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| Welcome to my December Garden! |
Welcome to my Long Island zone 7b December garden! As the temperatures plummet into the 30's and 40's by day and I venture outdoors, I search for the inner beauty of nature, especially now as the garden goes dormant. If you open your mind and allow your eyes to look deeply, it is possible to find beauty everywhere. There is mention of our first snow in the forecast, so I have been preparing. Join me as we venture out into the wintertime garden.
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| Welcoming Committee! |
As we start our tour, we first encounter the official welcoming committee and the Trombly’s Red Sentinel Japanese Maple that resides behind them. Now that the leaves have fallen, you can clearly see its inner structure of winding branches with a slight tint of burgundy.
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| Nellie Stevens Holly Berries |
In the back garden the berries of Nellie Steven’s Holly are at their brightest red for the holiday season and are a delightful feast for the birds.
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| Back "Secret Garden" |
Way in the back is the “secret garden”. Tucked away and only accessed through a path from the main lawn, a mature Weeping Norway Spruce can be seen along with Variegated Boxwood, Cherry Laurel and the remains of the caramel colored foliage of Coral Bells.
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| Leucothoe 'Axillaris' |
To the south of the secret garden, evergreen Leucothoe ‘Axillaris’ has a burgundy tint to its foliage this time of year with flower buds setting for next year, adding interest to the back shade garden.
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| Patio Border |
Along the patio border is a smaller Weeping Norway Spruce, which is accompanied by the bronzing wintertime color of Dwarf Cryptomeria and a dwarf form of Nandina called ‘Obsession’. This newer cultivar of Nandina stays evergreen in zone 7b, has been grown to not produce berries (which are believed to be harmful to birds) and it is non-invasive as compared to its original counterpart. It also gets this fiery pinkish-orange color in wintertime, which is a plus!
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| Northern Border |
Here along the northern border, the foliage of Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar seems to be even more prominent in winter. Heuchera ‘Caramel’ lives beneath it along a moss rock border.
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| Stachys (Lamb' Ear) Wintertime |
If you are looking for a touch of white in the garden, Lamb’s Ear fits the bill. Its fuzzy white foliage can be seen throughout the entire year and it gets stalks of pink blooms mid-way through the summer season.
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| Rose Hip Wintertime |
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| Weeping White Pine Seed Cone |
while the seed cones of white pine add some interest too!
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| Winter Beauty |
As I had mentioned earlier, if you look deeply enough you will see beauty everywhere. I find something as simple as the dried flowers of Hydrangea to catch the eye!
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| Front Raised Bed |
As we venture around to the front of the property you will notice another Weeping Norway Spruce along with the variegated foliage of Osmanthus 'Goshiki', deep green needles of Dwarf Norway Spruce and dwarf Cryptomeria way to the left. In the backdrop is a very mature Blue Atlas Cedar and two Weeping Japanese Maples.
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| Raised Bed Front Lawn-A New Look! |
Here is the newest renovation of the raised bed. When a huge Beech Tree on the corner recently had met its demise and had to come down, I decided to add something new...a moss rock decorative wall. I am enjoying how it came out as it adds some interest and has given the bed a finished look. In the springtime, the existing perennials along the rock will fill in the gaps.
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| Driveway Border |
It is December, so the branches of the Coral Bark Maple ‘Sangu Kaku’ are starting to develop their slightly coral-pink tinge. As the temperatures lower and as the possibility of snow arrives, the color of the branches will get only get deeper. The Maple is accompanied by Golden ‘Skylands’ Oriental Spruce, which was planted back in 2008, and now towers to approximately 25 feet tall.
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| Container Planting |
I have gotten into more container planting over the years and have created these all-season planters with mixtures of cold hardy evergreens. This one has a combination of Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Whipcord Arborvitae and Boxwood.
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| Awaiting Winter Blooms! |
Just when most of the blooms have gone dormant for wintertime, there is always Hellebore (Lenten Rose) with its evergreen foliage and colorful bracts. This one is called ‘Shooting Star’ and will start blooming in January.
And what a difference a day makes! Just like that...on the morning of the 14th as we awoke, the weather predictions had became true. The snow had arrived and the once green landscape has turned into a snowy winter wonderland with six inches plus of snowfall. It is official...it is the largest December snowfall we have had in years.
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| Our First Winter Snow |
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| Winter Wonderland |
For now, I am staying inside warm and cozy and admiring the view from the window. The words, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” are going through my mind as the sound of snow plows can be heard in the street. Since this is the last post for 2025, I want to thank you, my readers, for being here each month. It means the world to me and whatever you celebrate, I wish you and yours all the best for a wonderful and happy holiday season!
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| The Indoor Garden! |
While the weather outside is frightful (sorry, could not resist!) the blooms inside are delightful! Here is my favorite color of Thanksgiving Cactus blooming away. I also have red, light pink and salmon colored varieties and love them all! Some of them start blooming in October and just keep on going! Here is a little hint: Removing faded blooms right away and pinching back extra long branches will keep the plant fuller and the blooms coming!
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| Indoor Garden |
The back room is what I call my jungle and I enjoy it all year long, but even more so in the wintertime. Here is ‘Golden Crocodile’ Philodendron and ‘Ring of Fire’ Philodendron. They are quite happy with their new grow light.
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| Indoor Garden |
I got on a ‘Thai Constellation’ Monstera kick for the simple reason that it is a rare plant to find, so I was on a mission to find it. Well, I did and these two plants started off in four inch pots. They have grown into mature plants in little time and are very happy a couple of feet from the southern exposure window.
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| Hope you Enjoyed the Visit! |
I hope you enjoyed your visit to my December 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.
You can visit my Author Page 👈to learn about and purchase my books, each one focusing on different aspects of gardening, including landscape ideas, design principles, gardening by month for all-season interest, gardening tips and maintenance, shade gardening, gardening inspiration and more. And also be sure to check out my newest publication, The Houseplant Guide, to guide you on your houseplant journey! If you have read any of my books and have found them to be useful, reviews are very much appreciated!
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Until we Meet Again...Wishing you a happy holiday season and Happy Gardening!
Author: Lee @A Guide to Northeastern Gardening, © Copyright 2010-2025. All rights reserved.
