Groundhogs and Other Winter Thoughts from South Pond

Six more weeks of winter? Our chickens said so but I’m not so sure. Usually this time of year there is a thick blanket of snow leaving only the top ends of the brown hydrangea flowers bobbing around in the wind. I leave them all on in the fall because I love seeing them against the white during the windy cold months. I find this time of year just as beautiful walking around in the gardens, finding little beads of ice on the most delicate leaves, tree branches bare.

This year, I see green already growing. The ground is pretty much bare and soft. I can only hope that the sudden warm spell won’t kill off my flowers. It doesn’t seem natural to have this temperature; I’m sure that the plants don’t like it.

This is the time that brides call me about their flower arrangements for their weddings. It’s that time of the year to look at all the lovely images that start to appear in magazines, on pinterest…I get fired up with ideas too. It’s when I start to plan, adding things to the gardens, looking for native flowers that will round out our plantings. The ceremony space is going to get a face lift this spring. It will keep it’s natural beautify but be augmented by native grasses and wild flowers.

I also hope that the arbour I set in the ground years ago will actually see some green life around it. It was always my idea for it to be a green canopy backdrop for the bride and groom. It’s early days yet, we will get cold and snow. I’m happy to have the flower garden go back to sleep for a few months – our Chicken “ground hog” did say six more weeks of winter.