“One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.”
— W.E. Johns
I don’t know how you all feel about 2021, but for me it was like circling the airport waiting for clearance to land and never getting it. Oh sure, we made a couple of approaches and were really close to touching down, but then at the last minute the tower waved us off. There was great anticipation that maybe this was finally it and life would return to normal, or at least something close to normal. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
But thankfully, despite all of these setbacks, we still have our gardens to fall back on when it comes to normalcy, and especially when it comes to anticipating the next flower or ripening fruit or smell of fresh mowed grass or steaming compost or avian antics or a whole host of varied forms of entertainment that our gardens provide.
I stepped outside the other day before the big snow and made a mental list of what I am anticipating in my garden. Here are a few of my observations.
Flower buds on my hellebores: Hellebores (both Lenten and Christmas roses) are one of the most reliable winter bloomers in my garden. As winter approaches and the foliage starts to bend down, their buds start to emerge and extend from the crown of the plant. It will be another month before they come into full bloom, but already, I can imagine a bowlful of petals floating on my breakfast table in an array of colors from white to dark red. There is no fragrance, but they are still heavenly as far as I am concerned.
Winter-blooming camellias: I have a pair of “Pink-A-Boo” sasanqua camellias flanking my garage door in large ceramic pots that have been slowly (as in forever, or so it seems) forming buds over this past summer. Hardly visible for most of the year, they are finally starting to open and display their cheery single pink blooms with dancing yellow stamens in the center. Each flower is only 2 to 3 inches across, but they are a delight to my eyes each time I go in and out of the garage.
Dormant perennials: My anticipation of next year’s perennial growth is no better personified than in the clusters of basal buds on several clumps of Sedum “Autumn Joy.” Where I had maybe six stems this year, I am now looking at 12 to 18 new shoots per plant come spring. That is indeed worth getting excited about.
Rhododendrons: This is the time of year when rhodies will be covered with corpulent buds that are just waiting for the days to get longer and a little warmer. The tips of each branch of the few rhodies I left in my new garden are currently clothed in these buds, and it is with great anticipation that I look forward to those days in May when they will burst into flaming pinks and purples.
Euphorbias: These evergreen perennials come in foliage colors of bluish-green to dark reds, and even green and white variegated forms that are in themselves standouts in my winter garden. But already I can see their stems starting to elongate, and in a few short months they will be capped with chartreuse-colored bracts that will “bloom” for two to three months in early spring. Maybe more structural then beautiful, they are nevertheless an essential component of any garden.
When you think about it, the real driving force that pushes us to keep on planting is the anticipation of what we will get in return each successive year. As W.E. Johns says, it can be truly delightful. So for the 2022 season, my wish for you is that, like myself, you will find much delight in your garden. Happy New Year and keep on gardening!
Steve Smith represents Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached at sunnysidenursery@msn.com
Online class
Sunnyside’s first free online class for 2022 will be “DIY Kokedamas,” 10 a.m. Jan 8. For more information, go to www.sunnysidenursery.net/classes.
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