Out in the Garden - Winter Gardening

If anyone asks (and they often do!), late winter is my favorite season to garden. There's nothing better than pulling back a thick blanket of decayed leaves to find bright green shoots emerging from the soil. And here we are, earlier than usual, right in the thick of it.

The hellebores, scillas, and crocus have been in bloom for weeks now, and the Trillium kurabayshii (the earliest blooming trillium in our collection) are already announcing spring's arrival in marbled swaths across the Woodland Hillside.

But for all its promise and excitement, this winter has also been a season of challenge and changing expectations. Just ahead of our busiest season, we were hit with the news that our team would be reduced by half. I worried for my friends, and I worried for the Garden.

In response, Adam and I are re-prioritizing our maintenance schedule to work for two, rather than four. We've resumed our volunteer crews since the winter break and have been waking up the Pollinator Garden, Riparian Zone, Woodland Hillside, Far Meadow, and Claybourne parking lot. Things are really looking lovely, despite all the heartache.

And isn't that the beauty of gardening? Amongst turmoil and uncertainty, the seasons thrum along with a familiar, wondrous rhythm. You just need to pull back the decayed leaves and have a look.