Hi GPODers!

A few weeks ago we saw Caroline Blais’ garden in Belwood, Ontario, Canada during a snowstorm (Caroline’s Snow Day in Ontario). Despite the frigid temperatures and lots of snow flying, Caroline was able to capture some great shots of birds and squirrels finding food and shelter in her beds. Today, we return to Caroline’s garden to see how her landscape handled a very snow January.

Good morning, it has been a very snowy January in our zone 5 garden outside of Fergus, Ontario Canada.

I am sharing a few photos with you and hope to become a regular contributor!

We used a thrifted pine cone wreath as a bird feeder and filled the cones with a mix of suet and bird seed. We hung the wreath on a wooden gate where I could view the activity from the kitchen window. After a few days the wreath disappeared (thieving squirrels perhaps?)… but we found it and hung it horizontally from a tree. We replenish the suet every couple of days.

Thank you and have a great day!

Caroline Blais

This Canadian garden is looking appropriately coated in a thick blanket of snow. Caroline expressed her want to contribute regularly, and I’m really hoping she continues to want to share. I’m already itching to see what this view looks like in warmer and more colorful seasons!

It doesn’t look like anyone is going to be sitting and enjoying the scenery any time soon! However, these double Adirondack chairs allow for a little bit of cheerful yellow to peek out from the snow and help create some pretty cool forms in the large drifts.

An American Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) visits Caroline and enjoys the abundance of food that she provides for local wildlife through winter. These squirrels can be found throughout North America, and primarily feed on the seeds and cones of evergreen trees.

Thankfully for squirrels and birds there are plenty of evergreens in Caroline’s garden, which she also supplements with lots of additional seed in feeders and wreaths. Along with the benefits to wildlife, these evergreens provide even more structure for the snow to create its artwork on.

And here is the pinecone wreath that Caroline mentions at the top of this post. While the wreath would have been a lovely piece of decor as is, I adore that she chose to add some seeds and suet for the birds that desperately need it during the harsh Canadian winter. Here, a beautiful female hairy woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) is enjoying a hardy snack. Often confused with the downy woodpecker, hairy woodpeckers are larger, have longer beaks, and have plain white tail feathers while the white tail feathers on a downy are usually speckled with black.

And a photo after the wreath was lost, found and rehung for birds to enjoy. Even covered in a heavy layer of snow, birds are able to grip onto the pine cones and access the suet.

A couple of black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) stopping by the wreath. Be sure to check out Caroline’s earlier submission (Snow Day in Ontario) to see more birds that have visited Caroline so far this winter.

A sign of very cold temperatures and some seriously “sticky” snow, just about every surface in Caroline’s garden in covered. While it can’t compare to the vibrancy and color of the warmer months, there is always a calm beauty in deciduous tees draped in a layer of snow. The shiny ornaments hanging from the branches added an extra touch of sparkle and fun.

Thank you for this snow-filled update on your garden, Caroline! We haven’t yet had a chance to see your landscape in full spring or summer glory, and enjoying your photos so far has been like staring at your wrapped presents on Christmas Eve. I’m investigating the shapes and forms, admiring the simplicity and calm, but I sure hope we finally get to unwrap those presents one day to see the color and excitement that lies beneath!!

 

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to gpod@taunton.com along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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