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First snow of the year.
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When I got up this morning it was snowing--the first snow of 2022! There appeared to be about three inches on the ground and still falling. I love this kind of wet snow that clings to every branch, sculpting every bush and object into marvelous shapes of incredible beauty! This is such a fleeting spectacle, I ran to get my phone to take some pictures before it all vanished.
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From the front porch.
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The plantings by the driveway.
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I was still in pajamas, so I confined myself to taking photos from the windows and the front porch. After getting dressed, I went out on the deck to take more photos, but by this time the snow had tapered off and our street was being plowed.
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The Seven Son Flower tree and Redbud tree in back.
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The Kousa dogwood and the Badlands.
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The nylon netting to protect my plants from the deer was drooping in curious shapes with its snowy drapery, and the clump of lilacs looked particularly lovely. The snowy covering makes the back yard beds stand out, making me realize how much everything I've planted has grown in the last few years. A few years before, there was very little there in the way of plants to be sculpted by the snow.
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| My lilacs in the snow. |
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Snowy back yard beds.
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I still miss the big oak tree in back that came down last year; I'm sure the woodpeckers and other birds miss it too. Just yesterday when it was so unseasonably warm, quite a number of birds, including one red-bellied woodpecker, actually came to perch on the deck railing, as if to say, "Where did our former home go?" I'll have to put out some birdseed for them. Thus far they'd been enjoying the dogwood and viburnum berries, but all of those have been stripped.
I usually wait until late winter to prune back the previous year's growth of herbaceous perennials but the warm spell during the Christmas season was so deceptive, I actually pruned back my cone flowers and some of the swamp sunflowers, so there is less vegetation on the ground to shelter woodland creatures, but still enough to help them out. It's hard to believe that just a few days ago my blueberry bush had some blossoms open!
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The Zelkova.
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The Little Indians.
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I love the way snow transforms everything it touches in my garden Later on, I'll try to get out into the yard to get closer shots of the plants before it all blows away or melts. And the best part, it's not enough snow to have to shovel!
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Cherry tree in front.
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My potted blueberry 'Top Hat'
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Hinoki cypress 'Filicoides' in east garden.
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