gardening by mind and mail

In the depths of winter I enjoy a different kind of gardening.  First by mind and then by mail.

Since the last bulb was placed in the ground, the beds tidied, the tools cleaned and tucked away, I have had some time to rest my garden-mind and think of other things. 

So now, throughout January and February, I will make time to envision the ‘garden to be’.  

A stack of catalogs has been growing beside a comfy chair on the plant porch. Oooo, I love contemplating plants and seeds!  Volumes of inspiration and resources, I look forward to studying their stunning pictures and relishing the promises of fragrance, colors and perfection.  

I am nearly ready to dive in, but before I gaze upon a single page, I want to assess my current winterscape, as well as review photos of this past year's display.  


I like to think of the garden as a series of events.  Like fireworks in slow motion, as one area of the garden flourishes, another area fades.  This succession goes on and on, through all seasons, even in winter.  


I plant winter vignettes close to the house so that I can gaze upon them from within several rooms.  Plummy pink hellebores, spiky mahonia bealei, purple flushed leucothoe scarletta, chartreuse mounds of chamaecyparis; all elbow to elbow, partially peaking through the snow.  Beautiful.


In reading the present landscape and reviewing the photos, I am searching for gaps in the succession of each season's display and solutions to creating more depth in the garden; are my evergreens planted in a pleasing rhythm throughout the garden?  Are there areas where I need bolder foliage to offset abundantly airy textures?  Specifically, what plants might be worked into next April's planting scheme?  


If I postpone this exercise until spring, I fear that opportunities to further embellish the garden, particularly in autumn and winter, may be overshadowed by the overwhelming spring and summer offerings.

So, before I consider any new plants or seeds, I will dig a little deeper, as it were, to contemplate.  Those ‘amazings’ and ‘never-befores’ are too distracting!  

Each year, my near-term goal is to artfully enhance the garden.  My life-long goal?  To create a garden that leaves one breathless in all seasons.