I just read an interview with Piet Oudolf in the New York Times about designing a garden for winter. I was glad to see he was asked, “What do you do if you live in an area with much snow?” His answer was less than satisfying.

When the snow comes down dry, it doesn’t flatten your plants; perennials that are more than 2 or 3 feet tall will stick out of the snow and still look good. But sometimes the plants will break. This is the moment to remember that spring is coming.

I don’t know about you, but we rarely get dry snow. And when we do, it’s usually after a month or two of wet snows. Somehow remembering that spring is coming is not much consolation. It is true, as he says, you need good structure in a garden, substantial shapes and sinuous curves that will only be made more beautiful by a layer of snow accenting their forms. But saying that snow won’t knock down the dried remains of perennials is just wishful thinking in my climate.

If you want to read a book that really understands what a snowy winter is like, get yourself a copy of Prairie Winterscape: Creative Gardening for the Forgotten Season. I reviewed Prairie Winterscapes here. It may be too late to design your garden for this winter, but it’s the perfect time to plan changes for next winter’s garden.

Most people living in a cold climate would probably tell you it isn’t the cold that bothers them as much as the endless succession of dreary, cloudy days. (Heck, even people in the balmy Pacific Northwest complain about how dark it is in winter!) Well, today it was sunny for a change, so I went for a walk up the hill into the woods. (Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

Entering the Secret Garden, where many rabbits have been there before me

The branches bench is perched above a short rise.

On a clear day, you can see pretty far from the bench

Looking up the hill, I see more rabbit tracks

See how deep my feet sank as I trudged up the hill?

This part is fairly level and straight.

The air temperature is below freezing, but liquid water seeps up in this one spot on the path.

I continued walking into a more wooded area and then turned right, making my way toward the main path that runs up the center of our property. Finally I came to the bench in the Juneberry room.

The bench in the Juneberry room

At the top of the field you can see the sled path.

Now I’ve walked down the hill to the point where the slope drops more steeply.

See the jump built into the sledding path?

This is from last year's sledding, but you get the idea.

What happens when the snow melts in the middle of winter? I made a brief video to show you:

Some roads and a few low bridges have flooded, forcing early school closings and rerouting traffic.

A thaw in January is common, but rain doesn’t always accompany it. Sometimes it is brilliantly sunny, inspiring snowball fights in shirt sleeves. A thaw like this is similar to what happens in mud season–except we know winter isn’t over yet. Despite warming up to over 50F today, it will drop below freezing tonight and there’s a chance of snow flurries.

Yesterday, the low here was 8F (-13C). That’s not too surprising. But Dee Nash of Red Dirt Ramblings told me her low that same day was 5F (-15C) in Oklahoma. Whoa! What’s going on here? Check out Eric Berger’s explanation in the Houston Chronicle. It turns out a lot of factors have contributed to the south being colder than the north in many cases.

Of course, today the low was -7F (-22C) this morning, the coldest it’s been all winter. But we’re used to it (whether or not we like it) and those Southerners are not.

Spring: when a gardener wonders which of last year’s new plants made it through the winter. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote down a list of things I had planted last year but hadn’t seen make an appearance yet. Here’s the list, with my current thinking on each (click on each thumbnail to enlarge):
Hedyrotis purpurea-This was planted next to a carex that was thoroughly uprooted by chicken scratching. Found the carex and replanted it, and it seems to be surviving. Wondering if the hedyrotis was also scratched up and I didn’t find it, or if it’s still dormant and yet to emerge, or if it just plain died. Planted early September.

Arum italicum-A seedling from my local garden buddy. I actually saw this after the snow melted, a single variegated leaf. But I haven’t seen it in a while, and I’m afraid the post-melt cold snaps might have done it in. I mulched the area with some fluffy dry leaves, just in case it wants to come back from the roots. Planted early September.

Pachysandra procumbens-I couldn’t even remember where I had planted this. Had to look it up. Found one dry stem and the name tag. Planted early September.

Euphorbia ‘Jesse’-The grower says this plant is “hardy in virtually every state in the US” but Nan Ondra told me hers didn’t make it through its first winter, so I’m not real hopeful. Planted early September.

Euphorbias ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Glacier Blue’-These two spectacular plants were sent to me as trials last year. Both are rated hardy to zone 7, so I’m not expecting them to come back, just wishing they would. Miracles do happen. And yes, zone envy rears its ugly head.

‘Sugar Tip’ hibiscus-this variegated Rose of Sharon was nibbled by something shortly after it was planted the second week of September. The rose of Sharon that was here when we moved in is one of the last plants to leaf out, so the jury is still out on this one.

‘Grand Bleu’ caryopteris-I know in my colder climate you are supposed to wait until spring to cut back this woody perennial–but when? Do I wait until I see buds swelling (which I don’t)? Do I just cut back willy-nilly? Most woody plants have not leafed out yet, so probably I need more patience with this one. Planted late May.

‘Blue Chip’ Buddleia-I planted three of these, all trial plants, at three different times. None of them show any sign of growth, just like the caryopteris. This is another woody plant that you are supposed to cut back in spring. My purple smokebush is starting to break bud, and many people cut that back, too. Dead, or not dead?

Corydalis lutea-A week ago I was looking at a plant that sort of looked like a corydalis, but was around the corner from where I thought I planted the Corydalis lutea last year. And then a couple of days ago, voila! the yellow fumewort showed up right where I thought I planted it. I’m pretty sure the impostor is Adlumia fungosa, a native biennial vine in the same family as corydalis and bleeding hearts.

Actaea simplex ‘Black Negligee’-I was incredulous, viewing the brown, desiccated remains of what I thought was ‘Black Negligee.’ Wasn’t it hardy to Zone 4? Didn’t I plant it in June, giving it plenty of time to get established? Then it emerged from the soil, vigorous and healthy, and I had to figure out what the dead plant was. Turns out it was a foxglove, one of the foxgloves that looked fine in March. Looking around, I realize that none of my Digitalis purpurea, whether the pink ones I’ve had for years or the ‘Faerie Queen Apricot’ seedlings I planted out last fall, seem to be alive. And they were alive, or at least green, in March. This is not the first time I’ve lost foxgloves to mud season. I wish I knew the secret to pulling them through.

Let’s summarize our findings

Some plants just don’t show up. Some woody plants never break bud. Some plants are just late to emerge. Other plants are there, just not where you remember them. Some plants emerge from the snow cover looking fine, but die before spring really gets underway. And then there is user error, which we really didn’t get into. You don’t recognize it, and pull it out. You forget it’s there, and dig it up.

How many of the above have happened to you? Are there plants you’re still waiting for, wondering if you’re waiting in vain? Are any of them on this list? What is your latest plant to emerge or leaf out? Do you think there’s hope for any of my shrubs?

Not too long ago, a reader emailed me and asked,

I bought some hostas and dwarf bleeding hearts to plant. Shortly thereafter I hurt my knee and I can’t go out there and plant them. They are all planted in one gallon plastic pots. How can I safely winter them? If I put them in my garage they will still freeze.

You may have plants in containers that should have been planted, but weren't. How do you winter them over?

It is the roots you are worried about freezing. The rule of thumb is that roots in a pot will effectively be in a situation two zones colder than plants in the ground. So if the plant tag says zone 5 and you are in zone 7 they should be fine.

But I’m guessing you live in a colder place. Definitely keep them outside until the tops die down. You want them to go dormant. After that, you want to put them in a situation where they will stay dormant but not get colder than two zones warmer than the hardiness zone on the tag. That will be different depending on what is available at your place. The garage might be okay, if it gets cold, but not as cold as outside. You could put them up against the house, and surround them with bags of leaves for insulation.

The other thing to consider is the greater the volume of soil in the container, the more insulation the roots will have. A one gallon container is not that big, and won’t have much insulating soil mix for the roots, so you might err on the side of caution and make that three zones warmer than the tag.

I have a drafty, dirt floor cellar that barely stays above freezing. I have put dormant plants in the coldest corner of the cellar and pulled them through the winter. They did start growing sooner than they should have, and made some pale spindly growth, but I very carefully hardened them off and planted them after all danger of frost. It was a pain in the neck but better than losing them.

There are snowdrops under this snow

Some of you, I am sure, thought I was being overly pessimistic when I said the snowdrops sprouting in January wouldn’t be blooming in a month. As you can see above, my assessment of how things would go was pretty accurate. As a matter of fact, at this point I am not sure I will ever see them.

Yes, I am suffering from WWNE, a delusional malady to which Northerners are particularly vulnerable. WWNE stands for Winter Will Never End, and it’s also known as cabin fever. Symptoms include shuffling around the house looking glum, and looking out the window and sighing. Wednesday we had snow which turned to freezing rain, and then it got just above freezing, turning everything to slush, which then froze. My driveway was a river of ice yesterday, enough to make even WWNE-resistant people sigh:

A couple of weeks ago, I attempted to self-medicate:

Two pots of Primula acaulis purchased from the grocery store

Relief was only temporary. After a while, the primroses lost their power to convince me spring was right around the corner. They seemed to be merely a mirage, a tease.

Yes, the only true cure is time. Once again, this gardener must practice patience, and wait. And hope. And trust that

As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.
Genesis 8:22

Check out all the other Bloom Day posts.

For those of you who think my snowdrops will shortly be rocketing from the earth and bursting into bloom: fear not. The snow came back. More predicted tomorrow.

Happy New Year.

One of the nice things about short winter days is that it’s not too difficult to get up before sunrise. These two photos were taken a bit after seven thirty in the morning. It’s not going to be much of a white Christmas, I’m afraid. Sunday the snow pack was dissolved by rain and highs in the 50s(F), and the highs are supposed to be above freezing the rest of the week.

In the second photo below, the edge of the cloud cover appears as a straight line, revealing the golden light coming up over the horizon.

The Heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament.

Today that is coming speaks it the day,
The night that is gone to following night.
The Heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament.

In all the lands resounds the word,
Never unperceived, ever understood.
The Heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament.
~from “The Creation” by Franz Joseph Haydn

That is the question–sorry, Hamlet. And White Flower Farm has some help with the answer: an article on Plants Slow to Break Dormancy. They have a lot of other articles in the Newsletter section of their Garden Help.