Today’s photos are from Suzanne Stewart in Glenwood Springs Colorado. In August, she shared some photos of her garden in the summer, and today she’s sharing some images showing the wonderful winter wonderland she has this year. If you compare her summer shots with these, you’ll see that she took some from the same angles, so you can really see how the garden changes with the season. While her garden may not be beautiful to our eyes in the winter, she also makes sure it is full of a lot of food for the birds and other wildlife to help keep them going through the long, cold months. And inside, she’s made a little flowery paradise for herself to enjoy until spring arrives.
Suzanne doesn’t cut back her echinaceas in the fall, so the birds can enjoy the seed heads. Unfortunately, the deer enjoy the blue fescue, although the plants usually bounce back in the spring.
The mountain views are perhaps even more beautiful wreathed in snow.
The red-copper leaves in the fall are Suzanne’s favorite part of this prized barberry (Berberis thunbergii, Zones 5–8). Those have faded, but some berries have hung on for winter interest and to provide snacks for the birds.
Even Suzanne’s beautiful blue-patinated female Buddha is happy to see the snow!
A view of the house wrapped in snow.
Step inside the house, out of the snowy cold, and visit the personal winter amaryllis festival happening in Suzanne’s south-facing kitchen window. (We’ve got a guide to reblooming your amaryllis here if you want flowers like this on your windowsill every winter.)
A detail of these beautiful flowering bulbs . . .
. . . and the promise of more flowers on the way—much like the promise of the beautiful spring that will eventually arrive outside where it is all snow right now.
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Comments
Love your winter photos as much as the summer ones. A truly beautiful scene. Hurray for snow! A nice blanket to help protect plants from cold and frost.
Thank you for your comments - Mother Nature is giving us snow this year which we badly need.
Hi, Suzanne. I not only enjoyed today's photos but also clicked on the link to revisit your colorful pictures from the summer. It was fun to see the contrast...like the snow dotted seed heads of the coneflowers compared to their vibrant flower blooms during the warm months. There is beauty in all of nature's cycles. Your wintertime counter "garden" is lovely and spirit lifting as well.
Michaele,
Yes, my amaryllis have been prolific this year, in fact, I have more stems coming up even now. They certainly have brightened our winter spirits. Thanks for your comments.
I really enjoyed seeing the beauty created by this talented gardener.
What I did not enjoy was seeing that FG either does not allot the budget necessary to identify and print the indoor plants photo'd, or is too lazy. Either way, I wish the editors would put a caption like " A window of Stunning (lost-tag) indoor plants looking out on their snow-bound cousins".
Arboretum, I’m complimented by you calling me a “talented gardener” - thank you. As you know gardening is an exercise of trial and error. I like your description of my “indoor plants looking out on their snow-bound cousins”.
Good morning, Suzanne! Such a treat to see your garden cuddled under a blanket of snow - with the echinacea popping their heads out from under the covers! Your amaryllis are all doing so well, and the lovely warm color surrounding them is a great contrast to the whites and grays outside your window. Thanks so much for sharing!
Cheryl_c, thank you for your compliments. I’m a succulent lover, too. The amaryllis have been a great winter delight this year.
p.s. I believe that FGPOD should fit in with the excellent FG goal of reader- educating plant identification that FG keeps throughout its fine publications.
I agree with your hopes that GPOD can be as fully educational as possible by including plant ID wherever possible. Not sure if he/she will respond, but I imagine many photos are sent in by gardeners who have not, themselves, recorded cultivar names.
And while we may have our GPOD editor's attention, I hope there is a change to add what appears to be the missing word "ONLY" in the intro to Suzanne's handsome photo set: "Her garden is not beautiful to our eyes…."????!!!
YES, indeed it is extremely beautiful.
Nwphillygardener, I agree with your comments. And I noticed several editing errors as well. Perhaps they were in a rush but it seems they would have an editor on staff.
Thank you for enjoying and taking the time to comment.
Thanks, nwphillygardener, for pointing out that the word "only" needed to be inserted so that the sentence was not insulting. I made a noise when I was reading it this morning and got a raised eyebrow from my husband about why I kind of snorted. I explained how a very important word was missing and that its absence made a big difference to the meaning of the sentence.
I’m with you...(read smile).
Arboretum, I can understand where you are coming from. However, I’m not sure of FG’s goal for this blog - it might be to just share photos of real life gardener’s gardens versus having an educational element. I don’t know. Text editing should be a priority though.
Just beautiful...the contrast of the bulbs agains the winter garden!
Thanks,
Thanks!
Especially love the shot of the snowy mountains - gorgeous!
Thanks, we’re happy to see the snow this winter.
How does FG not know that berberis thunbergii is not prized, but one of the worst invasive plants in the country? As I have said before, if the gardeners don' t include their own captions we would be better off with none.https://www.invasive.org/alien/pubs/midatlantic/beth.htm
https://www.waterwiseplants.org/find-a-plant/japanese-barberry/
darylsavage, I appreciate your concern about the barberry being invasive, however, after looking online I’m not sure it is in Colorado.
So much to love in your pics. Buddha, amaryllis, snow!
Thank you! It’s a fun, keeps me busy thing to do in retirement.
darylsav, signing onto the "you can't grow that; it's Invasive" bandwagon is belittling to your intelligence. As with any official umbrella rule, it is important to delve deeper into the issue, before buying it as gospel. ask a nurseryperson /professional garden designer etc. for their take on a listed plant; the facts of how, where, and why it is "invasive"can vary greatly.
I DO support us (as commenters to the GPOD forum) to call out a warning when a plant species is recognized as potentially invasive. Then it's on us to do the research to know the local impact. That said, I am not sure we should trust nursery trade and garden design professionals who may not be committed to environmental safety. Many of these folk earn their living by introducing exotic plants that perform well and are enjoyed by their clients. Whether their plant selections are causing problems for the wild areas near their clients' properties may not be their focus.
i like this flowers
Beautifull
so beautiful
nice flowers
bewitching flowers
marvelous flowers
wonderful flowers
marvelous
beautiful
Awesome!!
Wow!! Very nice!
amazing
so pretty
Fantastic!
I like the flowers.
Thanks for sharing this post!
Awesome view!
Thanks for this posting!
I love the beauty of nature.
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