Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone! I hope you all had a good time with friends, family, and good food. I think this is my favorite holiday because it is not a religious holiday so everyone can celebrate it, and I believe that even in hard times there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for. Among the blessings I have, I count my garden close to the top. Truly my garden is my refuge and my therapy because I am able to leave home only rarely.
The first two weeks of November were bitterly cold here, as in much of the country, and the garden did not get properly “put to bed.” The only plants that were cut back and cleaned up were the peonies and most of the iris. There will be no further cleanup until spring, so my garden is a real mess right now. Especially sad to see are the frozen, matted hosta leaves everywhere. Still, I ventured out this week with my camera to see if I could find some interesting remnants for which to be grateful in a bleak and grey time of year. In shameless copying of estreya’s quest for autumn primary colors a couple of weeks ago, I went looking for color too, but ANY color at all!
There is still plenty of green and greenish-blue:
The garden path is sadly in need of repair and in many places is covered by moss.
This sedum is an excellent ground cover and stays green pretty much all winter
More green! Ladies’ Mantle, Lambs’ Ear and the ubiquitous pachysandra
I know that many sophisticated gardeners scoff at pachysandra precisely because it is so ubiquitous. But it’s a great plant and really is one of my best ground covers since it is able to choke out weeds pretty well. Lately I have been experimenting with adding sedges to the garden. I added quite a few Pennsylvania sedge plants a couple of years ago, in between the hostas, and last year I became enamored with this sedge, Blue Zinger. It is a zone 5 plant but so far has survived very well here in zone 4. (I suspect we are zone 5 now)
This spurge grows in a little patch close to the south side of the house. It may be Murtle spurge, which is a noxious weed in some states. It is generally well behaved here; if it spreads into areas where I don’t want it, it is easy to pull out.
Along with the green, I found a yellow and gold:
Amsonia
I do like the subtle gold tones of this limelight hydrangea blossom. I have cut many of them and brought them into the house. They dry beautifully.
And a few reds
Only 3 berries on this little winterberry shrub. The birds have already eaten the others.
‘Plum Pudding’ Heuchera leaves are still holding on to their color.
The young branches of the variegated dogwood shrubs always brighten up the winter garden. I should do a better job of pruning out the old branches.
Part of our responsibility as a NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat garden is to provide sources of food and water for the creatures in the garden. In our freezing winters, providing water has not been so easy when there is no snow, so this year we invested in a heated birdbath. We have placed it inside an older concrete birdbath that leaks. So far we have seen only one bird and one squirrel take advantage of this water.
Electric heated birdbath. The thermostat keeps the water from freezing but not becoming too hot.
All of the above photos were taken early in the week. Then came Wednesday morning and now we can have a Physics discussion about whether or not WHITE is a color! I’m always up before sunrise and this is what I saw from my dining room sliding door:
And the same scene a few hours later:
A few weeks ago I posted a photo of my Halloween decorations. I had moved them to the back patio and plopped them into pots where cherry tomatoes had been growing through summer:
They look cold:
Cold but still smiling! I hope my SMGB friends are smiling too, although I know that the holidays can be very difficult for many. Safe travels if you are on the roads or in the sky this weekend. What is happening in your gardens during the holidays?
