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| Welcome! |
Happy New Year and welcome to my zone 7b Long Island garden! It's nice to see you here! It has been an exciting beginning to the new year, starting with the launching of my sixth book, The Houseplant Guide: How to Easily Select & Maintain Indoor Plants. See my post from January 7th (link above) telling about the journey as I share a collection of over 120 indoor plants with care tips and maintenance advice. It has been a labor of love, so I hope you will check out the book and perhaps even read it!
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| Patio Border Garden- Osmanthus 'Goshiki' and Dwarf Red Pine (front) |
Now onto our outdoor garden tour! The month of January quickly diminished any thoughts of the warm winter we had been experiencing. With daytime temperatures below freezing and dropping into the teens at night with high winds and a chill factor in the single digits, it made for a cold start to the month. Long Island received two small dustings of snowfall so far, one on the 6th and another on the morning of the 11th, but this gardener senses that there will be more! Everywhere around us, including north, west and even south as received significant snowfall. I think the month of February may tell another story, and only time will tell.
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| Shade Border |
As we start the tour, there is finally a one-on-one with a visitor that is not too shy. I have been keeping the feeder filled during the cold temperatures, and the birds seem to depend on it. The huge evergreen in the background is Weeping Norway Spruce, with the golden foliage of Hinoki Cypress 'Fernspray'.
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| Foundation Planting |
For some winter brightness is Nandina 'Obsession', a non-invasive hybrid dwarf form of Nandina that has no berries and is safe for wildlife. The newer foliage is a pinkish-red all year long, but becomes even more vibrant in wintertime.
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| Winter Interest with St. John's Wort |
You can have interest in the garden all year round, even with something as simple as the dried berries of St. John's Wort. The dried berries are the remains of the yellow flowers in summer, followed by red fruits in autumn. Note: While other parts of the plant have been used in medicine, the berries are considered toxic and not edible.
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| Pool Border |
In the summertime there are perennials in this space, but for wintertime it is the foliage of Weeping White Pine that stands out, along with the large boulders that exist throughout the garden, which are so much easier to spot at this time of year.
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| Pool Raised Garden |
The newest planting along the pool with Weeping Norway Spruce, Variegated Upright Boxwood, Cherry Laurel and Golden Pacific Juniper is starting to fill in nicely, with hopes of abundant growth on year three. As the saying goes...first year sleep, second year creep...third year leap!
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| Patio Border |
The Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' along the back walkway is in winter mode with its foliage deepening to an orangey-golden color, while Spirea 'Candy Corn' and Japanese Maple Twombly's 'Red Sentinel' are now dormant. The Lamb's Ear that borders the garden continues to share its white soft foliage throughout winter.
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| Winter Interest-Nellie Stevens Holly Berries |
In the back shade border, the red berries of Nellie Steven's Holly give some winter interest and are enjoyed by wildlife.
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| Shade Garden-Pool Border |
Along with the berries of Nellie Stevens' Holly, the newer foliage of Leucothoe 'Axillaris' deepens to a maroon color. Joining the Leucothoe are Sky Pencil Holly and Golden Sweet Flag.
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| Butterfly Bush Winter Interest |
Even the remaining final growth of Butterfly Bush can add some interest to the landscape...
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| Heather (Calluna vulgaris 'Firefly') |
along with the foliage and dried blooms of summer Heather.
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| Driveway Border |
As the temperatures get colder, the magnificent bark of Coral Bark Maple gets brighter. It is a sight I look forward to every winter. Here the Coral Bark Maple is joined by Skyland's Oriental Spruce.
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| Front Lawn |
When it comes to structure, the twisted trunk of Weeping Japanese Maple is a work of nature...
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| Front Foundation Planting |
while the golden evergreen foliage of Hinoki Cypress 'Verdoni' with Golden Variegated Sedge adds some color and structure to the garden.
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| Herb Garden Winter |
In the herb garden is Rosemary, which my husband uses to cook with all winter. This one is close to the foundation, which shields it somewhat from the winds.
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| Front Walkway Winter |
As we venture to the front of the property, here is a view along the walkway with a variety of evergreens and Liriope (Lilyturf) tucked in between for continuous yearly interest. Helpful Tip: It is important to not cut back your Lilyturf in fall, especially if you are in a colder zone. The foliage adds interest and protects it over the winter. I cut mine back here in zone 7b around mid to late April after any threat of frost is gone and before new growth starts to sprout.
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| Front Lawn Winter |
As we near the end of the tour, here is a view of the front lawn in wintertime with Weeping Norway Spruce, Osmanthus 'Goshiki' and Dwarf Norway Spruce, joined by Weeping Japanese Maple and Blue Atlas Cedar in the distance...
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| Hellebore 'Shooting Star' |
while on the north side of the property there are buds on Hellebore 'Shooting Star' with blooms soon to follow!
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| All-Season Planter |
By the back entry, the all season planter with a variety of Lemon Cypress, Spruce, Juniper and Dwarf Osmanthus continues to greet visitors. This is the second year for this combination and it has been doing nicely. Since the Lemon Cypress is hardy to zone 7 and is in a container, I do protect it with covering on those really cold nights.
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| A Little Dusting of Snow! |
Speaking of cold nights, it was less than a week ago that we woke up to a dusting of snow covering the garden. It lasted just long enough to enjoy before it all melted away as the temperatures finally warmed above freezing.
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| Indoor Garden |
And while the weather outside is frightful, the indoor garden is so delightful! Here is a small section of my collection of common and rare houseplants, which I do enjoy all year long! As we wrap up the month of January, thoughts from garden author Josephine Neuse ring in my mind, “Anyone who thinks that gardening begins in the spring and ends in the fall is missing the best part of the whole year; for gardening begins in January with the dream."
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| Thank you for Visiting! |
I hope you enjoyed your visit to my January garden. I so appreciate you being here, look forward to your comments and enjoy seeing what you have growing in your garden. Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who had hosted Foliage Follow-Up, a meme I will continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday, Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays and Garden Affair at Jaipur Garden.
My Author Page & Books (Plus a New Reveal!!!)
announcing...drum roll....
As Always...Happy Gardening!
Author: Lee @A Guide to Northeastern Gardening, © Copyright 2010-2025. All rights reserved.
