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The Ice Garden Cometh

© Barbara M. Martin

Please note: Thank you for visiting my Cottage Garden topic and reading my columns, published here from February 1997 through spring 2003! This Cottage Garden column was written by Barbara M. Martin and is Copyrighted, including these original photos, by Barbara M. Martin. It may not be altered or copied or published elsewhere in whole or in part without specific permission from the author. I regret I am no longer actively editing or contributing to this suite101.com topic as of mid-2003. Happy Gardening!

The Snow Myth
Winter is synonymous with snow, but this first storm brought sleet first, then ice. The garden glistens and as the temperatures rise barely above freezing, the ice drips to life bringing a soft patter to the woods and an extra glimmer to the twigs sheathed in liquid gloss lacquer.

Photos From My Garden
Here are some photos from my ice garden.

The Aronia arbutifolia "Brilliantissima" berries will feed no bird today.

Yew, the typical Pennsylvania foundation planting, in crisp holiday dress.

A young Japanese Snowbell and sturdy arbor stand tall despite the ice.

Sadly, a venerable dogwood did not survive the onslaught. Neither did our power lines, downed for eight hours. There were reports of fires along the lines where branches and trees had fallen, this an unsettling event I had never heard of before.

After the Storm

What a mess! Now that the storm has passed, clean up will include shearing the ornamental grasses splayed out flat and sprawling across the beds, trimming back battered and slumping butterfly bushes, and retrieving empty black plastic nursery pots blown helter skelter across the meadow by high speed winds.

As soon as things thaw enough to move, we'll also be tidying up broken limbs and downed trees along the wood's edge, just to make sure the daffodils naturalized in the grass have plenty of sunshine next spring. I can hardly wait!

Brighter Perspective

Some of us genuinely laugh at the weather.

Who could be more lovely than a snow angel?

I hope you have enjoyed these pictures from my ice garden in Pennsylvania, USDA zone 6, where winter has yet to begin in earnest.

ENJOY!

The copyright of the article The Ice Garden Cometh in Cottage Garden is owned by Barbara M. Martin. Permission to republish The Ice Garden Cometh in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.