The first serious, get-down-and-boogie snowstorm came along on Wednesday, with nearly a foot of snow blanketing everything and creating wonderful snow-art, ranging from dustings on asclepias pods to drifts in some of the borders. Hey, if we are going to have winter, we might as well have snow, to protect
those hellebore buds from the vagaries of temperature shifts so that they will bloom when spring comes!
A heavy snowfall accompanied with impressive winds tends to make everything look new, interesting and fresh. Although the grey skies tend to make for a bit of a monochromatic
Skywatch Friday, things are serene and relaxing as I walk around the property.
Winter means throwing out extra seed for the birds that visit our gardens, with the exception of these granite and iron whimsicals. They don't eat much.
There are real crows, and there are metal crows...which crows are which, we wonder?
The wire birches in the back garden haven't yet been bowed by ice or heavy winds this winter, but it's early yet. These trees aren't quite as wonderful as paper birches, but they're quite attractive in the winter landscape.
The flowers have all been beaten off the miscanthus varieties around our garden, but the stems still stand to provide the all-important winter interest...
Not everyone likes teasels, and that's understandable. They are prickly, massive, tap-rooted, and produce major amounts of seed. But if you have the room, like to provide seed for birds in the winter, enjoy the sculptural beauty of their seedheads--which WILL stand all winter, even when slightly leaning from the winds up here--they are a fabulous addition to a perennial/pollinator garden. And need I point out that they are pretty much deer resistant?
Your post made me cold....brrr. You have a lot of winter interest in your garden. We used to live in Colorado and I do miss the snow. Pretty photos! I like the teasels in the winter.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images! we never have snow here, and these make me wish for some! would make a nice change from the heat!
ReplyDeleteLooks cold. I hope we've had our full share of snow this year. I like the teasels - I'm wondering if I could fit a few in at the front where i have a wild patch - it would certainly bring the goldfinches in
ReplyDeleteThe big dump going up the East Coast has been well documented. I am glad you are finding beauty in the snow. Teasel has gradually made its way into my part of the world. Until just a few years ago I never saw it here in the wild. Now you see it sprinkled here and there. I have cut it to put into dried flower arrangements. My FIL has made whimsical animals out of the seed heads.
ReplyDeleteThere are always so many lovely photos to capture after a snowstorm. I love your granite and iron whimsical birds ... a great addition to the garden.
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful your garden looks with the fresh snow.....
ReplyDeleteYou do have a winter wonderland there and your pictures are lovely. I know the snow is hard work, but your beautiful pictures right after the snow look like a dream. Stay warm.
ReplyDeleteAw, the beauty of winter!
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of beauty in your garden with all the snow. I like the snow when it is freshly fallen and new.It 'decorates' the landscape plants and trees so nicely.
ReplyDeleteA winter wonderland, it looks beautiful
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of snow! It looks beautiful though...
ReplyDeleteJodi,
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks beautiful covered in its wintry blanket. I couldn't agree with you more... if we are going to have winter, I would much rather have the snow. Happy New Year to you!
We have teasels here, but I have always looked at them as being annoying, huge weeds. You inspired me to think about places where I can let them grow - I agree that they are beautiful, as long as I can control their spread.
ReplyDeleteLene
Hi Jodi, I like the ground-hugging rosette of leaves the teasels make too. Beautiful winter photos. Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteHello Jodi,
ReplyDeleteAs I look at your photos, I am finding myself carried back in time to my days of living on the coast of Maine. We were on the Casco Bay so didn't get huge amounts of snow like they do inland, but seemingly similar to what you experience. I miss the richness of the garden...in all seasons. Despite no living plants, there is 'life' in a snowy garden and I miss that. My mom was a diehard gardener who moved all over the east coast with my dad's job, and when she got to Maine she never experienced gardening as anything less than amazing. I swear, when I look at your yard, with the bay in the background, I am seeing the one I grew up with in Cape Elizabeth. So many kinds of plants that flourish there that I cannot grow here in VA. And the 'winter interest' cannot be beat...even though I try to 'out-do' myself here by not cutting anything back until later in the year. I miss the snow right now; it's chilly but dull; and I miss the dampness that comes with living on the coast, and the sounds of the lighthouse foghorns (Two Lights and Portland Headlight) as I tramped around the yard as a high-schooler. Perhaps one day we will retire there, as my husband's whole family still lives there...and I can have my rich, lush garden that doesn't get crushed by the summer heat:-) PS I did not proof-read this and am typin=g quickly; all typos and grammatical errors (including incoherent thoughts) are par for the course...hehe;-)
Thank you all for your comments! It's been a busy few days here, so I've not been dealing much with the blog or visiting others, which I'll correct today, catchup day!
ReplyDeleteJan, lovely, lovely comment. I'm sure it must be a challenge to live somewhere so different to what you loved before. I mutter about the snow by times, but I actually want it in the winter--the plants need it, the landscape needs it, and I need it too!
Your garden is quite lovely dressed in snow!
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