Even when it hasn’t been raining in the last couple of weeks, the light levels have been low and my attempts to produce a film snapshot have left me with hours of profoundly dull footage. The conceit that I hold to is that I have an all year round garden with at least a few things performing even in the depths of winter. Obviously there are no drifts of bright flowers and the winter colour palette is subdued compared to other seasons, but there is colour and there are flowers. There are only a few things that will flower at this time of year and as nice as it is to have them, I don’t want too many as they will be taking up space in summer without giving much in return.
The Camellias that are flowering now are all placed around the perimeter of the garden where they will become background, screening and windbreak for the rest of the year when they are out of flower. Some of them are planted just outside the house windows, to be enjoyed primarily from inside the house in winter.
Getting maximum visual interest from non flowering plants in winter seems to me to come down to getting as much contrast into the planting as possible. I want a wide range of shapes, textures and colours, some of which will be all year round characteristics like evergreen shrubs, some will be seasonal, like the straw colouring of grasses. Most of the summer performers have left the stage, what is left is the scenery, the backdrop that for much of the year barely gets noticed. It doesn’t need to be, indeed shouldn’t be, dull.
garden ruminations 
I learned a design element this year. Design plantings that can be seen from a window inside your house. This connects the house to the garden. Seems you already knew this. Enjoyed the post very much.
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It looks fabulous–the various textures, and heights, and placements of the plants. Most years my landscape would be covered in snow (or have a light touch), but this year we’re having a very mild December in the Upper Midwest U.S. because of El Nino. So my landscape is brown and gray and some green; yours looks much more interesting. Happy Holidays!
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We are at least getting pretty much what we always get. Huge swings are difficult to plan for and what I fear the most from climate change. It increasingly seem to be the wettest, the hottest, the driest, the coldest, one after the other; not just every few years.
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Thank you so much Jim. love your videos. Such a treat. Camellias are amazing. And bird sounds.
Elaine
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Jim, thank you so much for sharing the video of your garden! my garden is frozen at present, so to see your garden with things in bloom and still green was amazing for me! it was also heaven to hear the birds (as the birds here have all migrated south). I also got a glimpse of the cat! so much happiness ❤ !
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I find it hard to imagine months of snow cover or frozen ground, it would kill most of what we grow. I think we get as many birds migrating here as leave for warmer climes.
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