They made me think about the photo I took last week of my winter front courtyard garden. A garden which rarely sees snow but which does suffer from freezing temperatures which bow many plants into submission. If we did have snow I like to think it would add even more interest. I am happy with my winter courtyard garden.
My front garden doesn't seem to change much from summer to winter. I think that is because it relies mainly on hardscape and structural plants. It's my easy going garden, depending largely upon the seeding of grasses, skullcaps and blackfoot daisies to tone down the gravel and rocks.
That's not to say that it is completely devoid of color as in spring there will be a bounty of bluebonnets which are already settling in for possibly one of the coldest nights of the year tonight. There will be coneflowers and native clematis and in April the wonderful Lady banks rose. I wonder how long I will be able to keep that big beauty?
There are other parts of my garden which disappoint me in the winter. One of these is my sunken garden. There should be lots of interest with level changes and there are the structural plants but maybe not as many as there should be to keep me happy.
This garden shines in the spring and fall with masses of color but winter it loses some zip. It has been brought to my attention and I will think more about the winter garden next spring.
Are you happy with your winter garden?