Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day & Foliage Follow Up December 2017: Snowflakes on Roses

December 2017 Garden

Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and Foliage Follow-Up for the month of December. After a relatively mild November, winter has arrived in the northeast with temperatures in the 30's-40's by day and 20's-30's by night, with a layer of snow covering our Long Island garden. The first snowfall arrived on the 9th with just enough covering to transform the landscape into a winter wonderland, with a refreshing on the 14th. At this time of year, it's all about colorful evergreens, texture and structure. Join me for a stroll to take in the view! 

Snowflakes on Roses

With the milder than usual temperatures, the rose bushes had still been pushing out new foliage, which is now covered with crystals of snow. Many of the deciduous trees and shrubs had just recently lost their leaves within the past couple of weeks, with some still not ready to fall. The seasonal changes have been noticeably behind by about three weeks until just recently.

White Covered Branches of Gold Lace Juniper

Evergreens are in the spotlight during December. Here is Juniperus 'Gold Lace' with its graceful golden branches all covered in snow.

Ice Crystals on Montgomery Blue Globe Spruce

Montgomery Blue Globe Spruce never ceases to amaze me with its vibrant blue foliage, that seems even more prominent during the late fall and into the winter months. The ice crystals make the shrub "glow" even more in the sunlight.

Pool Area December 2017

In the pool garden is Weeping Norway Spruce (Picea abies 'Pendula'). Behind it on top of the rock waterfall are spreading yew and to the left are Hinoki Cypress 'Nana', which reach a height of only about three feet tall at maturity.

Sedum Winter Interest

I often leave the dried seed heads of Sedum 'Brilliant' a little longer so that birds can enjoy them. They also look nice when snow covered, which adds interest to the garden.

Nandina domestica

Towards the northern area of the property is Nandina domestica, also known as Heavenly or False Bamboo. It is a clumping variety (non-invasive in our area) and the interesting looking foliage remains semi-evergreen over the winter. I have read recently from studies that the berries may be harmful to wildlife if eaten in large quantities. While I have never seen any sign of birds going near the Nandina, I still remove the berries as food supply becomes scarce and continue to enjoy the  lovely foliage.

Holly 'Nellie Stevens' Berries

Another berry producing plant in the garden is Holly 'Nellie Stevens'. The berries are a beautiful bright red against dark green shiny leaves and make an excellent food source for birds for a good portion of the year.

Weeping White Pine Reproductive Cones

Weeping White Pine is showing off its large seed cones. I really enjoy nature's artwork as the cones are in varying shades of brown with white accents.

Driveway Entry Garden (Photo taken in Between Two Snowfalls)

In the driveway entry garden, Coral Bark Maple and Weigela 'Spilled Wine' have lost their foliage, leaving evergreens to take on the role of supplying color. Here are Skyland's Oriental Spruce (to the left), Hinoki Cypress and Boxwood (to the right) and Blue Atlas Cedar (in the distance-center).

Skyland's Oriental Spruce

The female seed bearing cones of Skyland's Spruce start off purple in spring and mature to a deeper brown by winter.

Coral Bark Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango-kaku) Bark in December

Coral Bark Maple 'Sango Kaku' is starting to show its glowing coral-red bark as the temperatures fall. Generally, the lower the temperatures, the more brilliant  the tree.

Hellebore Shooting Star Buds (Lenten Rose)

In the northern garden, Hellebore 'Shooting Star' is developing buds that will open in a month of so. Recently added is Hellebore 'Dark and Handsome', which was planted just this past summer. The goal is to add more interest to the winter garden and have more to look forward to. I am not sure about getting blooms this season, so I'll have to wait and see if it produces any buds.

Patio Garden

Along the patio (left to right) is Colorado Blue Globe Spruce, Weeping Norway Spruce, Blue Star Juniper and Dwarf Fountain Grass, the later being done for the season.

Snowflakes on Hydrangea

Along the fence are the snow tipped remains of hydrangea blooms. The flower heads will eventually disintegrate over the winter, but add interest for now.

Front Walkway Liriope and Juniper

Here is a snowy view of along the front walkway with Variegated Liriope and Japanese Garden Juniper, topped with a tinge of white frosting!

Baby...It's Cold Outside!

At this time of year, even gardening boy and girl look cold with piles of snow upon their heads!

Welcome!

I love the garden throughout all the seasons, each month of the year bringing something new to look forward to. No matter what the time of year, whether spring, summer winter or fall, the garden is my sanctuary...a place of thoughts, dreams and sweet memories.  

There's No Place Like Home!

Being that this is the last Bloom Day and Foliage Follow-Up post for the year of 2017, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to you, for being here throughout the year, with best wishes for a beautiful and peaceful holiday season. There's more to come with 'This Month in the Garden" on the 1st to bring in the new year, and a 2017 Gardening Year in Review on the 7th!

December 2017 Garden

I hope you enjoyed this month's tour through my garden. Special thanks go out to our hostesses 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 and Pam at Digging for hosting Foliage Follow-Up. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Fridays, Macro Monday 2, and Nature Notes at Rambling Woods. Also check out Garden Bloggers' Foliage Day at Creating my own garden of the Hesperides, Wednesday Around the World, Dishing It & Digging It and Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday. 

Sharing My Passion and New Video Trailer:

A Guide to Northeastern Gardening: Journeys of a Garden Designer Zones 3-9

Landscape Design Combinations

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~Enjoy the beauty of the season...and As Always...Happy Gardening!~

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening, © Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.