Snow! February 26, 2011

Above, Ceanothus "Jula Phelps"


Above: South garden.

Above: Pool garden. Pots need redoing.


Above, Ceanothus "Dark Star." Front path.


An iconic daffodil.

Above: Pool garden, recent plantings.

The photos, taken just before and after sunrise Saturday morning, say it all.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Outside our bedroom window, everything was white! All the plants, the trees, the roofs, everything, except the concrete.

This is quite bizarre for us here, though not unheard of. I took my camera out and went around snapping the different views you see above. The snow has a monochromatic effect that I think helps me to see the shapes of things, the masses and lines. I'm trying to think about how to develop the gardens around the house, especially the south garden, where I think we could start now, building up a few mounds and defining beds with those red sonoma field rocks. And a water feature if I can figure out how to do one. It's not a new look, but I think it would look nice, and I need to keep the beds low and herbacious, for fire safety.

That being said, I saw a new coffeeberry volunteer in the south garden today, and my heart rejoiced.

I took a tour of the upper deck where my nursery graduates enjoy morning sun. From the crumpled soggy look of their foliage, I thought the Heuchera micrantha were frostbitten beyond recovery and maybe the Madia elegans and the thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus too.


But I was wrong! What a nice surprise. They are so healthy looking.

The snow has all gone now. I can see it a little bit on Loma Prieta, at 3,790 feet.

And the weekend held more garden activity in store for Wood Rat and me. of which more, anon.