The snow arrived and blanketed the state with its white crystals. Mother Earth has "changed her gown". The garden seems serene, delicate, and forbidding in many ways. The Birch and Larch trees lend a delicate, haunting to the scene; whereas the mound of snow seems forbidding as it swallows up the plants near it.
In the distance, the clock tower stands over the forlorn garden near the welcome sign.
This past Friday I did some more winter prep in the garden. I cut down the dogwood bushes and weeded much of the rock drain. There is not a lot to do at this time. The leaves on the trees have not changed color yet. The trees may change in a couple of weeks. The daisies are still going strong in the flower department. Anyone can prepare their yard or garden for winter. UAF CES has publications for garden winter prep http://cespubs.uaf.edu/publications/?&s=*&pt=*&cat=7
On this glorious sunny day (after some serious rain), we divided irises and put the divisions in pots. We spent three and a half hours doing some serious work. The first iris we removed from the ground put up a fight. It took 15 minutes of digging and coaxing roots to separate. We used a long (transplanting) spade and a garden spade to pry those roots loose (in the picture you can see the long spade; the other one is a clamming shovel which helped to lift the plant.)
If you rub your fingers on the plant to remove the spittle, you can feel the insects inside the foam.
