Hi GPODers!
A few weeks ago we saw Caroline Blais’ garden in Belwood, Ontario, Canada during a snowstorm (Caroline’s Snow Day in Ontario). Despite the frigid temperatures and lots of snow flying, Caroline was able to capture some great shots of birds and squirrels finding food and shelter in her beds. Today, we return to Caroline’s garden to see how her landscape handled a very snow January.
Good morning, it has been a very snowy January in our zone 5 garden outside of Fergus, Ontario Canada.
I am sharing a few photos with you and hope to become a regular contributor!
We used a thrifted pine cone wreath as a bird feeder and filled the cones with a mix of suet and bird seed. We hung the wreath on a wooden gate where I could view the activity from the kitchen window. After a few days the wreath disappeared (thieving squirrels perhaps?)… but we found it and hung it horizontally from a tree. We replenish the suet every couple of days.
Thank you and have a great day!
Caroline Blais
This Canadian garden is looking appropriately coated in a thick blanket of snow. Caroline expressed her want to contribute regularly, and I’m really hoping she continues to want to share. I’m already itching to see what this view looks like in warmer and more colorful seasons!
It doesn’t look like anyone is going to be sitting and enjoying the scenery any time soon! However, these double Adirondack chairs allow for a little bit of cheerful yellow to peek out from the snow and help create some pretty cool forms in the large drifts.
An American Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) visits Caroline and enjoys the abundance of food that she provides for local wildlife through winter. These squirrels can be found throughout North America, and primarily feed on the seeds and cones of evergreen trees.
Thankfully for squirrels and birds there are plenty of evergreens in Caroline’s garden, which she also supplements with lots of additional seed in feeders and wreaths. Along with the benefits to wildlife, these evergreens provide even more structure for the snow to create its artwork on.
And here is the pinecone wreath that Caroline mentions at the top of this post. While the wreath would have been a lovely piece of decor as is, I adore that she chose to add some seeds and suet for the birds that desperately need it during the harsh Canadian winter. Here, a beautiful female hairy woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) is enjoying a hardy snack. Often confused with the downy woodpecker, hairy woodpeckers are larger, have longer beaks, and have plain white tail feathers while the white tail feathers on a downy are usually speckled with black.
And a photo after the wreath was lost, found and rehung for birds to enjoy. Even covered in a heavy layer of snow, birds are able to grip onto the pine cones and access the suet.
A couple of black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) stopping by the wreath. Be sure to check out Caroline’s earlier submission (Snow Day in Ontario) to see more birds that have visited Caroline so far this winter.
A sign of very cold temperatures and some seriously “sticky” snow, just about every surface in Caroline’s garden in covered. While it can’t compare to the vibrancy and color of the warmer months, there is always a calm beauty in deciduous tees draped in a layer of snow. The shiny ornaments hanging from the branches added an extra touch of sparkle and fun.
Thank you for this snow-filled update on your garden, Caroline! We haven’t yet had a chance to see your landscape in full spring or summer glory, and enjoying your photos so far has been like staring at your wrapped presents on Christmas Eve. I’m investigating the shapes and forms, admiring the simplicity and calm, but I sure hope we finally get to unwrap those presents one day to see the color and excitement that lies beneath!!
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
DeWalt Variable-Speed Cordless Reciprocating Saw with 6-Piece Saw Blade Set
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
You can fit a variety of blades to this saw to cut fallen branches or prune larger limbs from trees in a pinch. It’s fast, tough, easy to use, and extremely versatile.
– 18.31 x 6.13 x 4 inches
– 1-1/8-inch stroke length
– Variable speed trigger with 0-3000 spm
– DW4856 Metal/Woodcutting Reciprocating Saw Blade Set, 6-Piece
Gardener’s Log Book from NYBG
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
This weatherproof five-year log book includes the following features:
· Sturdy waterproof cover to protect pages from rain and muddy soil
· Lined pages and gridded paper for plotting beds
· Five years of 12-month bloom and harvest grids for recording what you planted and when
· Authoritative appendices on composting, pruning, pest and disease control, and container gardening
· Useful reminders by season on fertilizing, mulching, and transplanting
· Space for listing your favorite sources and suppliers.
Organo Republic 16 Perennial Wildflower Seeds Mix for Indoor & Outdoors
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Premium 16 Perennial Wildflower Seeds Mix – Special Garden Flower Seeds Blend designed for planting indoor & outdoors across North America. With over 16 varieties and 100,000 wildflower seeds, this mix is the best solution to attract pollinators – bees, butterflies & birds are essential for garden plants health. Our Special Perennial Wildflower Seeds Mix Includes White Yarrow, Columbine, New England Aster, Siberian Wallflower, Shasta Daisy, Lance-Leaf Coreopsis, Sweet William, Purple Coneflower, Blanketflower, Gayfeather, Blue Flax, Lupine, Dwarf Evening, Primrose, Mexican Hat, Prairie Coneflower, Black Eyed Susan. Easy & Fun Growing Experience with our online guides – Don’t plant disappointment – Add more colors to your wildflower garden! We send only super hearty heirloom flower seeds with the highest germination rate and fast sprout. Our detailed growing guide helps you grow seeds the garden of your dream like a PRO. Colorful Wildflower Garden from Seeds – Grow wildflowers everywhere – Indoor in window garden or Outdoors Flower garden Garden make a beautiful design for your garden borders, pathways, field or meadow and attract pollinators. Made in the USA by Small Family-Owned Business – Quality You Can Trust – Our wildflower bulk seeds variety pack are tested at the highest germination rates before being sealed to last for up to 3 years before you need to plant. Each packet of our flower seeds variety pack is resealable to make it easy to store and has its own label with a QR code for the growing instructions.
