Winter garden

A woman passed by my garden and called hello to me.  She told me that she walks up our street often to look at my yard because my garden looks good in every season.


Nice to hear.  This posting is to remind myself about her comment, so I can reference it the next time I am picking at my garden's flaws.


I looked around with fresh eyes.  The pebble path and stone wall can be seen best in winter, excellent bones for the front garden. The plant forms there are generous, in good proportion to the beds. 

The two-year old hellebores beside the porch are filling in nicely.  Some of the foliage has gotten burned in the winter sun.  Tight buds the color of Cabernet are hidden near the crown, waiting for February.

I would never plant liorope, but this generous clump planted inself near the Japanese maple, spreading wide where almost nothing else would grow.

The autumn fern is evergreen and a new native plant for me.  These are still planted in pots until I find the ideal site for their permanent home.

Across the stone path, senecio aureus is a lazy pool of green. Somehow, it manages to pull itself over the thick cover of oak leaves.

The low wall separates the brown leaves from the green pathway.  Later in the afternoon, the gold stones glow in the setting sun.

In winter, green weedy grasses on the path provide a striking contrast against the brown of the leaves covering the beds. Until recently, the green path was covered with a soft green moss.  This summer, I encouraged the moss by watering with buttermilk thinned with water, and with diluted vinegar, killing the moss, at least for now. 

Everybody makes mistakes, but nature often heals itself.