The Mahonia ‘Arthur Menzies’ is blooming. I spotted a single bud open on November 18th, but now there are enough flowers to attrach the hummingbirds. What a great plant. I should have blooms well into late February. The heather ‘Kramer’s Rote’ is just starting to show buds too. The yellow/purple combo is great, and once the berries start forming the purple/purple is equally attractive.
I took a stroll in the yard yesterday. The neighbors snag finally gave way and fell in my yard. I’m tempted to leave the bulk of it to promote a more natural woodland ecosystem. A couple of the Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ (dogwood) lost a twig or two, and one of the Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ (redbud) has two broken branches. Everything else looks unscathed.
The hellebores are starting to show their buds and the moss is definitely taking over. Time to apply some iron sulfate and lime to the creeping thyme. Otherwise I let the moss do what it wants.
I was at a friend’s house yesterday, and I thought he had just trimmed his lawn. He laughed, and said I wasn’t used to seeing grass, it stops growing in the winter. It has been awhile since I’ve had a grass lawn. I haven’t missed it at all.
[...] sole damage was self induced. @#$! is all I can say. I put too much iron sulfate on the creeping thyme while attempting to kill [...]