It’s cold out there. I’ve seen colder, much colder, but it’s been a while since we’ve had such an extended stretch of days staying below freezing. Snow has covered the garden for nearly two weeks, and even as the neighborhood thaws in milder temperatures in the next week, snow will linger in this mostly shaded garden between hills.

I am thrilled that an earlier forecast of several nights below minus five degrees (Fahrenheit) was updated to above zero temperatures. At three degrees above, there is much less concern for schefflera, fatsias, and fatshedras (and others) that would be tested by cold beyond their supposed hardiness. Even in our milder winters, I expect a below zero night will come eventually.

I watch daily to catch the first hellebores rising above the melting snow, but little melts on an eighteen degree afternoon, even with the sun shining. I know there are hellebores and snowdrops with swelling buds, just waiting for a glimpse of sunshine. After weeks of punishing cold, I’m anxious to get outdoors, to resume leisurely strolls to monitor the garden’s next color. Today, I walk briskly through the garden.

In a rare display of restraint, I’ve delayed online ordering of plants until today (in the third week of January), and weeks later than usual. The order is typical, several Asian mayapples along with a few plants I was unfamiliar with, and only one tender Brassaiopsis hispida (above) that must be dug and stored indoors for the winter. One purchased a year ago was a favorite, so I couldn’t resist another after seeing the ease with which this thorny aralia relative was dug and potted for winter storage.

I realize the incongruous themes through the sunny parts of the garden. Tropicals stand beside conifers and Japanese maples, rising above alpine rockeries. If only the garden was five acres, I’d be happy to segregate these to distinct areas. But it’s not, so please forgive this lack of design discipline. The clashes don’t bother me at all. I suppose this is a nod to collecting rather than aesthetic design.

I figure that spring planning will accelerate as  the snow melts and ground level flowers emerge. Ozark witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis, above) flowers have remained tightly curled for days, though some color shows through, and late autumn flowering Asian mahonia (below) crosses are fading after many weeks.

While damage from tonight’s three degree low might take weeks to show, I’m not overly concerned. But how am I getting by? I’ll be happy when the snow melts, the hellebores are flowering, and the sun shines on the first fifty degree afternoon. It won’t be long. I’m hoping next week.