Welcome winter

After all the leaves have dropped, and the Northeast settles into muted November, most gardeners around these parts will admit that this time of year is their least favorite.  I used to feel that way, too.  I'd look around my yard with a mixture of relief (that all the leaves were finally cleared away) and depression (will it really be four long months before I see the first daffodils popping up through the snow?).  I'd wander the stark paths out back, somberly noting the stick-like appearance of lilac and magnolia trees, and recall a time when they were in full bloom, dripping lush leaves of green and blooms of purple and white, like wealthy ladies adorned in jewels.

As the years have passed, I've learned a thing or two about gardening, but I've discovered even more about myself.  Somewhere along the way, I had an epiphany, of sorts, which gently nudged me toward appreciating each day as it comes, no matter what the weather.  Some days dawn on soft breezes and buttery yellow light so enticing that you feel like sticking out your tongue to taste it.  Other days bring drama: the crackle of thunder and hot strike of white lightning making us jump in fleeting fear.  There are gentle-rain-pattering-the roof mornings, and leaf-swirling, wind-swept afternoons.  Some days smell of moss and growing things.  Others carry the sharp scent of wood smoke. But we never know quite what each new day will bring until it comes, and that's where the magic of weather never fails to entice.

This November morning wears a coat of foggy gray.  Most would say it's a lackluster day, in a dismal time of year, but I choose to recall that we are only two weeks from Thanksgiving, and I'm appreciative.  After a very dry summer and fall season, my plants need the drizzle saturating the soil around them, and I need the time, sitting amid the hushed morning air, devoid of chattering birdsong and scurrying squirrel activity, to think.

I will try to use the time allotted me during this "off season" to revise my planting strategy.  I'll recall what worked especially well in the garden last season, predict what new items may grow well in future, and devise a planting plan for spring.  I'll also relish the physical break.  As every gardener knows, tending a landscape can be hard on the joints and muscles.

Since we have had an unseasonably warm autumn, with nary a hard frost, I even have time to get some evergreen plants into the landscape.  Among the best things to plant right now for winter interest are:  yew, boxwood, holly, rhododendron, arborvitae, pine and cypress (if you have plenty of room), spruce (also requires lots of space unless you opt for the dwarf varieties), and juniper.  If flowers in winter are what you yearn for, try hellebores, also known as Christmas roses.  H. niger macranthus will be in bloom for the big day, with large, pure white flowers.  Most other varieties bloom after the new year.  Pair Christmas rose with Christmas fern, which truly does keep its color through the season, and the effect is a bit of a tease, but lends a taste of the warm-weather glory that we call the growing season.