JACK FROST NIPPING AT YOUR NOSE

Vinca minor 'compacta'

Fallen leaves of Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' (Coral Bark Maple)

Viburnum davidii

We were delighted to have a white Christmas here in the Northwest. It snowed for a few hours yesterday just enough to cover the ground and make it pretty. From what I hear it's one in twenty years that it snows on Christmas in my area. We don't get snow to often but one thing we do get a lot of is frosts, especially from Nov. 1st to March 15th. Usually they happen between rainstorms. I'll have to say I do like them. There is something very beautiful to me about having everything sugar coated. I do have to be cognisant about putting out annuals to early, but generally I'm very good about being patient and waiting. The textural photos above are a few examples from the other day. The center pictures is of some fall leaves. Some may ask why I haven't raked them up. Well, as long as they are not on the lawn or covering evergreen perennials and shrubs I let Mama Nature do her thing and use it as a mulch. In addition to protecting any deciduous plants it helps keep the weeds down.

WINTER SOLTICE

Tonight Winter officially starts and for many it translates to cold weather and snow. Here in the Seattle Sound area we are blessed to have a milder Winter than most. I am always thankful for that, and when I forget, all I have to do is turn on the television and watch the evening news when broadcasting what the weather is like in other parts of the world. Attached is a picture from my garden during a recent snow fall. We only get a few a year and generally they are always under 6 inches and melt in a few days. With the picture is a wonderful poem about Winter from one of my favourite writers.

Enjoy and Happy Winter.

For those that hate Winter remember that the days are getting longer now and before you know it Spring green well be surrounding you in your garden :)

We give thanks for the blessing of Winter:
Season to cherish the heart.
To make warmth and quiet for the heart.
To make soups and broths for the heart.
To cook for the heart and read for the heart.
To curl up softly and nestle with the heart.
To sleep deeply at one with the heart.
To dream with the heart.
To spend time with the heart.
A long, long time of peace with the heart.
We give thanks for the blessings of Winter:
Season to cherish the heart.
- Michael Leunig

BARK

Well, all the leaves are brown and the sky is gray, to quote a song. Life has been busy with all the holidays, visiting family and a exciting new job. The garden is sitting silent in its winter slumber and there is a lot of barren dirt showing where perennials and annuals once flourished.
During this time of year in scanning the local foliage and fauna I find my eyes gravitating to the bark on trees. Often they go unnoticed because they are covered with summer foliage or we focus on their amazing canopies of these beautiful plants instead of their incredible trunks. Winter is a perfect time to enjoy the wrapping of some of our favourite trees, and with the background of snow or the gray of a cloudy December sky it only enhances their viewing. I have selected several photos to illustrate the wonderful texture and colour of a few trees in the neighborhood.
It is always a gentle reminder that even in a flowerless garden, or one filled with many deciduous plants, that there is always something interesting to study and enjoy.