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| Welcome to my February Garden! |
Welcome! It certainly has been an interesting month to say the least! After a relatively uneventful January with milder than usual temperatures, February 4th brought in temperatures in the single digits, with 45 mph winds, and a wind chill of 30 below zero! Needless to say, I did not venture out into the garden that day! A few days later, temperatures returned to 50 degrees and it has been a rollercoaster ever since, going from fifty degrees one day to into the thirties the next. In the midst of a crazy winter, there are blooms (and foliage) to be seen. Come along with me for a tour of my Long Island garden!
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| Helleborus 'Shooting Star' |
Even in the deepest of cold, Helleborous comes through with its colorful bracts that last for months. The first to always start blooming is 'Shooting Star', which usually starts displaying flowers in January.
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| Helleborus 'Merlin' |
Next to bloom starting in February is Helleborus 'Merlin' with deeper pink bracts...
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| Helleborus 'Champion' |
followed by 'Champion' with greenish-yellow bracts, which last through March.
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| 'Skylands' Oriental Spruce and Coral Bark Maple |
On the front lawn/driveway border is stately 'Skyland's Golden Oriental Spruce. Planted in 2008 as a memorial for my mom, it now towers at a mature twenty-five feet tall. The brilliant red branches to the left behind it are of Coral Bark Maple 'Sangu Kaku'.
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| 'Skylands' Oriental Spruce Seed Cones |
Seed cones dangling from up high on the branches of the spruce is always a fun sight!
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| Azalea Wintertime |
In the back pool surround garden, the foliage of Azalea turns a deep burgundy this time of year...
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| 'Anna's Magic Ball Arborvitae and 'Pieris 'Cavatine' |
and the foliage of 'Anna's Magic Ball' Arborvitae turns from a golden summer color to a wonderful orangey hue in wintertime.
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| Blue Globe Spruce and Variegated Boxwood |
Some other evergreens known for their colorful foliage are Blue Globe 'Montgomery' Spruce and Variegated Boxwood.
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| Weeping Japanese Maple 'Viridis' |
Moving along to the front lawn, this mature Weeping Japanese Maple has the most amazing structure in the wintertime when all the leaves are gone. I remember planting this tree some thirty plus years ago.
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| Blue Atlas Cedar |
Planted in 1995, this Blue Atlas Cedar now towers over the island bed in the front yard. For some size perspective, the Gold Lace Juniper beneath it on the right are approximately four feet tall!
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| Blue Atlas Cedar Seed Cones |
Here are the seed cones of the cedar close up!
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| Kousa Dogwood and Evergreens in Backyard Garden Winter |
Venturing around again to the backyard, here is a view of the framework of Kousa Dogwood along with Gold Lace Juniper and Arborvitae...
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| Backyard Shade Garden |
while we see Leucothoe, Spreading Yew and Weeping Norway Spruce in the shadier part of the garden.
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| St. John's Wort 'Magical Universe' |
Here is a more dwarf version of St. John's Wort with its dried fruit for winter interest.
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| Leucothoe and Golden Sweet Flag |
Golden Sweet flag adds some color to the shade garden along with the Leucothoe behind it. Spoiler alert...I talk about several of these plants in my new shade gardening book!
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| Nellie Stevens Holly Berries |
Here is 'Nellie Sevens' Holly with its colorful berries!
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| Hyacinths Already?!!! |
As we approach the end of our stroll, there is a very unusual sight for February. With mild temperatures for the most part, the Hyacinth are already appearing...
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| Sedum Rosettes in February! |
and so are the Sedum! I have never experienced this happening this early in the year!!!
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| Tea Time!!! |
So, there have been many surprises in the winter garden thus far and we are less than five weeks away from the official start of spring!
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| Indoor Garden |
I'll just keep enjoying the indoor garden for now on the colder days...
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| Still Blooming! |
and continue to dream of gardening days ahead!
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| Thanks for Visiting! |
I hope you enjoyed your visit to my February garden and as always, I look forward to your comments and 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, Friday Bliss at Floral Passions, Macro Monday 2, Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday with NC Sue and Gardens Galore Link Up Party every other Monday with Everyday Living. I am also happy to join the Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays and Garden Affair at Jaipur Garden. Here is to a wonderful 2023 planting season and gardens that thrive!
IN THE NEWS!!!
I am excited to announce that my fifth book, Shade Gardening for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic: A Guide to Planning the Ultimate Shade Garden is now a reality! Come check it out and if you have it, please post a review on Amazon and/Goodreads. Reviews are so very important in getting the word out about a new book on these sites and I would so appreciate your support!
I recently had the honor of being a guest on two podcasts as we chatted about shade gardening and my new book, first on Washington Gardener Magazine with Kathy Jentz , then on Better Lawns and Gardens with Teresa Watkins! It is always fun chatting gardening with colleagues and I am sending out a big thank you to both for having me on! Be sure to check out both of their amazing podcasts!
and my newest addition, Shade Gardening for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
"As Always...Happy Gardening!"
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