I’ve recently noted that flowering in the garden has been delayed by a chilly January and a weeks long cover of snow. Temperatures during the month were not extreme, just colder than in recent mild winters. Looking at my log of photos from the past year, I’m surprised by the abundant flowers in the first…

The weather forecast promises fifties (Fahrenheit) and a sixty degree day or two for the last week of February. I am long past ready for the cold to be over, so I designate this twenty-five degree day as the last of winter. Of course, there will be chilly days scattered through March and even into…

I can feel it. My enthusiasm is growing. On each sunny day, my wandering through the garden has become more focused. As last week’s snow melted, I paused to enjoy flowers of several hellebores (below), lifting buds to check progress on some, and removing a blanket of leaves that covered swelling buds on others. I’m…

Today’s snow should be no more than a minor inconvenience. Temperatures have risen just above freezing, and tomorrow will be considerably milder with rain by the weekend, so this snow cover is unlikely to stick around for long. The road out front was plowed early this morning, down to bare, wet pavement this time instead…

The longer I’m confined indoors by snow-covered ground and freezing temperatures, the more fantastical garden renovations become as I plan for spring. Of course, I continue to trudge through snow or mud or over frozen soil, but outdoor jaunts are more brief in the winter months. Still, in these few minutes, as I search out…

From the moment years ago when I saw the dormant, yellow twigged ‘Bihou’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Bihou’, below) at a garden center tradeshow in January, I knew I had to have one. Unfortunately, our company did not work with this specialty maple grower, so I waited several years before finally accepting a mailorder tree…

Take shelter feathered friends. Move beneath evergreens to protect from chunks of ice falling from the garden’s many trees. Seeds and berries will still be here when the danger has passed. I dare not venture into the garden until temperatures rise to melt the last of the icy coating. The sun will appear this afternoon,…

A chilly January and a cover of snow have delayed flowering that is anxiously monitored in winter’s closing weeks. No doubt, more cold will follow this welcome spell of mild temperatures, but now I anticipate one favorite bloom after another until spring’s arrival. I haven’t a clue how many hellebores are in the garden, but…

To this date in early February, the winter’s temperatures have fit precisely into the definition of zone 7a with a recent overnight low of three degrees (Fahrenheit). By a long shot, this can not be called a severe winter, though it has been considerably colder than ones in recent years. While winter temperatures have not…

The upper rear garden is a flurry of activity. Robins have discovered ripe berries on the ‘Mary Nell’ holly that is readily viewed from the sunroom. In recent weeks, the earlier ripening berries of the Koehne holly along the driveway were harvested, and for a few days, robins plucked berries from nandinas. Not to worry,…

The worst of this winter is over, I presume. I recall more prolonged stretches of cold, including a full month, decades earlier when temperatures did not rise above freezing in my first year working outdoors (nearly fifty years ago). Of course, that included multiple days falling below zero (Fahrenheit), while happily, our overnight low recently…