Fall / Winter

2006.11.18

We had our first frost a couple weeks ago, and the Yellow Wax Bells took a beating, the leaves turned black almost immediately and fell off.  The Cyclamens, on the other hand, which are supposedly frost-tender, have carried on happily.

Yellow Wax Bells defoliated after early frost, but Cyclamens doing well

2007.01.28

Not looking so good in January, after lots of cold days and nights.

Front planting bed in January

2007.02.25

Getting better in February.

I almost missed the Lentin Rose blooms, they’re starting to fade.  Despite the cold winter nights and some insect damage back in the fall, it’s managed to put on a decent display.  Looking back at the original planting photo, I see that it has doubled in size in the past fourteen months.  (Also, not that anyone would have noticed, but today I realized that when I originally labeled the photos, I mixed up the Lentin Rose and the Reeves Skimmia, which is further down by the corner.)

Lentin Rose in bloom in February
Lentin Rose, Fringe Cups, and Bowles Variety Myrtle in February

The Reeves Skimmia has put on new growth (left), and the Japanese Skimmia are looking more shrublike too (right).  The bunchberries turned purple this winter, but at least they didn’t die back altogether like last winter.

Reeves Skimmia in February
Japanese Skimmia (shrub in center), Bunchberry (groundcover; purplish this time of year)

The hydrangeas are starting to leaf out again, so that’s a good sign.

Hydrangea starting to leaf out again in February

Last weekend I cleared out a lot of dead stuff.  Also, I had noticed that some of the plants had their rootballs partially exposed, as the soil had washed/blown away; especially the hydrangeas.  So I bought some topsoil, compost, and mulch at Lowes and filled in where necessary.