Just White

 

January White

January 12, 2023. 7:30 PM. I couldn't wait any longer and I had to open the back door to see whether the weather was changing or not. Two days ago, it was below zero, this morning it started out at 16°, and now as I sit here online, it's an even 30°, up 2 degrees in an hour. Although snowflakes have been falling much of the day, the accumulation was negligible, and rain is predicted in the next hour. Climate change is upon us despite what some folks think. Ask anyone who loves to ski, snowboard or snowmobile and you will hear groans as snow hardly exists in the lowlands and is slim on the mountains except in ski areas that keep trying to manufacture snow. 

Yesterday morning I was in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, a small city of sorts that is kind of midway up and down the state. I decided on the way home to get off Interstate 89 in Sharon and head over the mountain to Strafford and then down into Tunbridge on Route 110. Even on the mountains in that area, snow was limited and whitetail deer could be seen in good numbers and that made me think it was April, not January. Life is different now and the weather is taking some getting used to.

I'm not sure why but as I was driving along enjoying Vermont's very rural nature, I thought of the color white, a color almost absent as I traveled. But then I thought of white flowers and how much their purity and perfection always impress me.  As the snow melts in April, the hellebores push through the snow and despite the cold they offer up a variety of colors but clearly some nice whites. And after the hellebores welcome us, galanthus/snowdrops arrive, joined by anenomes, and bloodroot, and white trillium, then clumps of white crocus and Narcissus Thalia, Chionodoxa/Glory of the Snow, hyacinths, Lily of the Valley, trailing arbutus and more. Yes, the snow melts away but the color white continues in living color. 

It may seem strange that I am thinking about white flowers but most gardeners enjoy incorporating them in all their gardens. If you don't use a garden journal yet or maybe even a notebook with ideas, pull out your smart phone and make lists of plants to purchase come spring. That way sixteen months from now the plants I just mentioned might be making their presence known in your gardens. None are expensive, all are Vermont hardy, and every one will make you smile. Guaranteed!!

White Trillium

7 years from seed to flower