Forsythia, is it spring already?
Primula, again timing is a little off
Climbing New Dawn Rose Hip
Rose hip with spider
Next year's Japanese Maple bud
Heucherella
Astrantia, variegated
Heuchera
Hakone grass
Buddleia, dwarf white
Epimedium
Tiarella
Ligularia dentata, seed head
Pee Gee Hydrangea, Standard form
I always love seeing what others' gardens are doing in the winter. Can I just say how glad I am it doesn't snow where I live?
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much texture and color are in the winter garden even when everything appears to be "dead."
Jennifer - Winter does bring nice texture and a great time to show off foliage colours. Unfortunately it does snow here, it just has not come yet. Jan - March we are under cover.
ReplyDeleteHmm those spring bloomers are a little confused this year aren't they. I thought about joining this month. I figured if I could dig the snow off of my raised beds I could find a Johnny-Jump-Up in bloom still, but I didn't.
ReplyDeleteNice pics! I like that you're leaving some seedheads and dead grasses, much more interesting than just nothing.
ReplyDeleteDaphne - It is strange to see them blooming. I think I recall the Forsythia bloom in the fall before but not the primula.
ReplyDeleteTown Mouse - I leave everything standing in the garden all winter. It feeds the birds, looks nice and I am a lazy fall gardener.
Anonymous - Thanks
love the colourful foliage, - do your heucheras and tiarellas survive the snow? - last winter was colder than normal here and a lot of the coloured (i.e not plain purple) heucheras failed.
ReplyDeleteDan, I'm amazed at all the color you still have in the garden. My heucherella and tiarella were both quite colorful until the snowstorm last week. I like how you leave everything standing through the winter. It seems that's what a good gardener should do but for whatever reason, I'm obsessed with cleaning everything up in the fall. I didn't realize that Ontario was zone 6a. Doesn't seem fair that I'm stuck with zone 4:)
ReplyDeleteThe forsythia bloom....what's that about in December? Nice photo.
Claire - I have not had problems with the heucheras & tiarellas failing during the winter. I do find the coloured ones loss all their leaves and then they regrow the next spring.
ReplyDeleteDonna - We are near the southern tip of ontario, about 30 minutes from lake erie. Our area was recently rezoned due to the moderating affect of the great lakes etc. The other parts of ontario, which is a huge area, range from zone 4-5b.
Lots of winter interest in your garden Dan!
ReplyDeleteMost of the heucheras in our garden hold onto their leaves all winter, unless the rabbits get too hungry and decide to eat them!
I'm with you on leaving everything standing over the winter - feeds the birds, gives shelter to overwintering beneficial insects, and adds interest. It's a hardiness booster for some plants too.
Pretty wild that your forsythia wants to bloom! 2010 has been a crazy-weather year in the Chicago area too.
A dwarf white buddleia? Sounds very interesting! Actually, any color buddleia that's dwarf is what I would like. I'll have to keep an eye out for one.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at how many blooms you still have in the cold garden (even if some are a little confused)
ReplyDeleteI've had primroses blooming here a couple of weeks ago with more buds on the plant.
ReplyDeleteYou have lots of pretty color, I think the foliage and seed heads can be just as pretty as the flowers.
That Forsythia seems a little confused. Hopefully it knows something we don't!
ReplyDeleteI like how you showed that not just flowers bring color to the garden. I almost included photos of mandarins and lemons and japanese maple leaves in my post, but didn't. Now I wish I had.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to thank you for stopping by my blog on Bloom Day. Honestly, I would expect to see snow in your garden where you live.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan,
ReplyDeleteLove the rose hips ... and you said your garden is lacking red berries!
I really enjoy the faded blooms. I have a few plants where I've let the spent flowers stay, since they're as interesting as when the petals are fresh.
ReplyDeleteI especially love your pictures of the rose hips and that ligularia seedhead is gorgeous! The confused blooms - so much like the ones we've had popping around here - just break my heart. It's too cold for them today!
ReplyDeleteI think the spent blooms, seedheads, and dried grasses are so beautiful and often overlooked because people are not outside as much to enjoy their beauty as the weather get's crisp and cold. Thank you for sharing the beauty of your winter landscape.
ReplyDeleteQuite a nice collection of photos, especially considering the time of year. Makes me think I should take more seedhead photos.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, I expected Ontario to be much colder than us in the central Midwest! Amazing all the color you still have in your garden. I have fallen in love this year with hydrangeas--even in autumn and winter those blossoms look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting me; a belated happy Bloom Day!
Amazing pictures, Dan!
ReplyDeleteIt's my first visit to your blog and I've just joined the group of followers. Gosh, there are so many fun garden blogs!