Just as the last patches of snow were melting in this shaded, slow to thaw garden, here comes another few inches. With typical for February, mild temperatures forecast for midweek, this snow should melt quickly, and there seems a possibility that suitable weather to get started on winter chores might be around the corner. No…

One side of a tall, yellow tipped Hinoki cypress grows green. Until a year ago, only a small fraction was yellow, with two variegated ‘Silver Cloud’ redbuds leaning far over to limit its sunlight. I am uncertain why the redbuds leaned quite so, but suppose this began as a reach for sunlight, with the angle…

Even while hellebores and snowdrops remain buried beneath an icy blanket of snow, flowers of mahonias and witch hazels offer a daily dose of comfort to soothe the gardener, anxious in a continuing freeze that spring seems so far off. While I occasionally join others who scour nursery and seed catalogs, my relief is found…

Thoughts of spring have begun in earnest, though the seemingly interminable second half of winter remains. I will be at least slightly encouraged once the still inches thick blanket of snow and ice melts and average temperatures for the season return, but neither appears imminent. While several dogwoods were added to the garden in the…

While this low lying garden is mostly protected from harsh winter winds, with forest bordering the garden’s southern border snow is slow to melt, even when the winter sun shines brightly through the tall maples and tulip poplars. Though I have been slow to notice, this clearly shows those warmer microclimates that permit marginally cold…

A variegated ‘Silver Cloud’ redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Silver Cloud’) leans against the small greenhouse at a sixty degree angle, assuring that its removal is imminent. The redbud has leaned for several years, tipping a bit more each year, and the recent heavy snow contributed additional lean. A second severely leaning ‘Silver Cloud’ was removed a…

The garden is not happy this morning following a night when temperatures dropped near ten degrees (Fahrenheit). Leaves of aucubas ( below) and rhododendrons hang limp, a protective mechanism but very concerning to gardeners who have not repeatedly seen leaves rise as temperatures approach the thirties. I am not concerned about any plant in this…

The variability of seedlings is illustrated on a brief jaunt through the garden viewing handfuls of native American holly (Ilex opaca) seedlings. While several have been dug and moved to locations better suited to the long term, all are native to the forest that borders the garden. All are readily identifiable as American hollies, and…

The gardener must muddle through the worst, always looking for a reason to smile. Regular bouts of heat, drought, and flood can be painful, though severe cold could be the worst. Fortunately, no matter the season, there is some bloom, bud, or bark to bring joy. Today’s blanket of snow is lovely (at least until…

Shoulda, coulda, but didn’t. I was aware that snow was forecast for today. Ideally, I would have taken advantage of yesterday’s sixty degree temperatures to tie the mahonia’s branches (below). Instead, I browsed the unusual number of blooms for this first week of the new year, so this morning a tall branch obstructs the path…

Sometimes, I forget. But, then the garden reminds that some task was neglected, and today the first color on snowdrops along the front walk is a reminder that much of the wide spreading clump of the evergreen ‘Evergold’ carex should have been dug out as flowers faded a year ago. Instead, the carex was cut…