Our winter has been extremely mild this season. However, just in time for December Bloom Day, we finally had a nice snowfall. It began Friday morning with a rain/sleet mixture which eventually turned to a heavy, wet snow by late afternoon. This weighed down many plant and shrubs in the garden so the branches and stems bowed low toward the ground. During the evening, the snow continued. Saturday morning we awoke to fluffier looking snow, and full day full of lazy, fat snowflakes. Here are the December “blooms” on the Lot.

You can see how the weight of the wet snow collapsed most of the plants like this dappled willow and Autumn Joy sedum. I leave the dried stalks of the sedum throughout the winter because usually the snow on the spent blooms looks really pretty. This kinda looks like the plant went SPLAT. Part of the problem is that Autumn Joy is in dire need of being divided. Ah well, maybe February?

Had some high January Bloom Day hopes for the Maiden Grass as well. I think this shot still turned out quite pretty though. I know this is a very common grass, but boy howdy do I love it… especially in the fall and winter.

I have no idea what this shrub is, but it has some great winter interest with the blue-black berries it grows. You really do not see them well until the shrub grudgingly looses some more leaves in mid-winter.

Can’t wait to see what else is blooming in other gardens over at May Dreams Gardens, the hostess of this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day! I will try my hardest not to have bloom envy.

This is just silly. It is now January and we have not had more than a couple of snowfalls where snow actually stuck to the ground. Even then, after a few days, it melted away. Temperatures have remained chilly, but above freezing during the day. This has caused a strange type of anxiety in me as my fingers itch to take ahold of the pruning sheers. It’s as if the gardener inside me is being tricked by Mother Nature.

I’m not the only one who is disoriented by this odd winter weather. The plants on the Lot have begun to awaken. No dancing about them, urging them back into the ground, seems to work.

The loosestrife, lenten rose, and sedum are emerging from the ground. Shrubs, including the spirea, rose bush, and dappled willow are beginning to bud. There is new growth on the butterfly bushes and many violas are still happily growing and blooming.

This pincushion flower was just planted against the house on the east side of the Lot. It is still blooming and sending out new buds. The little dragon’s blood sedum below, also planted on the east side of the house, seems to be enjoying the sun and mild temps as well.I just hope that the snow arrives soon to blanket the plants and protect them from the real frigid winter weather and freezes we are bound to yet receive.

November Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is here! The main changes on the Lot over the past few months have been foliage. Yellows, golds, oranges, fiery reds, and deep reds have all appeared in one place or another. Here are a few snapshots.

This is a rosebush I received a few summers ago from my gardening friend, Mrs. J. You can see some semi-circles trimmed from the shrub by leaf-cutter bees. Wish I could catch those little guys in action.

Here are stalks of Maiden Hair Grass, with the opened seed heads. Once the grass blooms and the seed heads open up, they look like tufts of spiral-shaped cotton.

Here is a corn flower that is still blooming. This perennial is one of our longest blooming plants on the Lot.

And last, but not least, I wanted to include the rogue pumpkin vine that snaked out of the compost bin and toward the sunny area of the backyard without any gardener’s aid. Unfortunately, it will not ripen enough for harvest, but will provide a tasty treat for some squirrels.

Be sure to check out May Dreams Gardens for more November Bloom Day posts!