Snowin' up the yard, and stinkin' up the house.

During December in Wisconsin there is no work to be done in the garden. Outside of filling up the birdfeeder and heated birdbath, which I categorize as "birding,"rather than "gardening," I don't need to set foot out there. There is a certain level of anxiety just letting your garden rest like this. Did I cover the newer roses with dirt well enough? Did I remember to put rabbit fences around the most exposed roses? Will they all make it? Will this snow be around to protect them all winter? A gardener can go crazy just wondering... good thing I have a back injury that would keep me from being able to tend to my garden anyway! lol.

I thought I'd share some pictures of what the garden looks like this week, starting with this shot taken at midnight during a blizzard from the back of our lot.

This tree looks so heavy!

Our willows were scheduled to be trimmed by the energy company this fall, and they never came. Now, you can see the weight of snow and ice has left the branches lying on the cables. Scary stuff.

This was the view from my bedrom window when I woke up after a heavy storm.

A spot in the garden where the neighbor's bush that normally stands erect has lumped over into our yard.

So, while I'm inside, I am finding ways to "garden." I have put florescent lights in my basement to overwinter my evergrowing collection of tropical plants. Normally, they are all in my windows, but this year I decided to avoid the clutter, and pile them where I can't see them. So far, the elephant ears, red banana, hibiscus, and poor man's orchid seem to love the artificial light and cool temps.

Meanwhile up in the living part of our home I have a few plants, including jasmine, begonia, rosemary and some bulbs. My favorite part of forcing paperwhite bulbs in the house at Christmastime is the inevitable shock I experience, "Oh my goodness, they smell soooo good!" As if each batch is stronger than last year, intensifying with age? The blooms are simply potent. And beautiful.

Still another set of bulbs is under the florescent bulbs in the basement, and due to bloom in a few weeks. Heaven.

Happy indoor gardening!