The winter did some serious damage. I didn’t believe anything could kill the spiderwort, but we had almost none this year. We have day lilies, but fewer than half what we had last year … and they are late. The wild strawberries didn’t make it, nor did any of the fancy Chinese lilies return this year. Two rose bushes died.
The remaining three rose bushes are doing well. Two are red, one is pink.
We have some Columbine. The Goat’s Beard I planted in the woods years ago has finally come into its own, much to my surprise and delight. Hosta are apparently unkillable.
That any garden remains is nothing short of remarkable. Between the past two bad winters and neglect, I expected worse. Only the holly bush has truly thrived.
It is huge and will have to be cut back or it will block the entire front path. It has nasty thorns and will grab clothing and flesh if it gets the chance. Still, nice that at least something did well!
All the pictures were shot with the Pentax Q7 in late afternoon.
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Categories: #Flowers, #gallery, #Photography, Home, Nature, New England
WILD GARDEN 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
A nice splash of colour. I am surprised to find some flowers surviving the harsh frosts – the pansies are still standing up and so are the poppies. Even the winter roses are doing well. Though our winters are nothing compared to the ones you have just had.
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I think the arctic had an easier winter than we did.
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I think our winter affected my pear tree. We have pears this year, but they are extremely tiny. I know they’re not going to grow any more because they’re already turning red, which is what they do when they ripen. Maybe just as well – tiny pears will be easier to pick up when they fall to the ground.
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I lot of things are late, small, or just didn’t flower or bud at all. It wasn’t just the snow. It was very COLD, too.
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Lovely photos, Marilyn. Your garden groweth well! Can’t believe it, but ours doesn’t look too shabby either. The winter kill did its major work on the raspberries and blackberries. I’m letting lots of little weeds dance among the perennials this year again and some of them are strikingly lovely. Have a great weekend. ❤
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Strange isn’t it? The garden looks tidier this year than last. Owen did remove the huge, dead rose bush from the middle. That helped. Otherwise, the winter thinned it out which needed doing, so it looks less wild than last year. Nature striking a balance?
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Aren’t those Chinese Lillies wonderful? I’m sorry they didn’t make it. I lost a rose bush and a peony. That darned winter took its toll.
Leslie
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I had some gorgeous Chinese lilies … scarlet and deep russet and nearly black. But they just couldn’t hack that last winter. We’d been losing one or two a year for the past few winters. This one, though, finished the job.
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Still, way better than the Chalk Garden.
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Last winter just about finished off me too.
Leslie
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Ditto and ditto. I am so hoping that we get a gentle winter this year. I’m too old and decrepit for that kind of battering.
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Me too, Marilyn.
Leslie
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Great pictures!
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Thank you. Good to see you again. Have missed you!!
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Your garden doth grow quite beautifully. 🙂 We’ve seen some changes from the harsh winter as well. My beautiful pink clematis didn’t bloom, one of my hydrangeas has no buds, and the only day lilies blooming so far are the native one. And, yes, hosta can’t be killed except by critters. 🙂
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Sounds like we’ ve got the same survivors. We lost the clematis, probably for good. It looks dead. Our one hydrangea also looks gone. The Chinese lilies didn’t come up at all, but the native ones are holding their own, though not as well as in past years. The iris didn’t make it. But the roses are hanging in there, one of the rhododendron bloomed half-heartedly (but it bloomed) as did a few of the daffodils and narcissus … even a few doughty crocus. One of the dwarf lilac bloomed too. It’s definitely a leaner, meaner garden than in previous years, but that we have any garden at all is a minor miracle.
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Your record winter must have played havoc with things.
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It did. It didn’t kill everything, though. That’s something.
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these are lovely, Marilyn. I love daylilies, its hard to kill ’em, I found. And how sad about your spiderwort–I have the old fashioned kind that flops over after a rain or too much growing, so I’ve learned to prune it back hard after the first bloom–the only things that didnt surivive here were two of the butterfly bushes which only seem to be good for two years, regardless of what you do, so they may have been the older plants,– and my false indigo got brushed way back to a few stalks. Whats left looks good so maybe it was just sulking. Who could blame it. The beebalm also must have taken a hit, its usually one solid mass by now.
I’ve noticed a few bare patches too, in the day lilies….
It could be a combination of too much cold (we were down to -15 for much of Jan. and Feb), and no spring rains, too.
Now if I could just find weather that would kill out trumpet vine and the oregano monster..
Formal is for estates and people who have gardeners, and id rather have the Chaos look. its more fun.
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We have (had?) the same kind of spiderwort. It had been thriving, but this year, there were a few sad looking ones, but the rest don’t seem to have made it. The day lilies are down by about half. Hopefully, hearty flowers that they are, they will come back. Everything is late blooming and as you well put it, sulking. I think they want compensation. Survivor’s benefits!
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wonderful garden. Hope your plants will recover and come better next year
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I hope they recover too, though I think I need to think about planting some new stuff because the old stuff looks pretty tired.
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think of this as a perfect excuse to buy new all that stuff that you’ve always wanted to try. Maybe only get plants that are hardy for zone four…
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We used to be a different zone, five I think. Or six? I need to rethink zones. For that matter, so do the seed companies.
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The day lilies work beautifully against the metal 🙂
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They do, though I find day lilies look pretty good everywhere 😂
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The can be a bit untidy in a formal setting ( not that I would know 😉 ) but look perfect against the industrail lines.
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Formal? Not here😂 I think we’ve forgotten what formal is !
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I only knew long enough to decide I didn’t care for it 😉
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I like the rusty vehicle with all of nature around it. I am partial to pink columbine flowers, Marilyn.
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Thank you!! It’s my tractor, a 1927 Fordson. I like the pink Columbine too. We used to have blue also, but only the pink survived.
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