"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it brings."

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

What's looking good in my winter garden.

After waiting for the sun that the weatherman promised, I gave up and went outside.  Looking outside right now is pretty depressing.  I decided I would find some of my "winter interest" that I've slowly been adding the last couple of years.
First, are the still somewhat small sarcococca (sweet box).  It's an evergreen shrub that I've planted a row of along our deck.  It's setting it's buds right now.  They open in early spring and give off a very sweet smell. 
Right now they are covered in these purplish black berries.  The only downside to me is that the berries are poisonous.
Next, is the viburnum 'Spring Bouquet'.  Another nicely scented, evergreen shrub that also produces small blue berries that the birds enjoy.  It has been a fairly fast growing shrub, I think it should get to be around 6 feet.
Last is the pieris japonica 'Purity' that I planted last summer.  I dug a new flower bed to put it in (isn't that what you do when you run out of space?).  Pieris is so pretty in bloom, fairly common though out here in the Pacific Northwest.  It's full of buds now and I can't wait to see how it looks in bloom.
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4 comments:

  1. That pieris is going to look grand. I can not get them to grow in my hot gardens. You would not know I have hot gardens since the temp right now is 10 degrees. NC is a funny state. It can be 100 in the summer and 10 a few days in winter. Makes it very hard to figure out what plants will grow. But we'll be back up to 50 by the middle of next week.

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  2. Thanks for the head's up on the sarcococca berries, I didn't know they were poisonous. Guess that's why the birds don't eat them? My viburnum blossoms are all drooping very sadly, post-freeze - yours look better, maybe a warmer microclimate or more sheltered location? I had a pieris in my old garden but not this one. I'm sure yours will look grand in the spring!

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  3. I love the Pieris. The buds look like the smallest Morning glory bud and I thought the berries were edible by their look - how sad they aren't! So are they only ornamental or useful at least in making medicines? Curious...
    Your garden seems to be brightening up... Good luck!

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  4. This is wonderful! I nearly forgot that I'm completely surrounded by icy cold temps and lots of snow! ;-) Have a great day!

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