Hello garden ....glad to make your acquaintance again.....

I am reacquainting myself with every inch of my garden this year.  I have been too busy over the past three years to pay attention to the sensual garden I planted for ME, over the last ten years.  From the pristine white tree peony blooms shattered by the rainy days of last week to the  vivid purple phlox brightening up my shady walkway, I wander... remembering seasons past.  The swollen buds of the herbaceous peonies and the rose bushes wait in anticipation to please my visual, as well as my olfactory needs.  I see the empty spots that yearn to be filled with color.  I hear the birds singing songs of thanks for uncovering food for their young. I watch bees buzzing with glee for the chance to perhaps pollinate something that will make me smile.  

There is life in my garden, there is texture, color, fragrance and hope for yet another season of smiles...... this year, I will make time to enjoy the awesomeness of my garden.

Snow Reflections.....

I am in District Heights, Maryland. It is snowing and I am in a very reflective mode. Not thinking about t he last few bulbs that will not make it into the ground, but will most likely be planted in the Spring. I am reflecting and  remembering moving here about ten years ago. I honestly bought my house for the yard.  I thought of all the things I could do with it's gentle curves, mixed exposures - from full sun to part shade to shade, sloping terrain and mature trees.  I love mature trees and District Heights is full of them. Some need more help than others, but they stand ever so gracefully along the streets, branches gently embracing you as you enter our community along Gateway Boulevard.  It wasn't just the trees that caused me to pause, nor was it the little yellow ice cream shop that I understand has been here for ages (it really needs a garden to welcome all newcomer's and residents alike to our little City)  It was the aura of the community, the people who I saw walking, waving and the feel of a community with firm foundations.

I remember my first snow here.  I was in awe of the beauty that surrounded me daily, that I absolutely took for granted.  I wandered around in the middle of the night, wanting to capture the moment, but scared that pictures were forbidden.  I walked along the woods line on District Heights Parkway...all the vines that looked brown and unsightly, were all dusted with fluffy cotton balls of snow.  Bending in grace, awaiting to be frozen in time, if only for a night. I remember, as I walk the City tonight and see the awesomeness unfold around every corner....

walking by the woodland green space...

strolling in the street sans cars, plows or salt trucks...

a bench that says "pause, sit on me and recognize the beauty that surrounds you......"

what is at the end of this street or even along the way.....

dusted with snow, like confectioner's sugar, these trees make me want to break off a branch and feel the sensation of a burst of a trillion icicles in my hands...along my face...it is nature, after all...(yet another site that needs to have an interesting native planting  to demonstrate the beauty that surrounds us)

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another borrowed view that makes me want to run and see what lurks beyond the snow laden branches.....

As I walked I noticed the borrowed view, while in some eyes, this was merely an alley. In my eyes this was simply a borrowed view, inviting me to wander down to see what was at the other end. On a brighter, warmer evening, I will remember this view and take a stroll down to see what is in store that just might be an inspiration. There are many borrowed views within the City of District Heights, but in order to see them, one must wander outside and enjoy the briskness of the season,

From the woodlands, where in the Spring and Summer, there are some awesome native ferns nestled under the comforting branches of the mature trees to the streets with in the community, District Heights dusted with snow makes me feel as though I am in a fairy tale land, far away, where everyone is good, kind, honest and
connected with the land and their little piece of heaven.

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District Heights is my little piece of heaven, right here in Maryland..................

Thoughts On Color In The Winter Garden

The winter garden is visually perceived as only having shades of brown and green, dormant is the term most often used in the horticultural world. 

I urge folks to go outside in the winter , take a walk, walk in the woods, the park or in your own backyard.  Enjoy more than just the briskness of the air and the sound of the leaves beneath your feet.  Instead pay attention to the colors that are still surrounding you - even in the midst of winter.

If you take a look at the shades of rusty red, shimmering golds, deep velvety greens and frosty blue/greys that accent the winter garden, you would begin to realize that winter is merely Act IV of the play called "The Garden".  A few plants that come to mind to embrace this thought are as follows:

Rusty Reds - Larch, Red Twig Dogwood, Epimediums, Nandina;

Shimmering Golds - Golden D'Odor Cedar, Variegated Euonymous, Yellow Twig Dogwood, Gold Mop Cypress;

Deep Velvety Greens - Camellias, Winter Gem Boxwood's, Curly Leaved Ligustrum, Native Hollies:

Lastly the Frosty Blue/Grey's - Caryopteris, Artemesia's, Perovska, Blue Atlas Cedars

It is truly amazing how winter's chill enhances the landscape.  A shrub that is not a focal point throughout the rest of the year is rarely noticed when the garden is in full bloom.  I actually embrace the winter garden and it's nakedness - yet colorful beauty. One can see the structure of certain plant material (usually trees and shrubs) and can visualize how to enhance or expand an existing flower bed. 

As I walk through my front garden, on the left side, the knobby limbs of three tree peonies stand tall amidst  a mulched perennial flower bed.  The window box over flowing with orange and purple pansies and the deep green liriope skirt that caresses the front of the short walk way leading to the parking pad, are the only touches of color on this side. 

On the right side, two Camellia's stand like body guards beside the chartreuse branches of the weeping Japanese maple, which actually pop with color against the white walls of my cottage.  A sleeping cherub statue rests at the base of this dwarf tree amidst a sea of ruby leaved Epimedeum's, deep mocha leaved heuchera's, bright green ruffled leaves of English Primrose and Hellebore Orientalis (both of which are in bloom) and honey brown fern leaves.  The Japanese maple, whose maze of branches appears to be protecting the invisible inhabitants  - ginger, astible, assorted hosta and bleeding heart  - has the two Camellia's that flank each side, while attempting to hold onto the fading pink blossoms from the season past. 

This is like intermission at the theater....you know the next act will complete the show.  Subtle color in the winter garden peaks ones interest of things to come....

March Showers......April Flowers

I know you have heard similar phrases before...March usher's in April showers to bring the awesome flowers in May.  Well let me tell ya...the daffodils are waving their heads amongst the vinca, gracing the feet of the large oak tree that stands guard over my cottage in the court.  The chilly rains have caused the pansies to settle in and prepare to be the stars of the garden as the other plants awaken from their winter's rest.  I see the Camellia's and Magnolia Stellata unfurling their blooms beckoning the Yoshino Cherry tree to join in the awakening of the season.

What a colorful show that performs and changes with each breaking day.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring??