Winter - Survival, Rest, Renewal

The Winter Landscape

For most of my life I have not been a fan of winter. I don’t like cold, dreary days and long dark nights, and winter anctivities are not my thing. However, once I started my journey with native plants, and seeded my first prairie garden almost 30 years ago, I began to look at winter through a different lens. My native yard offers a habitat that provides shelter and food during the harshness of this season. Juncos, finches and other birds are regular visitors enjoying the dried flower and grass seed heads that remain from the prior season. The leaf and brush piles provide shelter and forage for the four legged critters who call my yard home. And I know there are native bees, butterfly chrysalises, lightening bugs and other native insects napping in the soil and leaves waiting for their time to emerge in Spring. 

Winter is also a time to slow down, observe and make plans for the future garden. Now that the tree and shrub branches are bare of leaves, I can see the structure and make plans for future pruning.  I sort the native seeds I harvested, and start winter sowing the species I want to add to the landscape. And now that the winter solstice has past, the air feels different, the days are getting longer, and the birds are louder. Nature knows a new season is right around the corner. All seasons are special and winter is now one of my favorites!