With an accumulation of snow in excess of six inches, the gardening season is officially, completely, finally over here at Squirrelhaven. Beneath this white blanket the garden will sleep.
Or will it? Frequently, after the first heavy snow melts, on a warm day in January, I will find fresh looking foliage on the Columbines. Also under the snow, the giant Snowdrops (Galanthus elwessi) will be sprouting and sometimes blooming.
I probably should have put down the shredded leaf mulch before this snowstorm, but I wasn't sure that the ground was frozen enough. It's been almost a decade since I put the mulch down before Christmas, as we've had a string of warm Novembers and Decembers. Once this snow melts, then I'll put down the mulch. In the meantime, the chickenwire cages stand ready for the leaves to protect the Hydrangea macrophyllas and the tree peony. Hopefully, this year I'll learn to hold off taking the mulch away from the Hydrangeas. Maybe.
