We are now into our third snowfall here in northern Virginia so before we proceed with current weather updates, I invite you to compare the following photos with those from my
last post in mid-December
(Click on any photo to enlarge)
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| Echinacea (coneflower) |
and you will see just what a little dusting of snow will do for a garden.
While some people might think a garden left uncut looks wild and unkempt
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| Seed heads of coneflower |
I have become more relaxed in my attitude about fall 'clean-up'.
It isn't the neatest nor the most 'manicured' gardening style
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| Rosa 'flower carpet red' |
but it sure does encourage a second look, once the white stuff comes along.
What do you think?
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| Aster |
Would you rather a garden be cut all the way back in the fall to eliminate the remaining dead stalks?
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| Agastache (Anise hyssop) seed heads |
Or do you, like me, appreciate a landscape highlighted by this natural beauty?
My area is now in the beginning stages of a Nor'easter that is making its way up the coast from South Carolina to Maine.
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| Rose hips |
There will be perhaps six inches of snow here, when all is said and done--which is not much, when we take into account the amount of snow southern states have recently received and the amount predicted for places north of here.
ANY amount of snow is exciting here, however, as the birds never fail to make an appearance in the garden. In my next post, I'll introduce our avian visitors that have stopped by during the past week. Here's a sneak peek:
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| Pileated Woodpecker on suet feeder |
*This post is being linked to Nancy Bond's blog Leaping Greenly, for the
'First Snowfall Project' which she hosts each winter. Be sure to hop over there to see first snowfall garden photos from around the world!
Today I am thankful for the first dusting of snow which has fallen on the stalks that remain in the garden -- adding variety to the landscape.
Written by Jan @ http://www.thanksfor2day.blogspot.com/ Not to be reproduced or re-blogged without express permission of the author.
