Thursday, December 13, 2007

A Winter Garden

It drizzled snow for much of the day. The result in the garden was quite magical. After a couple of trying days at work, all my stress melted away with one look at the garden. Everything looked so pretty I rushed to get my camera and capture the moment. Funny how a fresh layer of snow transforms the dull grays of winter into something quite beautiful. I have always believed that winter would be okay as long as every day got a fresh dusting of snow. Even deepest, darkest February looks pretty great after a storm. Here's the view of the backyard urn display.

All these years I've been cutting away the faded blooms of the astilbe. What was I thinking? They look quite stunning covered in snow. I also love the golden brown of the leaves. They have a warm and fuzzy quality about them despite the snow.

This shot of the Rose of Sharon reminds me of why I love it so much. It's got great form. I love the way it branches out into a nice round shape. The large seed pods covered in snow just add to the impact. It's a good thing this shrub looks as good as it does without leaves. It takes forever to leaf out in spring. It takes so long, it's enough to make me doubt it will ever bloom again. But good, old reliable always does. It's worth the wait for its showy summer blooms. The winter interest is an added bonus.

And finally, the calamint. I really cannot say enough about this plant. It was a tiny little thing when I purchased it. It grew like crazy all summer long, all the while maintaining its pleasing, compact form. It's the pruning-free plant! The fragrance is astounding. Even the slightest brush of the plant sends its sweet aroma into the air. Even the construction workers who did a number on my garden during work at the neighbours went sniffing around in search of something that "smells so good." And now (surprise, surprise) the calamint looks stunning and is holding its own under the weight of the snow. I am tempted to plant an nice long calamint hedge in the spring. Ah, spring...more than three months away. Until then there's plenty to enjoy in the winter garden.

5 comments:

Connie said...

Your 'winter garden' is lovely under it's fresh coat of snow!
You are right about the form of Rose of Sharon...very nice. We used to have a hedge of them in our former residence and I miss them.

kate said...

After a snowfall, I love looking outside to see the garden's foliage covered in snow. We have been having light snows for the past few days and it is beautiful outside (although cold at -18c around supper).

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Ottawa Gardener said...

Lovely. I really enjoyed your astible? blooms. I have so much snow that all perennials are squashed but it looks nice in your garden.

Garden Lily said...

Your astilbe in snow looks great, I'm surprised they hold up so well. They look great in yellow, in your Nov 17 post also. All the best for the New Year!

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Winter does have it's beauty, doesn't it? Love the red berries.