As a gardener, I enjoy growing plants, shrubs and trees that hold their own in providing beauty over our long New England winters. I’m charmed by the sight of evergreen boughs covered with snow, bright berries clinging to shrubs and the delicate tracery of bare tree branches.
The problem is that I’ve never had much interest in winter. Even as a child, I had little enthusiasm for outdoor cold-weather activities. While my rosy-cheeked friends frolicked in the snow, enjoying ski trips or skating parties, I preferred the warmth and comfort of my mother’s kitchen and a good coloring book. The only thing I learned to do well in the snow was falling on my derriere and so, not surprisingly, sledding became my only winter sport – at least with that I was able to remain safely seated!
In later years, as a working mom, winter became the season of the dreaded drive. Not only was taxiing my children around a challenge but commuting to work on snowy and icy roads felt at times downright life-threatening. With its constant struggles, winter was the season to get through as quickly as possible on my way to spring!
It has taken me much of my life, but I think I’ve finally made peace with winter. Through my love of gardening and nature, I’ve learned to value all that winter has to offer. Today, I find winter to be a season of peace and rest, the pause at the end of one growing season and the beginning of another. It’s a time to look forward, to dream and plan!
Winter is also a season of such stark beauty that any color in the landscape immediately draws my eye and helps me truly appreciate all the wonders that the other seasons bestow in joyful abundance.
As I look out at my sleeping gardens in January, pared down to their very bones yet holding the promise of life just beneath the surface, I find that perhaps winter holds plenty of interest for me after all.
We are fortunate here in Ireland to only very seldom experience the winter conditions which are common with you. Snow is an exceptional happening here – one snowfall per year would be above above average and a few inches of snow would bring the country to a standstill. Because of this we garden right through the year though, of course, there is less to see in the winter.
So much potential in your winter surroundings.