The dark, dreary days are upon us but there are bright spots in the garden. We continue to enjoy our bird-watching hobby. For the past 3 hours, this Juvenile Cooper's Hawk has been sitting in the apple tree. I kid you not - he has not moved for 3 hours!
One of our favorite visitors to the suet feeder is this beautiful Northern Flicker. This photo was taken on Christmas Day when we had snow on the ground -
I have been working on the terraced area on off days when the weather permits. This large sloping area will have two terraced borders and wide steps between them. After some contemplation and listening to Michael's suggestions, I decided to use railroad ties instead of rocks for the steps. I was afraid it would be too much rock and I hope that the ties will not command too much attention. I want to have grassy steps here.
Believe it or not, one of the most pressing annoyances is what to do with the grass clods that I am removing. We are not supposed to put them in our lawn recycle waste. I have them stacked everywhere and am running out of ideas of what to do with them.
There are several evergreen plants that look good in the winter garden -
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False Holly (Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’) |
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| Pieris 'Passion Frost' |
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| Fatsia japonica |
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| Fatsia 'Spider's Web' |
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| Cupressus macrocarpa‘Wilma Goldcrest’ |
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Euonymus albomarginatus |
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| Bear's Breeches (Acanthus mollis) is beginning to grow |
In an attempt to practice patience (something I am not good at), I have decided to leave this Cypress 'Swane's Golden' at the entrance to the driveway. It is growing but still very small. I had thought about replacing it with an already large Weeping White Spruce but they are so expensive. This poor little cypress has been moved enough already. For now, I am in favor of leaving it.
Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
