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Activity in winter garden out of sight, but not out of mind

The Columbian
Published: December 3, 2009, 12:00am

One of the greatest gifts the garden has to offer is a reminder to accept change as part of nature and of life itself. The transition from autumn to winter began with falling temperatures and shifting weather patterns. The consequences of wind, rain, sleet and snow have an obvious effect on the environment in which we live. Recognizing the effect these changes have on us can be an eye-opening experience.

With a change in external temperature, the plants in our gardens transform themselves to better survive the elements. The leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs react by ceasing to produce chlorophyll. As a result, the color green declines and the inherent reds, oranges and yellows emerge in autumn. The next leaf stage is to wither and fall to the ground, leaving bare winter branches.

As a gardener, I try my best to follow nature’s cue and get in step with each new season. The fallen leaves are a tangible signal to begin laying mulch around the garden, protecting tender plants as well as enriching the soil. I’m not saying that I don’t have days when I’d rather climb back into bed and pull a goose down comforter up and over my head instead of work outside in the cold. Some days, that is exactly how I feel and that’s exactly what I do. But soon, the garden call draws me back outside.

Life under the soil

While it appears as if all activity in the garden has stopped, there’s actually a lot going on, especially under the soil. Newly transplanted trees and shrubs, divisions of perennials, and hardy bulbs are all growing roots, drawing on soil nutrients and moisture around them. Earthworms and various microbes in the soil are still processing the organic material they are finding. There are times in the garden and in our lives when the best we can do is to let nature take its course.

Even if there was nothing to do in the winter garden, there is too much to see to sleep away the season. We do not always have to control the garden world. We should occasionally enjoy it. Open your eyes to the sight of a stand of Douglas fir against the muted evening sky, frosted rose hips in the early morning light or the first blooming hellebore. Feel the chill of winter from under the cloak of a warm, woolen hat and sweater. Step back inside to a toasty room lit by a winter fireplace.

As participants in the creation of our own gardens, we play a key role in making gardens that delight us with each change of season. Even better, the longer we garden the more likely we are to achieve our ideal. Unlike the sculptor or composer, who completes a piece of art and then moves on to the next piece, few gardeners consider their work done at any specific point. We continue to revise throughout the life of the garden as well as the life of the gardener.

Visual dreams come to life

If, for example, we have the pleasure of seeing fresh, powder-white snow nestled in the shiny, metallic red branches of a Tibetan Cherry (Prunus serrula “Tibetica”) we can go plant shopping, buy that same tree and reproduce the scene by planting it in our own garden. Then, one snowy day in the future, we have the chance to relish the sensation of a visual dream come to life.

Just as an artist chooses between oil paints and watercolors to help express their ideas, we make choices in garden style, design and plants. If an impressionist painting of a field of red poppies lifts your spirit to high heaven, by all means, cast a handful of poppy seeds to the wind.

Anyone who gardens knows that gardening is an extension of our individual personality. Some of us garden traditionally, following long-established guidelines that we know we can trust. Others are more willing to take chances, challenging old theories or simply taking chances with color and plant selection. Neither method is right nor wrong, they are simply different forms of expression.

Despite the fact that we all make mistakes and that there are occasional failures and low points, most of us learn to adjust and continue to garden as long as possible. There are invariably good times and bad times in every human endeavor. Gardeners of every level persevere and come to love gardening more by doing so. The most satisfied gardeners seem to be the ones who learn, from year to year, how to use the medium of gardening to express a personal image of the rich, ever-changing life we live.

Robb Rosser is a WSU-certified Master Gardener. Reach him at Write2Robb@aol.com.

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