Winter texture void color, dormancy rest

And just like that, the ice is gone. But not before a morning walk through the garden to explore how a coating of ice and its subsequent thaw decorates natural elements throughout my yard. I am fascinated with it all! From the hydrangea petals that shed a crystal clear ice replica with grooves matching the petal veins to the bubbly vein-like designs inside icicles clinging to surfaces both nature and man made, each is a fleeting sight to see. 

Winter’s dormancy can be a challenge for gardeners, which is why I am grateful I have learned to enjoy this season of rest and its emphasis on texture over color in the garden. There is an abundance of texture in our natural world that often is overshadowed other times of the year by the vast vibrancy of color everywhere you look. But it is winter that shows what is beneath that beauty, when color and growth go dormant, texture takes center stage. The winter landscape, whether on trail or in the garden, becomes this monochromatic scene beckoning our attention to notice the structural beauty of nature, the veins, the pores, the seed pods, the exposed roots, the depth of the groves in a tree’s bark and the intricate maze of branches on bare trees that unveil that there is beauty in every season.