2017 Long Island Garden: A Year in Review!

🌺 January 2017

~Welcome and Happy New Year! It's time once again to reflect on the year gone past in my Long Island garden. Come along for the highlights of 2017!~

The year of 2017 was full of unexpected weather surprises and new additions to the garden. January started off normal enough, with temperatures in the 30's, and a light dusting of snow on the 6th, but uncertainly was on the way. Although the forecast had predicted just another 2-4 inches of snowfall, winter storm Helena brought 7.4 inches of snow to blanket the landscape, and the garden turned into a winter wonderland. Since the garden was now at rest and there was time on hand, I happily celebrated the publishing of my second book. "Landscape Design Combinations" on the 13th!

🌺 February 2017

Winter continued as February came along, bringing unpredictable temperatures that fluctuated anywhere between 20 degrees to temperatures in the 50's, depending on the week. On the 9th, Winter Storm Niko arrived by surprise, bringing blizzard force winds and another 15 inches of accumulating snow to Long Island. Warmer temperatures and rains followed, quickly washing away much of the snow, and the future was looking promising.

🌺 March 2017

As milder temperatures returned with hyacinths and catkins, the wrath of March brought back winter-like conditions. While I had already been out working in the garden during the milder days, the middle of the month brought about some of the coldest days of the winter with a snowfall on the 10th, followed by wind chills of -10 to -15 below zero. Just five days before the official start of spring, both the gardens and the gardener were confused!

🌺 April 

Finally, the month of April brought relief and the garden started to come alive with colorful blooms! After one of the coldest arrivals of spring, early April brought in some rainy days, followed by sunny blue skies and 70 degree temperatures, just in time to bring the garden out of its dormancy. Now I know as gardeners. we often can't help ourselves from talking about the weather, but isn't that what makes the flowers grow? April erased memories of the unpredictable winter with the excitement of spring in the air.

🌺 May 2017

May brought normal temperatures for the time of year, moderating into the 60's as colorful blooms sprung up everywhere and the gardening season was in full swing. Warmer days brought two exciting new additions to the back gardens, including a second golden 'Skylands' Golden Oriental Spruce (right of center) and a 7-8' Kwanzan Cherry (left of center), with magnificent pink blooms. I was like  a kid in a candy shop...overwhelmed with excitement with my two new trees! As you can see above, we also had the pleasure of a mother dove and her baby in the Globe Spruce, right outside our window.

🌺 June 2017

June brought temperatures into the 70's and 80's with vibrant blooms, and Iris pallida Aureo Marginata joined the left driveway garden. The perennials seemed bigger and brighter when compared to other years, perhaps due to the colder than usual spring. As any gardener would understand, I so much enjoy adding a new perennial every once in a while, just to keep the garden changing and have more to look forward to. The Japanese Dogwood 'Greensleeves' (top and bottom left) and Bartella Peony (bottom right) both had a banner year!

🌺 July 2017

July brought some heat with temperatures staying consistent in the 80's with some days in the 90's, but it never stayed hot for long. Sunny skies were around for most days, with an occasional thunderstorm to bring rain for nurturing the blooms. The Hydrangeas were back with beautiful blooms after a couple of rough years, which brought great joy.

🌺 August 2017

The month of August was similar to July, bringing a combination of warm days in the 90's, followed by rain showers and cooler days in the 80's. Overall, it was a relatively comfortable summer season for both the garden and its visitors. I noticed that some of the late summer blooms were a bit delayed, but only by a couple of weeks.

🌺 September 2017

September rolled around, bringing continued blooms of Crape Myrtle, Buddleia, Daylily, Sedum and Liriope to name a few. Temperatures had now dropped into the 70's by day and 50's and 60's by night with a very active Atlantic hurricane season. We carefully watched each storm, especially Hurricane Irma. As with the winter months, September was very unpredictable with tropical storms lurking around every corner. Over the past couple of years, it has been very noticeable that the seasonal patterns are definitely changing. 

🌺 October 2017

The month of October was one of the warmest I can remember, with temperatures in the 80's on some days. Signs of autumn continued to push forward, but leaves continued to remain on trees all the way through November. The Monarchs were here and it almost felt like an extended summer, with an autumn that never arrived. This was a good thing for a gardener, because the late summer perennials had much longer to stick around and produce blooms.

🌺 November 2017

Now with all this talk about weather, November brought temperatures to produce 50 degree days with cool autumn evenings in the 30's and 40's. For a couple of nights, temperatures dropped down into the 20's, signaling that winter was not far behind. There were still blooms on perennials, which I do not recall during the month of November, but the seasons did seem to be getting back on track.

🌺 December 2017

The  month of December brought temperatures in the 30's-40's by day and 20's-30's by night, with our first snowfall on the 9th with three more snowfalls to follow. Blustery winds with temperatures hardly getting above 30 signaled that winter had arrived. The month continued with an unusual day in the 50's which melted all the snow, followed by a return of seasonal weather. For the last week of the year, it was scarves and mittens to venture outside, with a record low of 9 degrees and wind chill of -4 to bring in the second coldest New Year's Eve on record. 

💮 Good-bye 2017: Video Year in Review! 💮

The year 2017 was certainly an exciting one with the celebration of my second book on January 13th and several new additions to the garden. Now that winter has finally set in, my love of gardening moves indoors. I do gaze out the window often and take that occasional walk outdoors to take it all in and dream of spring. After all...as Marie Huston put it..."The gardening season officially begins on January 1st, and ends on December 31"...so I go with that thought and garden on! As 2017 has come to a close, I wish all of you a very Happy and Healthy 2018! Happy New Year! 😊

Linking with:  Floral Fridays, Macro Monday 2, Friday Photo Journal, Image-in-ing Weekly Photo Link-Up and Dishing It & Digging It.

As Always...Happy Gardening!

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening, © Copyright 2018. All rights reserved