Photo courtesy of Kelly Riccitti, from her gorgeous blog Red and the Peanut
"I have to go out every day. I feel pent up if I don't. I wrap up and go for a walk."
"I think the trick to getting outside is to just get yourself out the door. Even if I don't have the time and energy to be outside for long, it still refreshes my spirit to go out for a bit and closely observe just one plant or wild animal."
There is so much beauty in the winter landscape, though we may have to look a little harder to find it. Unlike the knock-out displays of summer, winter is quieter and more subtle. When I told Kelly Riccitti that I loved her blog post "The beautiful grays of winter," she replied with this, which really sums it up:
"Here in Ohio, the weather can really be trying midwinter and many suffer from SAD [Seasonal Affective Disorder]. It's so important to get outside and see the beauty hiding behind the gray. Finding texture, form, birds, and recognizing the soft, soothing color keeps me happy. I hope I can inspire others to look past the gray and be calm..."
Photo courtesy of Kelly Riccitti, from Red and the Peanut
So for the rest of this post, inspired by Kelly, here are some photos that I've taken on winter forays. And what about you? What, in winter, strikes you as beautiful and life-affirming? What feeds your brain and your soul?
Serviceberry branches, stone wall, snow
Root, moss, needles, leaves - Martha's Vineyard, MA
Snowcapped Clematis - Little Stony Point, Cold Spring, NY
Sumac against an uncommonly blue sky
8 comments:
Naomi, I love your photos. The spiky shards of ice radiating out around the pebbles in "Icy stream" really caught my eye. It makes me think of ice flowers or hints of a stylized sun! Thank you for all of your kind words. I love what you're doing here!!
Great photos Naomi - you are as always - wonderful at painting the picture. You have a gift for expressing yourself. :-)
Shawna
Beautiful photos and great post! When I lived in Michigan, I took up cross country skiing to make winter bearable. Still found the long winters with flat gray sky day after day tough - I always felt starved for color. Looking at art books and garden books helped. Here in the DC winter is shorter so I feel like I'm getting a good deal! We have tips of daffodil leaves thrusting out already, & hellebores will bloom soon.
Rachel
Hi Naomi,
Such stunning photos and inspiring thoughts about nature in winter. Thank you! Mare
Hi Naomi,
As garden designers we love the variety winter brings to the outdoors. Unfortunately, when we mention winter interest to clients at least half of them here in Chicagoland look at us like we are mad! It is hard to break through the icy feeling for some.
Thanks for the great comments, each and every one of you. Rachel, you make a good point about being starved for color. I love looking at gardening books and seed and garden catalogs in the winter. And Marina, you are so right about the uphill battle with winter interest plants. Getting clients to think about that is like trying to sell someone a wool sweater in August. Still, that's what why they pay us the big bucks (ha!): To think of and insist on things that might otherwise be overlooked and missed out on. If you were successful in getting winter interest stuff into the garden, this is a really good time of year to visit sites, take pictures, and perhaps even get you client to admit to you that you were right:)
Naomi, I just love your photos! You have a lovely way with words, as well;-)
Great post Naomi, and an inspiring one for those who suffer from SAD. There IS beauty in the starkness of winter, if one but makes the effort to look around and see it.
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