winter garden insights
As we peer out our frosty windows and into our frozen gardens (currently a patchwork of snow and mulch), we can see the remnants of last year’s bounty. We can see spent stems and blooms on the Smooth Hydrangea, the solid stalks of Northwind Switchgrass, the Rose hips covered glimmering with morning frost, and the brilliant contrast of Redtwig Dogwood gleaming in the winter sunlight. At first glance, it may not appear the perfect time to appreciate the garden, but it is the perfect time to reflect on what your garden has meant to to you this year. It is the perfect time to dream of your garden’s potential for the upcoming season. It is the time to think of shapes and colors and textures for your garden. Let’s find time to be together and think less about the cold and more about the coming Spring.
I truly enjoy this time of year. Of course, we work through the winter months providing Dormant Pruning and our most recent introduction, Winter Home Away Services. The pace is a bit less frantic, so we have the time to explore new ideas and new processes. This year we are working through the exciting and inspiring changes from Rudey Landscape to jRudey.design. Ricardo and I are hammering out the fine details of the way our two companies will interact, keeping the focus on providing excellent service delivery, high-level client care, creating beautiful spaces through thoughtful and careful design, and most importantly, keeping that focus firmly on you!
Taking a breath and having the time to experience life at a different pace, we are able to see our gardens completely differently. I love to see the beautiful blanket of snow on the garden. It provides so much for the garden. It keeps the garden healthy by providing an insulating blanket preventing wide and fast shifts in soil temperatures. It keeps the crowns of the pant protected from winter grazing by rabbits, voles, and other rodents. The monochrome look our gardens take on also highlight points of opportunity acting as a figure-ground study in spatial relationships between the structural plants, hardscapes, and voids. It shows us where opportunity lies and allows me to visualize the options for plants and hardscapes to highlight and compliment the garden.
That cold snow does more than create travel problems. It makes the most of an otherwise cold and gray time of year. I don't know about you, but for me, if it is going to be cold, a beautiful blanket of snow is more beautiful than dormant turf and creates a stunning backdrop to the remnant landscape! Happy winter all, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or schedule a time to get together and chat about the upcoming season here. Be well and stay well!
