African Garden + winter

A Long Winter's Rest

Mary Ann of Gardens of the Wild, Wild, West, and Gail of Clay and Limestone, have both been feeling a little tired of gardening. We all agreed that we welcome the break from gardening that winter affords. It's a good time to stay inside and curl up with a good book. On Carpe Geum, I have listed my personal picks for the Top 5 gardening books of all time. Four of the five are still in print, and would make a good gift for any gardener. (Hint, hint [I already have number 5].)

It's also a good time to curl up with a gardening magazine. I recommend the current issue of Horticulture. Not only does it have a bit I wrote about my tree peony (page 69), but it also has pieces by Kylee of Our Little Acre, Carol of May Dreams Gardens, Jean McWeeny of DigGrowCompostBlog, Edmund and Becky Hillick of Stonewall Garden, and Telsing Andrews of The Veggie Patch Re-Imagined.

The temperature has plummeted with a low of 7F/-14C forecast for tonight, so I'm pleased that the garden is covered by an insulating blanket of snow.

Echinacea purpurea seedheads

I never did get around to putting down the shredded leaves to help keep the ground frozen. There probably will be an opportunity to do so at some point this winter. For now, I'm just enjoying the winter wonderland look.