Waiting for Hellebores

Winter has gone on long enough for most of us, and I am thankful that daylight is now making its tentative return. Right now the remains of the last snowstorm have kept many of my slumbering plants under a white blanket. Despite that, I am starting to feel the seasonal urge to get out and … Read more

Solstice Signs

The winter solstice has happened, which means that as each day passes, the western hemisphere gains about one minute of daylight. Of course it will take some time before those daily gains make a difference in daily life. In January and February, storms often obscure the increased daylight, making it harder to pluck hope from … Read more

First Rituals

There is an old Christian hymn that starts, “Lo, how a rose ere blooming, forth from a tender stem.”   The lyrics continue, describing a rose that blooms “amid the cold of winter.” Despite the fact that a winter-blooming rose is a seasonal impossibility in this climate, I persist in looking for one.  In fact, that … Read more

First Things First

I have always envied gardeners who boast that they have something in bloom outdoors 365 days a year.  In a cold winter climate that is just about impossible, unless you count the final fall flower remnants that somehow cling to blackened stems into January.  I call that cheating and I won’t do it.  At least … Read more

Christmas Rose

When I was growing up in western New York, we generally had the annual January thaw after a prolonged cold snap.  In my part of the world this year, we had a prolonged thaw first, followed by a daunting cold snap.  It hardly seems fair, and is, in fact, downright disheartening. To avoid the blues, … Read more