Sadly, I see that the small Wheel Tree (Trochodendron arailiodes) is suffering. I don’t know if this is a result of the heavy rain in June or the sparse rainfall since. I hope it makes it, but I won’t know until April.

Already, I’m overly anxious for spring. Too anxious, with months to go before the earliest magnolias flower and with too few chores to occupy the short winter days. I’ve experienced this routine for decades, but in retirement there are more hours to contemplate the garden. There are few open spaces but that barely hinders inspirations for additions.

I’ve begun to consider replacements for the Wheel tree despite the lack of certainty, but other plants are already on the growing list of considerations, most without a clue where they would be planted. At the top of the list is the Monkey Puzzle (Araucaria auracana, above). There’s no longterm space to accommodate this tree, but reason flew the coop long ago. Very likely, it will go into a container until I figure a permanent spot, probably in the lower rear garden that is still half sunny.

I must also find places for a few cold hardy palms that have grabbed my attention as the rear garden turns more tropical (above). Inevitably, a few plants will need to shifted around and possibly discarded, though there’s a lot of time for additional reckoning before spring. But typically, inspirations grow into obsessions as the winter passes.