After seeing all the snow scene photos today from friends on social media, I looked through snow photos from bygone years and found photos of how I decorated my fireplace mantel one year for a party using snow scene photos. Perfect, inexpensive winter decor with a personal connection was a hit with my guests. Photos of the decorated mantel follow snow photos from recent years. 

Here is the snow scene I posted to social media today. Perhaps the scarcity of snow in our area is why we all take photos to capture the scenes before the snow melts away. Today's snow only lasted a few hours after the sun came out. By nightfall, there was barely any snow left. 

A view of our backyard from an upstairs bedroom window also includes a view into our naturalized woods. You can see the window screen pattern in the photo if you look closely in the lower right corner. No venturing outside in the frigid 13° weather on slippery sidewalks to take photos. 

Snow softens harsh, stark winter scenes and inspires us all to take photos of snow scenes of our houses, gardens, children, and pets. North Texas received a small amount of snow overnight, and today my social media home page is filled with photos of my friends' houses and yards covered with snow. Well, almost covered with snow since there was such a small amount of snow. 

The following photos are selected snow scenes at my house including some of the photos I used to decorate my mantel for winter one year. 

Winter White Poinsettias

One of the beauties of poinsettias is how long they last. Last year in the third week of January, almost one month into winter, pots of huge white poinsettias were still beautiful in my living room. 

Bought the week of Thanksgiving at a local home improvement store, these large white poinsettias were in my heated living room for almost two months when these photos were taken.

French Country Winter Paperwhites

Paperwhites brighten winter days whether inside or outside. A large French Country pedestal urn filled with artificial paperwhites is perfect to transition inside from winter to spring.

The arrangement on the vintage pine table actually began as part of the Christmas decor last December. A large glass plate sits inside the urn and provides a flat surface on which the artificial paperwhite blooming bulbs stand. A fresh boxwood wreath is just the right size needed for adding greenery around the rim of the urn. 

Winter Tablesetting | Snowy Trees with Navy

Beautiful new navy coffee mugs with snowy trees set the scene for a Winter table setting filled with white, snowflakes, and trees. An easy transition from Christmas to Winter decor. 

Tiny white ceramic trees coordinate perfectly with the snowy white trees on the navy mugs. 

Winter Botanicals | What to Grow

Deep in January is the time to look around for ideas about what to grow for Winter botanicals in your yard and in your containers. Look beyond the everyday Winter trees and shrubs for ideas about garden structure when your garden is covered in snow. Then think beyond evergreens and structures to think about adding beautiful blooming flowers that thrive during cold Winter days, even under snow. 

The backbone of every garden includes trees, shrubs, and garden structures. Evergreen trees and shrubs provide color when most of the garden is dormant. Bare, small accent trees around flower beds offer interesting shapes and visually help connect ground level plants with towering trees at the garden's edges. Stone borders around flower gardens and stone bird baths define garden spaces in every season. 

Snowy French Country Garden Shed

A French country style garden shed in the backyard is a delight all year, but even more so for a few hours in winter when covered in a light dusting of snow. Nature waved a magic wand and sprinkled soft white snowy layers that softened the harsh contours of winter. 

The garden shed is beautiful any season with its French country roofline, french doors, and white  limestone exterior. With snow, the shed is transformed into a blue and white winter scene. 

Christmas Angel Print | Winter Decor Transition

Christmas decor can transition to Winter decor by keeping seasonal greenery and neutral colored decor used for Christmas. Fresh evergreens, magnolia leaves, and a moss ball surrounding a Christmas angel print in neutral tones will carry the decorations into January. A few design tips will help you to create a decor grouping to transition your home from Christmas to Winter decor. 

An elevated shelf behind the kitchen sink is a wonderful place to decorate for any season, and fresh greenery in rustic containers keeps the kitchen from looking so bare during the Winter months. 

Dried Narcissus Spring Bouquet

Fresh Spring narcissus bouquets are not unusual for February through April, but a DRIED narcissus bouquet was a first at my house in early February this year. 

The blossoms not only dried, but they also retained their delicate yellow colors.

French Country Winter Bulbs Promise Spring

Deep in Winter, bulbs emerge with a promise of Spring. Even before bulbs sprout outside and their blooms appear, bulbs potted inside in a French Country urn brighten our Winter-weary indoors while we wait for Spring to appear outside. 

Cold, dreary Winter days can be depressing, but indoor flowering bulbs work wonders to lift our spirits. 

Christmas to Winter Decor | Nordic Inspiration

As the new year began, Christmas faded into the past, but some holiday greenery lingers at my home as Nordic-inspired Winter decor. Live spruce tree seedlings on the kitchen island were part of the kitchen Christmas decor, and are now sprouting new growth from the warmth in the house. 

Little by little, Christmas decorations in my home have been replaced with Winter decorations.  

French Lavender in Winter

Short & Sweet 

joie de vivre

French lavender blooming in winter is not expected in north Texas, and was a pleasant surprise that brought a little French joie de vivre (exuberant enjoyment of life) throughout January and midway through February. 

I am not sure exactly when the French lavender plant in a pot on the back porch started blooming this winter. I was quite ill and did not go outside over Christmas and several days into January. 

Winter Blue and White Bathroom

Decorating a blue and white bathroom for winter has its challenges, but deer and wreath decor works beyond the Christmas holiday as winter decor also.  

Wreaths are good decor any time of the year. As you step into my blue and white master bathroom from the bedroom you can spot four wreaths, and two of them stay out all year round. 

There is a fifth wreath on the wood panel sconce not visible from this angle, which makes three wreaths that are part of the bathroom's daily decor. 

Winter French Country Living Room

Winter decor in my French Country inspired living room includes an oval boxwood, an oval glass cloche, and a favorite old water bottle. 

Live green plants are always among my favorite things in the house... in every room, but live rosemary trees are hard for me to keep alive. 

Winter Blue Deer Pillow

When winter blues settle in, use a blue deer embroidered velvety pillow to give your home winter warmth. 

While crisp and bright whites help cool inside on hot summer days, those same whites cool inside on cold winter days. Color mixed with white and warm natural woods give winter rooms more warmth than austere neutrals only. 

Winter Living Room Greenery

Winter months can be bleak, but adding live greenery to your living room can keep the inside of your home from looking cold and dreary. 

Add living plants to white flower pots and crocks for a crisp look that goes with any color scheme all winter long. 

Pine Chest Vignettes | Fall and Winter

F A L L   &   W I N T E R  

PART 2 OF A 2-PART SERIES 

Last week you saw Part 1, Spring & Summer, vignettes on the pine chest that sits between my living room and kitchen. All with tips for how, where, and why to place items in arrangements. 

Here is Part 2, a collection of fall and winter vignettes. The collection is filled with easy to find, easy to do, and inexpensive items, and every arrangement has tips about how to create similar ones in your home.

Winter Porch Another View

Another View of the Winter Porch 

with a request for input from my readers. 

Click on the white ARROW to begin the slide show. 

Then click on the box in the lower right corner to enlarge the photos to fill your entire screen. 

The previous post on Botanic Bleu was Winter Porch Plants with standard photos and text. The above video/slideshow is another view of the Winter Porch in a different format. 

Recent articles in the virtual world indicate videos are preferred over the written word by most people viewing information on the Internet. 

1]  Is the video/slide show above appearing on your computer, mobile device, notebook, etc...? Are there any glitches? 

2]  Did this post load at its normal speed or did this post load slower than usual? 

3]  Which do you prefer? The original Winter Porch Plants post or the video/slideshow version with music? 

4]  Would you like a blog post with the video/slideshow at the top followed by several paragraphs of text? 

5]  Or would you prefer the video/slideshow with just ONE short paragraph? 

6]  Why do you like the version you chose? 

7]  Any tips or suggestions?  

I will continue to experiment with different versions of slide shows and videos this year, but most posts will be in standard format with still photos and text. I will be looking for a better way to show  slides and/or video. 

Thank you for giving your feedback in the comments below. 

* * * * * * * 

A quick update on real-time life and why there have not been any new posts for a couple of weeks...  I had a good visit with my brother out-of-state followed by a trip to California with my sister, the professional florist. She had a floral job for 40+ centerpieces at a dinner in the San Diego Hilton Hotel, and I went along to help (a little.) Of course, since we were in California we had to take a few days vacation before heading back home. We missed almost all of the frigid temperatures at home while in San Diego where we had balmy 70°-80° days. 

My sister and I will be traveling to spend time with our brother in the days to come. Future blog posts may be irregular. Right now I am trying to get caught up on everything here at home. There is the small matter of a broken water pipe from the freezing temperatures, but fortunately the pipe is outside the house between the house and garden shed. The cut-off water valve works as designed and allows us to have water in the house. No pressure to get the outside pipe to the garden shed repaired means it may be a few weeks before I tackle that. Then there are the mountains of laundry and usual household bills that need attention now.  

Thank you for reading. Keep cozy and warm as we dream of spring. 

Winter Porch Plants

B r r r r ...  1 3 ° 

the low on the porch this winter ...  so far 

Even in winter, there are several plants to enjoy on a porch.  

In north central Texas, winter weather is usually mild enough to enjoy porch living for many of the days during winter. Part of enjoying the porch is having evergreen plants, and an added bonus is having blooming flowers. 

Snowflake Winter Tablescape

Snowflake Winter Tablescape 

a french-inspired setting 

Beautiful table settings are a common sight in magazines, books, catalogs, and blogs. Frequently the photos will be accompanied with tips on HOW to recreate the same table setting in your own home, and sometimes the articles will include sources to "get the look." A designer or stylist may give detailed behind-the-scenes explanations of choosing dishes, making place cards, placing accessories, creating take-home favors, or arranging a floral centerpiece. 

Not much is said, if anything, about WHY to create beautiful table settings in our homes. 

Well, not much is said by most of us. Chefs and food enthusiasts, including food stylists, have written volumes about presentation, presentation, presentation and why presentation is important. 

Winter Greenery After Christmas

When the landscape is bare, and plants are dormant for the winter, a little indoor greenery gives color to our homes and gives life to our spirits. Winter greenery after Christmas adds a little joy to everyday living.