It was a cold, gray and damp day. The fallen leaves lay strewn across the lawn. The herbaceous Peony needed to be cut back. Several plants still needed to be planted. But where was the gardener? Hiding in the house. I admit it, I'm a wimp. My body hasn't had time to adjust to the cold. Only a week ago it was 71F. It's topped out at a whopping 36F today.
Looking at the above photo, I realize that at some point I'd like to connect the two new beds. But then a bolt of reality hits me: I have to leave room to pile up shoveled snow. Remember last winter, how the snow nearly buried the Cornus kousa 'Beni Fuji' and did completely bury the little Cotinus coggygria 'Ancot' (Golden Spirit) (use google)? Granted, that was an extreme amount of snow, but still, even in a normal year, the snow has to go somewhere. I've read in several places advice that shoveled snow should not be piled on plants. Does this mean I have to leave grass "shovel strips" on either side of the driveway? If so, how can I make an effective design incorporating them? Last winter the snow got shoveled all the way to where the new bed is. It's funny how I forgot all about the winter when I planted the new Rose and the new Sedum. In Chicagoland, the gardener forgets the winter at her own peril.