Six on Saturday – 23DEC2023 – Winter has Arrived – Sort Of

Chris Mousseau

Folks on the east side of North America may remember last Christmas, when millions lost power in a fierce blizzard. Our lights went out around 4:30 p.m. on the 24th, I remember because I was on a video call at the time, and stayed off until mid afternoon on the 26th. During that time there was much snow to shovel, and howling winds that prompted the local police to close all county roads for a few days.  Thankfully, our main source of heat is a wood stove so no worries there and, it being Christmas, there were enough cookies (and other types of not too nutritious food) to keep us going for a few days. When the sun came out it was quite a winter wonderland, save for the multitude of trees that were blown over across the county. 

This year it’s a different story. Mother nature has guffawed at all weather predictions and our autumn was much warmer and drier than forecast; it wasn’t until this past Tuesday that we woke up to any appreciable snow cover, and most of that, despite some chilly overnights, has now disappeared. It’s going to rain all day today, with more scheduled for next week, before winter truly sets in.

In the meantime, I’m joining Jim at Garden Ruminations with six wintry shots taken earlier this week, just to prove that I live in Canada!

A goldenrod and aster ‘hedge’ that edges the circular part of the driveway was no match for heavy, wet snow.
Nor were any of the ornamental grasses. Such graceful, curving lines were created though, right?
Weeping false cypress look more Seussical than ever after a bit of snow.
I decided to not cut back one of the Yucca flower stalks. The seed pods opened and are now a blackish-browny colour. I’ve read that I should cut off the top, leaving a hollow 12″ – 18″ stalk with an opening for bees to lay eggs in…
Fuzzy Magnolia flower buds – spring must surely be right around the corner when flower buds are so huge, right? Right??

And finally, my favourite perennial for winter interest, what was once known as Sedum spectabile, now called Hylotelephium spectabile. I never tire of how a bit of snow transforms, in my mind at least, dead flower stalks into a clutch of garden gnomes, or even Christmas ornaments, if I squint my eyes in the right light. Happy Holidays everyone!

29 Comments

  2. That sure does look like Canada! I love your Seussical tree! Our bald cypress finally have turned color and are dropping their leaves; we may not have snow, but we have bare limbs!
    Merry Christmas!

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  5. Lovely wintery pictures! Here the grass is green and the temps are too warm for December. I do not need shoes to go get the mail. No coat needed to run to the store. Global warming is annoying. I want seasonal weather so I can complain about the cold!

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    1. Our grass will be green-ish in a few days as well! I try not to complain about the cold too much because in August I need to complain about the heat! 😆😆😆 Merry Christmas!

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  7. Maybe my 2nd comment…don’t see my ‘first’… “your gardens look lovely w/ the snow. Power outages are quite annoying….we just had a 21 1/2 hour one last Monday/Tuesday…(south of Boston) some people were out for days, so much tree & wire damage. If you have a Christmas tree, are the Kitties refraining from climbing it? Enjoy the holidays! Please include a feline-photo in a post!

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      1. Yucca flaccida is native to Ontario (the one in Canada, not San Bernardino County), but I do not know where. Yucca glauca has narrow and stiffer leaves, and relatively short floral stalks. I suppose that it could look like that.

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      1. Well, it could be one of a few species of Yucca. I am familiar with them here, but not there. Those that perform best here would not be happy there, and some do not tolerate frost.

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  13. Oddly enough, we had ourselves a white Halloween but a soggy, green Christmas. However, a white St. Patrick’s Day is almost a sure thing here in the Midwest! Happy New Year!! 🥂

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