Snippet

Today’s word for WordPress bloggers is “snippet” as in a a snippet of news half heard on NPR, a snippet of fabric for matching to a room’s color scheme, or a snippet of embroidery thread with a pair of silver Victorian scissors. My grandmother owned a set of embroidery tools from England, although I never saw her use them. By then, her fingers could handle only crochet needles with any ease. She did, however, wield a pair of garden scissors to snip off faded geraniums in the window box skirting her front  windows.

I  have a pair of pink garden “snippers” I ordered from The Garden Girl, Ltd., in England. Unlike clippers with broad, curved blades meant for pruning shrubbery, these snippers are made with needle nose blades intended for deadheading not only geraniums but also roses and peonies, hydrangeas and rhododendrons. Mine are perfect for harvesting snippets of herbs.

 

On Thanksgiving morning last week, I gathered a sprig of sage to stuff into the turkey instead of with dressing. Often I prefer to bake my dressings in a separate dish for a bit of crunchiness instead of inside the bird, especially if it’s made with cornbread.

Today a snippet of French thyme in a small jar of water adds a grace note to my kitchen window sill, alongside a blue square pot holding one geranium left over from summer. Tiny buds have begun to appear on weak flower stems. English ivy snipped from the garden and rooted in water now trails over the edge of the pot. Two faded geranium leaves need snipping, but I am loathe to remove those baby promises of pinkness in spite of my advice to the contrary in a previous post. That is, pinch back — or snip off — any new top growth to discourage the plant from becoming leggy during the winter months. Maybe this once?

 

https://www.gardengirl.co.uk/