shipped. The avocado will still take a couple years to fruit, but it’s a pretty tree and low maintenance so far. 🙂
Have a beauteous day, too! Laura
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Posted by sky on November 19, 2014 at 5:35 pm
Your cold hardy avocado looks great! (Slight green tang of jealousy.) Loved the ripe lemon on the lemon tree, too.
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Posted by laurabruno on November 19, 2014 at 5:50 pm
Thanks, Sky! I can’t wait to have avocados and lemons at the same time. If we had more room, I would get a lime tree, too, so we could have fresh, traditional guacamole in the dead of winter. We still have tomatoes ripening inside, too. 🙂
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Posted by The Secret Garden ~ Sacred Tattoo Design | Tania Marie's Blog on November 20, 2014 at 4:26 pm
[…] Another enchanting journey in the realm of sacred tattoo designs comes to closure, and yet for my client, that journey has just begun. The title of this one is inspired by my Faery friend, Laura Bruno, who has the most enchanting garden both indoors and outdoors, reflecting …. […]
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Posted by Nathan & Aline on November 21, 2014 at 10:56 am
Wonderful, thanks for sharing! The spiral is the symbol for our soul family, it is always nice to see others connecting to it as well… xoxo
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