Well, time to start a new year of life and a new year of blogs. ‘Tis true what they say. The years do go faster as you get older. Scary fast!

Designs for the coming year are pretty much done. We’ll have to wait to hear from some suppliers whether what we want will be available. It’s always good to have a back-up plant or two tucked away in one’s head just in case. Adaptability is rather important in horticulture.

We haven’t needed to shovel any snow thus far. Quite different from last year when it seemed the only time the world wasn’t snow covered between November and March was that freaky New Year’s Eve day when it was 61. That temperature didn’t last long and we were soon covered again by the white stuff.

Like last year, this winter is not terribly cold. But the mild temperatures are interrupted often enough by cold to remind me it
is indeed winter. This past Monday (the 2^nd) was WINTER with temperatures dropping to the teens and a vicious wind. Vicious I tell you. Friday (the 6^th) however will be spring at something like 50 degrees or warmer. Weather anymore is a roller coaster freak show of a ride.

It was so beautiful out on Thursday I took a break from the computer to have a look around the gardens. It felt like a January thaw except we really haven’t had a January freeze. I wasn’t sure what I would find but soon realized I had to walk back and get my camera. Things were a-poppin’.

One is not surprised at Hamamelis (witchhazel) in bloom when we have a mild streak. But I still so appreciate these amazing plants. The individual flowers are so intricate. They seem so delicate but in fact are tough as nails, unfurling on mild days, curling back tight on harsh days. They put on a show that lasts for weeks, sometimes months.

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Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Horticulture

Snow!!! All I could think when I came out of Meijer last night and saw the roof of my car covered in snow was “Crap. It feels cold.” In the meantime, I have my plants around my desk to remind of a better day to come.

And in truth, it is November. Snow in November isn’t exactly a miracle or a sign of the arrival of the End of Days.

All the same, I was not amused. It had been spitting snow off and on for a few hours but I never figured it would really get to the point of covering anything. When I arrived home, the wind-gathered leaves were heavily dusted with it. Plants in the garden had it clinging to their leaves and spent flowers. My gazing globes were covered with it, though under the full moon they looked rather delightful.

Fortunately earlier in the week I had gathered the last of my tropicals from my IMA gardens. At home, I collected the last of my most crucial plants and hauled them down to the basement on Monday evening. It gets dark so damn early I barely get started before I can’t see where to dig. With only four minutes of daylight after I get home in the evening, I gotta move fast. I only got four minutes to save my plants!

I still have cannas and dahlias to dig. Still have some agaves outside in pots (and one XMangave – Manfreda X Agave). Oh shit. I just realized I left my yellow-leaved fig out. Oh, I hope it’s okay. Damn. I don’t know where I can get another and it was not cheap. Dammit. Oh well. I said I was not going to try to save everything this year. Guess I’m just keeping myself true to my word.

Here at work, we are keeping more plants in the offices since we are trying to save money by not heating the old over-wintering greenhouse we used in the past. We concentrated on the tough stuff that can handle less than ideal conditions. It’s good to have some large specimens to put out so there is a bit of maturity to a design from the get-go.

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Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Horticulture

Well, fiddle dee-dee. I had an idea for the blog and last night went and forgot to take the pictures I still needed. It was going to be a nice and easy one, relatively speaking. Now I gotta think of a new topic and figure out if I need illustration or music or web links, yada, yada, yada.

I could always talk about the weather.

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Filed under: Horticulture

Despite the rather crappy weather this week, we were most fortunate. Had all that sleet been freezing rain I shudder to think of the damage. Trees would have been falling hell, west, and crooked. Not that the two or so inches of solid ice created when the rain, just regular old rain, followed the sleet is a joy. It’s like the whole place is one giant frozen lake. Only you don’t know if you are going to fall through. It still works as insulation for the perennials which is good during these nights in the single digits and the consistent temperatures well below normal. But I confess to being rather tired of it. So tired.

I went out Thursday afternoon to snap some pictures and try to capture the sparkly beauty of the ice on the plants. Cause dang it, that ice is right pretty on the branches and other plant parts. My skills at capturing it may not be quite as good as nature’s skills at creating it.  This is what I mean by everything iced over.

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Filed under: Horticulture

“In America the ice-storm is an event. And it is not an event which one is careless about. When it comes, the news flies from room to room in the house, there are bangings on the doors, and shoutings, “The ice-storm! the ice-storm!” and even the laziest sleepers throw off the covers and join the rush for the windows.” – Mark Twain, “Following the Equator”

Listening to the pitter patter of ice on the windows, we just got word that the IMA will be closed again on Wednesday. What about you – are you hunkering down at home or braving the elements?  We’ve started a Flickr group called “Through your Lens” and want to see your photos of the storm, whether it be your backyard, a decimated shelf at a grocery store (here’s a pretty hilarious – and revealing – post from a St. Louis store), or your cozy indoors.   And we might, just might, post a few of our favorites on the blog.  Here’s one courtesy of IMA staffer Emily:

Filed under: Local, Photography