Winter Garden
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Autumnal Equinox, Bark, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Birds in the Garden, Butterflies and Moths, Color in the Garden, Flowering Trees, Foliage, Fragrance, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Late Autumn Garden, Texture, Trees with Textural Bark, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Garden Design, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Sweet-Scented Seven-Son Flower: Heptacodium miconioides Blossoms Welcome Autumn . . .
Heptacodium miconioides in and amongst September garden favorites: Rudbeckia, Solidago, Miscanthus and Physocarpus opulifolius It’s no secret that we northeastern gardeners struggle with a limited growing season. Bare trees for nearly six months is a bit much to take. We want to hold onto the glory of autumn. Where winters are long and summers are […]
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Frost, Winter Garden, Winter Garden Design
A Garden Made for Winter
A Winter Wonderland, Just Outside My Studio Door Winter in New England can be long, dark, cold and dreary, to be certain. But if you are a lover of magical, frozen landscapes, beauty also abounds. By mid-February, I often find myself feeling a bit house-bound and restless. The cure for cabin fever? Why a garden […]
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Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Garden Design, Winter Gardening, Winter Solstice
Solstice Season in the Secret Garden
Solstice Season in the Secret Garden  First snow. Powder swirls about the Secret Garden, dusting peaks, tracing lines and filling every crevice. The forest, enchanted, drifts softly off to sleep . . . Winter bares her beautiful bones Article & Photography copyright Michaela Harlow at The Gardener’s Eden, all rights reserved. All content on this […]
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Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening
Enchanted . . .
 Sleeping Beauty, Softly Dusted Before Dawn In the early weeks of February —as skies begin to blush earlier each morning and light lingers longer in evening— winter takes on a certain softness. Traces of pink, peach, lavender and rose paint the horizon at dawn, and whispers of powder-grey fog stir the valley’s hush. Overnight snowfalls […]
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Baking, Coffee, Cooking, Recipes, The Seasons, Winter, Winter Garden
Caramel-Drizzled, Spiced Coffee Cake, Daylight Savings & Winter’s Last Hurrah
 Caramel-Drizzled Coffee Cake Takes the Edge Off a Winter Storm Late winter snow storms are real heart-breakers. And it seems that, no matter how many times we’re hit by an early March ‘weather event’, I’m always caught by surprise. Songbirds are returning, buds are swelling on trees, and clocks are about to spring forward to […]
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The Seasons, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Garden Design, Winter Gardening
Farewell to February . . .
 A Soft, Snowy Farewell on the Last Day of February A foot of new snow fell on the hilltop yesterday, coating the last morning of February in a blanket of soft white. With longer days and warmer temperatures ahead, there’s much to look forward to in March. But for now, there’s the beautiful stillness of […]
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Wild Animals, Winter, Winter Garden
A Tiny Garden Guest, Cloaked in White
Mustela erminea, Commonly Known as an Ermine, Short-Tailed Weasel or Stoat Meet the beautiful, white-cloaked ermine (Mustela erminea), also commonly known as the stoat or short-tailed weasel. This curious, swift-moving mammal —closely related to ferrets, weasels, otters, wolverines and badgers— is native to the woodlands, mountainous regions, wetlands and moors of North America, Europe, Asia […]
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Bark, Color in the Garden, Conifers, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Garden Design, Winter Gardening
Brightening the Winter Landscape with Bold Bark & Colorful Conifers . . .
A Shot of Luminous Color in the Wintry Landscape: Cornus sericea Lights Up the Entry Garden in January It’s easy to create a colorful garden in June, but can beds and borders still be bright in January? Of course! While undoubtably more subdued than midsummer, a midwinter landscape can include a complex variety of hues. […]
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The Warmth of January Sunlight . . .
Sunrise in the Winter Garden When the Honey-Gold Sun Pours Warm Over the Garden, Winter Can Be So Lovely Snow-Dusted Boulders, Consumed by a Web of Climbing Hydrangea (H. petiolaris), Illuminated by Winter’s Sunglight And the Paper Birch, Delight of White, Vertical Line, Dance in a Sparkling Swirl of Backlit Flurries (Betula papyrifera) A Winter’s […]
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The Seasons, White Witch, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Solstice
Dramatically Draped in Sequins & Lace, In Swept the White Witch of Winter…
Winter Swept in Upon a Blue Velvet Evening … Winter is a drama-queen. In she sweeps on her snowy chariot, with a chilly air. She bears little resemblance to her sisters; coquettish Springtime, carefree Summer, or even melancholy Autumn. Wrapped in sheer white lace and silver sequins, Winter certainly possesses bare-boned beauty and elegance, but […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Design, Color in the Garden, Conifers, Flower Seeds, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Hardy Succulents, Hoar Frost, Holiday Decorating, Late Autumn Garden, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennial Garden Design, Perennial Garden Maintenance, Perennials : Vermont, Perennials for Autumn, Perennials for Winter Interest, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Succulents, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening, Woody Plants
Crystal-Coated & Sugar Plum Kissed . . . . Late Night Garden Party with Jack Frost
The Entry Walk and Ledges, Sparkling in Sunlight After Jack Frost’s Midnight Ball I love surprises. A life lived predictably seems terribly boring to me and a garden kept under tight control leaves little room for romance. For months now, I’ve been encouraging readers to leave seed pods and other garden remnants standing over winter […]
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Bark, Books, Garden Maintenance, pruning, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Tree Care, Trees, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Mild Days & Mid-Winter Pruning
Although the Ice and Snow are Beautiful, Winter Damage Must be Cleaned Up Every Year & Now is the Best Time to Tackle Major Structural Tasks (Above: Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’) … Although the old “prune in June” rule applies to certain woody plants in some situations —-those that blossom in early spring, such as lilacs […]
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Ice Storms, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
The Drama of a Crystal-Coated Garden: Mid-Winter Ice Storm Beauty …
Sunrise Through Crystalline Cornus kousa Branches Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ Greets Daylight in an Icy Ensemble Beyond the Kousa Dogwood, Sparkling Twigs of Viburnum x burkwoodii ‘Mohawk’ Gleam Against the Still-Dark Hillside Sunrise moments after an ice storm are always beautiful here on my Vermont hilltop. But the subtle drama of the storm itself —freezing rain, […]
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Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Secret Gardens, Uncategorized, Winter Garden
Snow, Fog & Ice: Quiet Garden Beauty On a Winter’s Day …
The Garden, Cloaked in Ice-Cappeded Snow (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’) Awoke this morning to find Winter —after a long and inexplicable absence— has finally returned; cloaking the garden in shades of alabaster and cream. Vibrant shades of red and gold punctuate the stark landscape; jewel-like accessories on Winter’s cool, icy ensemble. Driving conditions are treacherous […]
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Gardening Inspiration, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, New England, Paths and Walkways, Reflections, Stone Sculpture, stonework, The Seasons, Winter, Winter Garden, Woodland plants
Sticks, Stones & Magical Forest Mystery
Sticks and Stones: A Forest of Mystery Winter has arrived —swirling snowflakes and glazed pools all around— and yet the earth remains open in much of New England. Patches of snow dot my Vermont hillside, but elsewhere —in fields and forested areas nearby— the ground has yet to freeze and there’s nary a trace of […]
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Celebrations, The Seasons, Winter, Winter Garden
Peace on Earth …
Wishing You All Things Merry & Bright – Happy Holidays Michaela
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Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, The Seasons, Winter, Winter Garden
Dreaming of a White Christmas …
Sometimes Dreams Really Do Come True … An Early Morning Welcome to Wonderland with a Garden of Sleeping Beauty, Blanketed in White! Fresh Snow Coats the Secret Garden Door Like Fine Ivory Lace And Could There Be a Merrier Welcome to Christmas … Than a Pretty, Snow-Coated Entryway? All Stonework Featured Here is by Vermont Artist […]
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Climbing plants, Color in the Garden, Conifers, Decorating Ideas, Decorating the Garden, Ferncliff, Fire Pits, Fire Pits and Fire Sculpture, Flower Seeds, Frost, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Paths, Garden Structures, Gardening Inspiration, Perennials for Winter Interest, Planting Techniques, Plants for Texture, Sculpture, Sculpture and Features, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs with Colorful Twigs/Stems, Shrubs with Textural Bark, Steps and Stairs - Stone, Stone Sculpture, Stone Walkways, stonework, The Seasons, Viburnum, Walkways - Stone, White & Silver, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening, Winter Solstice
Sparkling Texture & Dramatic Structure: Creating A Beautiful Winter Garden …
The Entry Garden at First Light in Early December, After a Dusting of Snow I often wonder why I bother to mourn the end of autumn when there’s so much magic and beauty to be found in the garden during this quiet time of the year. As we near the winter solstice, I find myself […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Ferncliff, Frost, Fun in the Garden, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Glamorous Gardens, Halloween, Home, Late Autumn Garden, Nature, New England, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shrubs for Winter Interest, The Seasons, Vermont, White Witch, Winter, Winter Garden
The White Witch’s Early Winter Trick: A Morning of Sparkling Autumn Treats
The Trick of Winter: Cornus kousa Fruits & Fall Foliage in Early Snow It seems the White Witch of Winter decided to pay us an early Halloween visit last night. Far more accustomed to her raven-haired sister at this time of year, we were all taken a bit by surprise. And though it’s much too […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Ferncliff, Glamorous Gardens, New England, Pumpkins, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Specialty Pumpkins, The Seasons, Trees for Fall Foliage, Winter, Winter Garden, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Autumn Swirls in a Dance with Winter: A Fleeting Glimpse of Frosted Fantasy …
An October Snow Squall Temporarily Coats the Scarlet Leaves of This Brilliant Viburnum with Fresh Frosting (V. plicatum var. tomentosum ‘Shasta’) A Different Kind of October in the Secret Garden A First For Me; Damask Roses in the Snow (‘Rosa De Rescht’) Candy-Coated Autumn Colors … And Jewel-Like Leaves, Flash Frozen in Time Snow Kissed […]
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annuals, Extending the Growing Season, Flower Seeds, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Late Autumn Garden, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Garden Maintenance, Perennials for summer, Perennials for Winter Interest, Plant Science, Pollinating Insects, Seeds, Wildlife, Winter Garden
Reining in the Tumbling Floral Chaos: Mid-Summer Garden Maintenance …
Summer’s Wild, Tumbling Jumble (Juniperus squamata ‘Holger’, Hydrangea quercifolia, Amsonia hubrichtii, Adenophora confusa, Rudbeckia hirta, Sedum, Hosta and Adiantum pedatum) While out enjoying a morning stroll around the garden, taking in a blissfully cool and misty start to my day, a few flower stalks and juniper branches caught my attention by snapping at my ankles […]
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