Winter Interest

I know some gardeners like to talk about winter interest in their garden. We've gotten over 100 inches of snow in about a month. My idea of winter interest is... well...

I'm interested to see if our dog figures out that the fence is proportionally low enough for her to get over...

I'm interested to see how much work and/or money it's going to cost to repair the damage from the leaking roof...

I'm interested to see if the gutters stay on the house or if the ice dams are strong enough to pull them down...

Most of all I'm interested to see how long it will be before the snow is gone and I can even start to THINK about planting my vegetable garden... It's under there. Somewhere.

Winter Interest

There's been a discussion over on Garden Rant about winter interest.  Commenters have divided into two camps, the North and South.  Fortunately we're all too civilized to start another Civil War.  So I thought I would show some of you Southern Gardeners how winter interest is done up here in New England.

I'm interested in how much snow it takes before a roof collapses.

I'm interested in whether the top of the snow will become hard and my dogs will discover that they can jump over the fence.

I'm interested in whether my garage rosemary will survive to spring (Reminder:  it's time to water that plant!).

I'm interested if anyone will hit me while I'm backing blindly out of our driveway since I can't see around the snow banks on either side of the drive.  I find the same interest at a lot of intersections.

More conventionally here are some ornamental grasses.  You can see that I didn't cut them back in the fall.

And I didn't cut back my perennials.  The Liatris 'Kobold' is still standing strong.

I planted several nice evergreen shrubs near the foundation for winter interest.  I'm sure youc an figure out what they are without me labeling them!

On a not-as-snarky note here are some shrub dogwoods (Cornus hessyii 'Garden Glow').  They do actually stick up from the snow and look nice against all the white when I look out the kitchen windows to the bird feeders.

Please be kind to us poor Northern Gardeners and don't remind us that is some places Winter Interest means looking at the hardscaping and evergreens in the garden! 

The Blizzard of 2010

We survived (so far) The Blizzard of 2010!  

Of course I don't think we're going anywhere anytime soon.  Certainly not to the Local Garden Center to see what on After Christmas Sale.

This is why I leave my garden un-"tidied" until Spring (well, it's reason number 3, right after good for the birds, good for insects and just before I'm lazy).  Winter Interest.  Something has to break the monotony of the snow.

Like Liatris.

And Panicum virgatum.

Although usually I enjoy the evergreen leaves and flower buds that last all winter on the Pieris today they are covered in snow.

Piper is enjoying the snow.  It's really hard to get a good photo of a dark colored dog running around in the snow.

The Husband kindly held the yard stick for me so I can show ya'll how deep the snow is - nearly 16 inches!

And that doesn't include places where it's blowing into drifts.  Or weird wave like sculptures.

The wind has also sculpted 3-D forms on the side of the house and the mailbox.  Wicked cool.

The good thing about New England is that even with all this snow we should be able to get out of the house this afternoon (or tomorrow at the latest) so we won't get bad cabin fever.  I'm not sure about The Queen Bee and her Entourage, they had to cancel their trip up here because the snow started down there and they got at least five inches.  She's posting picture on her blog.  I will for depth of snow.  She wins for level of inconvenience.

Winter Interest

While the cats were all snug on my bed....

Katydid

Pigeon

And the Amaryllis was in full bloom....

 I spent some time watching the winter wonderland outside.  Now THIS is Winter Interest.

Dark-eyed Junco under Viburnum 'Burkwoodii'

 I'm not going to tell you

Really, I'm not

It's just that lots of people are prejudiced

OK, if you insist

It's a European Starling

See?  Didn't you like it better before you knew what it was!

 

 Poor Mourning Doves are ground feeders, this one is in a depression in the snow, under the bird feeders, where the dogs tried to dig for spilled bird seed

 

A Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Dark-eyed Junco consider each other

 

A Young Downy Woodpecker

Well, the birds were enjoying the feeders until these two came out to play!

Jasper

 Piper

Winter Interest

Living in warmer climates I payed attention to Winter Interest plants.  There were things like Scabiosa and pansies that would bloom all winter, parsley would stay green and perky, and the days would often be warm enough to go and wander through the winter garden.

Now I live in New England.

Now I understand that Winter Interest means plants that look good in November, when the leaves have fallen but the temperatures are still tolerable, and March when the snow has started to melt but you can't get into the garden to do anything but plan.

Plants like this

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea'

and this

Pieris japonica

and this

Santolina chamaecyparissus (lavender cotton)

and this

Thyme either Archer's Gold or Aureus

and even this.

Sedum Autumn Fire

But when the thermometer looks like this

my gardening interests turn inside and my idea of Winter Interest includes plants like this

Cyclamen

 

and this

Narcissus tazetta, forgottus varietus

and this

Begonia grocerystorus

 

and this

Amaryllis Picotee

and this

Cyclamen - once again blogger insists on posting an image sideways!

and the best part of Winter Interest is this

Eventually I will start posting about my houseplants (I have over 50 pots inside including wintering herbs and the forced bulbs).  You are forewarned.