Winter doesn’t mean the garden is over

The last day of December and the gardens are still giving back. Despite the recent freezing weather, so many  beautiful settings can be found around. A lot of plants can deal with the cold very well.

Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’

There is still some brilliant foliage very much alive even after weeks of freezing weather. Cyclamen hederifolium (ivy-leaved cyclamen) blooms in the fall and then produces these patterned leaves that stay up all winter before going dormant again in the spring.

Hellebores orientalis are best loved for their late winter/early spring flowers, but their foliage can put up a pretty good display in the winter as well. In the rear is a dwarf concolor fir (Abies concolor ‘Compacta’).

Winter is a great time to examine the barks of our trees, look at this paperbark maple (Acer griseum).

And finally, even the hardscape of the garden seems more beautiful in a wet, wintery/snowy setting. So my suggestion is to stop dreaming about spring. Go outside and enjoy your garden today!