Posted on by Donna

Winter Scenes To Melt My Heart

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is time for home.”

~Edith Sitwell

 

When winter is relentless, bringing cold and snow day after day, what’s a person to do?  I could move to a warmer climate. No, I like the change of seasons.  I could be miserable and complain, stay indoors and become a hermit.  Well I tried this, and it just makes for a lousy few months.  So instead, I have been looking for the wonders and beauty of winter around my garden.

 

 

As the snow falls and piles up, it can suddenly change a landscape as if it is being painted….transformed.  The picture at the top of the post shows how snow, as it melts a bit, can get heavier and look more like whipped topping on bare branches.

 

 

My neighbor’s evergreens look stunning in their new snowy coat.  I wish I had added more evergreens earlier when I planted the bones of my garden. 

 

 

Late in the day, long shadows paint on the snowy palette and bring more color to the white.

 

 

On those darker stormy days, I love to watch the ornamental grasses being spray painted….

 

 

…..creating great textures.

 

 

Even the stalks of debris make for interesting vistas.

 

 

And the snow hats always make me smile, and reach for my camera to catch them especially on monarda and echinacea.

 

 

Snow falling on tightly-knit willow branches, creates its own high drifts and piles almost completely hiding the tops of trees.

 

 

And once the snow melts a bit and then freezes again, you can see a sparkling icy surface you could skate on.

 

 

The snowy winter outside isn’t the only place to find lovely pictures of winter.  Watching the fire, paints a warm, cozy picture I can get lost in.

 

 

Of course one of my favorite things about winter is the warm comfort food, like homemade soup, that tantalizes the senses with its savory herbs.

 

 

Do you find beauty in winter? What is your favorite thing to do in winter that makes you happy?

 

You can read more about Winter Love in other parts of the northern hemisphere in the latest RURAL magazine issue just out, in both digital and print versions.  I was pleased to contribute a prose piece and photo for this winter edition.

 

A Warming Vase

My paperwhites are blooming like crazy and are so long lived.  I thought it would be nice to put this vase in my sanctuary room lit only by candlelight.  Isn’t it warming and serene.

 

 

I added some dried seedheads from my native Agastache that I gathered to bring indoors, before winter began.  It gives a wonderful texture to the vase.

I am joining Cathy@Rambling in the Garden for her wonderful In A Vase on Monday meme. The pictures shared here were created with my iPod Touch camera and two free apps, Pixlr and Prisma.

I am posting poetry, almost weekly on Sundays, on my other blog, Living From Happiness.  You can read my latest poem here.

All original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View, 2010-2018.  Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.

33 Replies to “Winter Scenes To Melt My Heart”

  1. Donna, I love your Winter scenes. In this part of Scotland, we only get an occasional scattering of snow. Like yourself, I just embrace the Winter. Creating a new garden border at the moment.

  2. I love all your pictures of winter in your garden Donna. You are right, we have to focus on the beauty of it, even when we are yearning for spring flowers! Your vase scene really is cosy and conjures up the scent of cinnamon… is that candle scented perhaps? 😉 I am enjoying walks in the woods this winter, although it is not frosty at all at the moment.

    1. It is scented, but not cinnamon Cathy although that would be wonderful. Your winter walks sound beautiful! Hoping we both see spring soon!

  3. Such beautiful pictures and commentary, Donna. I love the first snows, but by the end of January, I want spring to arrive. Your vase pictures look like they were taken by candlelight. Just wonderful!

    1. I hear you Sarah…February is going to be a long month with winter. I actually took the vase pictures by candlelight with no flash on my iPod Touch. I was pleased how they came out.

  4. You have reminded me of all the things about winter I used to love … Now, I love escaping it. After 6 years of escape I do notice a change of season here – it’s just not quite as dramatic. Lovely photos! That soup made me hungry ha ha.

    1. There will be times in February I will want to escape too as winter drags on….it is the hardest month for me. But I hope with starting seeds and maybe a thaw in March, that will help.

  5. As long as I don’t have to drive in a snowstorm, I love winter.Your text and images certainly make winter seem like a season everyone would want to have! And nothing like soup at this season. I just tried a new recipe last week that is a keeper.

    1. I agree Linda…driving in snow is the worst part about it. Soup is such a perfect food for winter….and I love finding new recipes!

  6. we had some snow a few weeks ago, it was a delightful relief from the almost constant rain, I know it is not so good for wildlife and it is colder than rain, but for that week the scene was light and bright, as you show there is much beauty in snow, rain just looks dark and dreary,
    nice photos Donna,
    Frances

    1. oh sorry Donna forgot to say, I have spent the last few winters studying, I am on a linguistics course this winter, I am enjoying it and finding it very interesting,

      I am also planning what vegetables to plant and where for the coming season, I am trying to find more perennial vegetables,

      winter is when I try to give my brain a workout 😉 Frances

      1. I agree Frances, I like snow better than rain and mud all winter. We have had a couple of winters with more rain and I prefer the snow. Your studies sound fascinating and a great way to spend winter working out your brain…..I like that idea! Enjoy your veg garden planning….I am doing that now too.

  7. I always find winter photos fascinating and beautiful but then snow is virtually a foreign concept for me. (I can count the times I’ve seen snow in person on the fingers of one hand I think.) The paperwhites are lovely. My own have already been mostly dried up by our seemingly relentless winds.

    1. My nieces who live in CA, are also fascinated by snow as they have little personal context….that always gives me pause. I did live 2 years in AZ while at grad school, but missed our seasons and even the snow.

  8. Delightful studies of winter, Donna. Finding the beauty in these cold, snowy days is what keeps us going. With the longer days, the tide is turning towards spring.

  9. The only thing to do is enjoy the seasons and make the most of the small pleasures. Your photos are a joy. I’m finding it hard to find a positive in the mud here in the hen run- we have no snow only lots of rain – but little shoots are pushing though so that must be the focus. Mmm Paperwhites how gorgeous and a brilliant photo again. x

  11. What glorious photos, and such a good philosophy. The ‘altar’ in your sanctuary room is a delight and I trust you find what you need there

    1. Ah you are so astute…yes that ‘altar’ is special and holds many important artifacts from my life….I find such peace and inspiration in my special room.

  12. Donna, you’ve teased out loveliness and charm from the winter season. The paperwhites are beautiful and must be a nice addition to your special room. Today I attended the first session in an 8-week Yoga Therapy Group Experience. I feel it is something you’d enjoy too. It includes one all day silent retreat, which I’m so excited about.

    1. Oh Susie that does sound like something I would like…I’d love to hear more about it as I might be able to find something like it here when I am ready.

  13. This is a beautiful post of things we take for granted. Amazing how you can see what some may see as common and then capture it and also show it as art. Great photo skills. I enjoy toying with photos myself. Thanks for your visit.

    1. My pleasure Patsi and thank you for the return visit. I think as we develop our artist eye, we do see things differently. Your lovely words are high compliment and I thank you!

  15. I love this, Donna! You are much more optimistic about winter than I am. And you get triple the snow we do! Wow, I’m impressed! You’re right, though–what can we do? We might as well try to enjoy or at least appreciate it!

  16. Beautiful photographs. I’m afraid our winter is rather drab this year, almost no snow at the moment. But when fresh snow outlines the branches of the trees, the beauty is undeniable.

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