A garden in white

Thursday, 20 Nov 08 (posted about 1 months ago) Cloudy 2°C / 36°F

I always enjoy those books full of luscious pictures of gardens in Winter, a light gloss of frost or a thin blanket of snow which, of course, lasts a day or two and then briskly melts under more sunny skies. Last night we got about 4" of snow, I thought that it wouldn’t last as it was falling off the trees and fences by breakfast time but it has, the ground must have been frozen hard enough although the roads became slushy. As always snow transforms the garden, simplifies it, smooths it out and converts it into sculpture. It becomes like an old photo in tones of white and browns.

Photos: The littlest chrysanthemum blooms bravely on; berberis; a container of chard; lilacs outside my bedroom window in the family garden; the garden and beyond.

Want to comment?

Vivvy wrote:
So pretty, but it looks COLD !

Posted on 22 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Rainymountain wrote:
No, it was quite mild +2C!

Posted on 22 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Nax wrote:
You mean like this? (I didn’t post it here specifically because I could here you laughing at me— “you call that snow?”) But don’t worry, we’ll spend January up to our hocks, and with temps to awful to think about.

Posted on 22 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Rainymountain wrote:
Hey you should have posted it Nax :-), record of your garden in winter. Is that your yard? I don’t think I have seen an overview before. I rather like to have an overall picture of people’s garden. Anyway it rained all last night so I will leave it to your imagination what the garden looks like today.

Posted on 22 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Nax wrote:
I’m actually working on a four-season post. (And, all the full views are on my flickr in a group called “garden panoramas” if you’re interested.)

Posted on 22 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Rainymountain wrote:
I’ll check it out. The four season post should be really interesting.

Posted on 22 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Mondomuse wrote:
It’s wonderful to see your garden full circle here. I have so enjoyed your garden during the spring and summer… but now to see the snow adorning everything it’s amazing. This is a life cycle I don’t get to experience myself, so I view in awe and wonderment from afar. Your photos beautifully document this passage of time and the advent of winter.

Posted on 24 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Rainymountain wrote:
Thanks Mondomuse, are you still writing on MyFolia? I don’t seem to have seen anything for a while and wondered how your xeriscaping is going and what sort of a summer and fall you have had.

Posted on 24 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Mondomuse wrote:
Thanks so much Rainymountain. I am just starting to write again and be posting here at Folia soon. I’m about five months into a year-long garden makeover and it’s not been easy, or all that sexy yet, so have hesitated to write about it. I’d rather glow praises of progress than commiserate my grief, but as gardening goes that’s a mistake. Sharing my blunders is just as important as the successes… now I get it. Thank you for your encouragement and support.

Posted on 26 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)
Rainymountain wrote:
Yes we really do need to hear about the grief otherwise gardening looks just like the glossy garden magazines – all wonderfull results with none of the hard work and mistakes showing. Very discouraging for novices and the rest of us, who are struggling with hungry critters (large and small), dying plants, rotten garden design and all the other plagues that befall a gardener.

Posted on 26 Nov 08 (about 1 months ago)