Winter Interest in the Garden

It is quite unusual to have this much snow so early in the season. The rain that followed fortunately has not completely washed away the snow. Sturdy grasses, woody plants and those perennials with interesting seeds really do add to the interest of the winter garden.

Over the next few days, I'm going to take a look at what constitutes good winter interest - the grasses that take more snow and abuse, the prettiest hydrangeas and those little plants that surprisingly stay green in spite of the blast of wintery weather.

One of my favourite small trees for winter interest is the Pagoda Dogwood - Cornus alternifolia. Look how the snow sits on the branches and how nice they look highlighted by the Christmas lights!

It's Seed Catalogue Time!

Each year I start about 60 different varieties of seeds: trees, bushes and shrubs, bulbs, annuals, vegetables and perennials -I'll try anything.

My favourites seed companies are Stokes, Veseys, Select Seeds and Gardens North - the last two appear only on-line.

Along with my own seeds, I order enough flower seed for 850 seed packages that Kevin and I mail out to his real estate clients with our spring newsletter. Each year is something different.

I'll be checking my notes and photos from several different trial sites to see what I might like to order. One I'll be sure to include is a Rudbeckia called Cappuccino from Veseys in PEI - here's a photo I took in September at their trial site - fingers crossed that it will do as well in my garden!