The hardest season for a gardener to endure is winter. The cold, soggy ground isn’t fit to dig. I find myself, at times, standing in front of my dining room window staring out at my little garden, lost in a daydream about what I plan to do if spring ever gets here. Truth is, I don’t like to be cold, so I don’t venture out into the garden much when the temperature drops. But with the sporadic occurrence of unseasonably warm days this winter, I find myself out there more than usual; even if just to investigate a tiny spot of color I see from my window.
There is beauty in the winter garden. It is not as bright and cheery as the spring garden or as full and lush as in the summer and fall. But if you look closely, there is a subtle beauty…well worth doning a sweater to experience.

Flowering quince only needs the slightest encouragement from a warm afternoon to burst into bloom.

Nandina berries seem to almost ignite!

This is the time of year to appreciate the supporting cast of the garden. The evergreens get their brief moment in the spotlight. These are the “bones” around which all the other plants are structured.

A Leyland cypress, a very old English boxwood (yes, that is only one plant), nandina, gold dust acuba and gumpo azaleas, with their varying textures and shades of green look especially beautiful.

Walls and fences covered with ivy are usually in

the background. In winter, they are front and center.

A Colonial Williamsburg bird bottle makes a snug place for my feathered friends to spend a cold winter night.

I’ve been cultivating this moss for a few years. Looks like it has finally decided to stay.

Tiny sweet alyssum seedlings sprouting in the moss seem to be braving the cold for a head start on spring.

A light snow (from a previous winter) adds another dimension to the winter garden.

Deep purple ajuga will be blooming in a few weeks, but the foliage is worth admiring right now.

One of my favorite flowers, hellebores (Lenten Rose) is also among the first to bloom. The bracts last well into the summer.

The lilies are still asleep, as are the peonies, but spring is on its way. Until then, don’t miss the understated beauty that nature offers even on the coldest days of the year.