Wednesday, March 20, 2013

It's Spring Inside the House, At Least

The colorful lovelies are courtesy of my neighbor's heated front porch.  While he vacationed in Florida, some of his plants vacationed across the street at our house.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Hiking Today in South Mountain Reservation

Elf house with mushroom staircase?

Snow on wild raspberry canes looked like scratches on a photo.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sunday, March 3, 2013

The Big Haircut

Our compost pile doubled in size this weekend after I cut back all of the ornamental grasses.  If I wait too long to do it, I end up cutting off the green tips of the new shoots as they grow up into the old stalks.  The Big Haircut is almost always the first garden task of the year and I look forward to it for that reason.  

My back, however, does not.  All of that concentrated stooping reminds me how out of shape my garden muscles are.  Time to wake up.

The garden looks radically different after a couple hours.  This clump is all that's left of the 12' high Ravenna grass, which stood sturdily all winter.

I love the simplicity of the garden this time of year.  
Those pink ericas really earn their keep in the winter.

The snow drops look like a family.

The magnolia is unfazed by the winter.

Arum italicum looking like a tropical brought out from the (nonexistent) greenhouse.

The white erica tinged with winter orange.

It must be March if the witch hazel is doing its gorgeous thing.

Sometimes the quiet moments are the best.