OLD DECEMBER'S BARENESS

"How like a winter hath my absence been From thee,

 the pleasure of the fleeting year!

What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!

What old December’s bareness every where!

And yet this time remov’d was summer’s time;

The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,

Bearing the wanton burden of the prime,

Like widow’d wombs after their lords’ decease:

Yet this abundant issue seem’d to me

But hope of orphans and unfather’d fruit;

For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,

And, thou away, the very birds are mute:

Or, if they sing, ’tis with so dull a cheer,

That leaves look pale, dreading the winter’s near."

- William Shakespeare, How Like a Winter Hath my Absence Been (Sonnet 97)

The last month of the year has come so fast.  The leaves have all fallen and the trees and shrubs are bare .   I spend December going over the garden to check what bare spots need filling come Spring.   More Euphorbia is definitely on my list of 

" must haves ".   The newer colorful varieties are a challenge to grow but as they die I have replaced them with kind, hoping to find a spot they like.  So far they have endured the summer heat and Fall chill.

 

The remains of Autumn -Euphorbia 'ascot rainbow ', Japanese Iris, Autumn sage,  and hardy mums are the longest blooming flowers that often survive into early December, depending of course on the weather .  

I have all but given up on growing Gardenias and Rhododendrons .  I thought that my third attempt was charm but alas, it too sucumbed.  I have tried all varieties and different spots, soil, etc. to no avail.  Meanwhile my neighbor has a 10 year old 10 ' tall gardenia that I'm sure is taunting me.

Although the trees and shrubs are mostly bare there remains a lot of potential in the December garden -Edgeworthia has some buds, Euphorbias its colorful dress, Autumn sage decked out in red,  lavender is a beautiful silver and the late flowering Japanese mum has tiny yellow button shaped flowers.  

Advanced age has not detered me from gardening and as long as I can walk, bend and lift I will continue to do so.  I am looking forward to a new year filled with promise and new plants.  I'm also excited to seeing the rare appearance of a blooming tree in mid-January  ( below ) -Prunus mume 'peggy clarke '.  I love it so much I have two.  

Farewell December !