Plan your garden for winter is the advice of many garden books and I definitely considered winter when planning the front garden with choices of evergreen, ever-silver, and ever-gold plants. The basic plants don't change much at all through the year. This angle shows the gold leaves of Pomegranate 'Wonderful' and the red berries on the Nandina add color to the garden when blooms are scarce.
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The Yucca 'Color Guard' is an especially bright spot on cloudy days so I might add more but I don't want to detract from the shiny silver plants nearer the house. It's hard to beat that Agave ovatifolia for year-round interest.
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The circle garden in the back yard is meant to be full of blooms in summer so January is not its turn to shine. The perennials will not be cut back until late winter/early spring to discourage sprouting and provide cover for creatures needing shelter or seeds. Some plants have retained their green foliage and they, along with silvery germander and the tawny grasses, make the garden look quite a bit better than I had expected at this time of year. Again we see pomegranates along the right side though these have dropped most of their leaves already.
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I'm enjoying this opportunity to evaluate my garden throughout the year. To see wide shots of other blogger's gardens check out the comments section at Xericstyle.
Funny. It's been an extremely warm and wet winter here in Finland. We don't have any snow. Happy New Year, Shirley!
ReplyDeleteMild winters are good winters usually especially if you have plenty of rain for the future.
DeleteLooking good Shirley and this is a great way to keep a diary of the progress of your garden in time!
ReplyDeleteIt is a good idea, I have been keeping lots of photos but it's fun to have vehicle to post them.
DeleteIt's been fun, watching your garden grow. It has enough structure to look good year round.
ReplyDeleteWe still have some 're-gardening' to do here. Seems like a recurring theme.. :/
I need to get out and take some shots, and see just where that redoing will happen.
There's lots of inspiration in your garden.
It's so nice to hear that you find inspiration in my garden. There's always regardening to be done.
DeleteWhat is the tree in your front yard? It's really fabulous! My garden is 90% dormant and 95% blah right now. But that's ok. It'll be jumpin' this summer so I'm telling myself to be patient. :o)
ReplyDeleteThe trees with all the curvy trunks are Live Oaks so named because they hold their leaves in the winter.
DeleteI love that first view--everything about it, the colors, shapes, heights, and the angle of your shot. My garden is under a foot of snow right now, which is a good thing because we will have windchills of -30F to -40F next week. I will be staying inside visiting blogs like yours from warmer places. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat is cooolld Beth. Think of me in August when I stay inside to visit blogs like yours! I do think we are not as extreme though since we can enjoy being outside early and late even in August which is not possible with your January temps.
DeleteI think silver and gold with a touch of berry red is a perfect color scheme for the front. Unlike your area, ours has been unseasonably warm - and terribly dry.
ReplyDeleteThose 'color guard' yuccas are stealing the show - BAM! Love 'em! Thanks for all your wonderful photos and explanations, Shirley. Happy New Year to the Fox fam!
ReplyDeleteYour wide shots always look so good! One of these days I'll join I the fun but mostly my garden looks too busy in wide shots.(Yes, I should do something about it!)
ReplyDeleteThe live oak trunks, Bismarckia Palm, and Color Guard Yucca group are almost all I need. But the dry-woodsy-relaxed fee is really coming through this month...wow.
ReplyDeleteI've got plenty of that sun for you...(though today, it clouded up...boo hiss)
Shirley i love these shots...my favorite is still your trees.
ReplyDeleteYour garden has very good structure in winter, the silver foliage is perfect.
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