It’s been said that February is the cruelest month. I don’t know about that, but it sure is the month when winter makes itself most known around here. Like winter (the shortest season at 89 days), the year’s shortest month seems endlessly long. By the time February rolls around, the holidays and our collective dreams of … Continue reading Frightful February
winter
Winter Fix-It-Ups in the Garden
Spring is still 36 days away, but my head is already in the garden. On Monday, I turned in an article on witch hazel, one of my favorite plants, which was also the subject of last week’s blog post. Mine is close to blooming (the buds have a distinct yellow color), but it’s not quite … Continue reading Winter Fix-It-Ups in the Garden
Bewitched by Witch Hazel
Spring blooming witch hazel in the garden Maybe it’s because the flowers of my witch hazel (Hamamelis) tree are the first flowers I see in spring. Maybe it’s because witch hazel doesn’t care if there’s snow on the ground when it blooms. Maybe it’s because witch hazel has flowers that are different from any other … Continue reading Bewitched by Witch Hazel
An Alternate View of Snow
This weekend Mother Nature gifted us with snow. Not just a dusting or a few flurries, a storm that started in the afternoon and continued on through the night blanketing everything in about eight inches of white. Happily for me (though I hesitate to use that word where winter weather of any kind is concerned), … Continue reading An Alternate View of Snow
My Winter Garden
Winter is always a challenge for me: the shorter daylight hours, the cold (often frigid) temperatures, blizzards, mountains of snow to be shoveled, wind, freezing rain, and ice. I often joked that if I could, I’d hibernate in a cave for the winter—or maybe just snuggle on the sofa at home with a good book … Continue reading My Winter Garden
What’s a Gardener to Do?
It’s January and winter has only just begun. Outside my window snow squalls are, well, squalling. True, here in the Berkshires the weather has been unseasonably kind so far, so I can’t complain about snow accumulating in the middle of January. We’ve had relatively mild temperatures, and the landscape has been decidedly brown—up until this … Continue reading What’s a Gardener to Do?
No Time for Resolutions
In January, the garden’s color palette is decidedly brown. Buds formed late last summer and fall on the lilac and other spring-blooming shrubs are far too small for their greenness to be easily seen. And while the grass in neighbors’ yards is still remarkably colorful this year, I’ve eliminated my lawn, replacing it with mulched … Continue reading No Time for Resolutions
Pen, Paper, Plant 