Hi GPODers!
We couldn’t avoid it forever. No matter how hard we hold onto fall, winter comes rolling along and for many of us that also means snowfall. Today’s photos come from Tingshu Hu and her husband Philip Zhao in Dunstable, Massachusetts. We’ve seen different aspects of their space during the peak seasons (Tingshu’s Front Garden in Late Summer, Summer in Tingshu’s Back Garden, Low Maintenance Garden in Massachusetts, A Space Created with Chinese Design Elements and English Garden Aesthetics, etc.), but today we’re getting a look at the interest Tingshu has managed to create even when the gardens are coated in a layer of snow.
Four season interests, especially winter views, are essential for a home garden in New England, since we have 4+ months of winter, covered in snow and ice. The contrasts of colors and shapes against the white snowy background are still attracting us to go outside and explore the garden in winter.
Snow came late this year. We received the first snow on December 5, 2024. Philip took some pictures while it was snowing. The centerpiece of the back garden is the Prairifire crabapple tree (Malus × ‘Prairifire’, Zones 4–8). Several pictures were taken going around the crabapple tree.
There are numerous red berries on the crabapple tree, attracting many birds in winter. On the right side is a dwarf Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens ‘Glauca’, Zones 2–8), lightly frosted in white snow. You can also see a pergola and garden fences through the tree branches.
Looking from below the red crabapple berries, there are blue spruce, yew, azalea, bare branches of a dogwood, and an arbor. Further beyond, there are several pine trees.
Looking from below an apple tree, with a bare branch hanging overhead, the crabapple tree, the blue spruce and a false cypress stand on the left. A magnolia tree, a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum and cvs., Zones 6–9) and a few azaleas stand above a stone retaining wall. There is a yew at the bottom of the photo.
Looking west with the crabapple on the right, a false cypress stands between a white fence, and a tall purple fence of the vegetable garden. A grape pergola stands at the left side.
View of the center of the back garden across a frozen fishpond. On the right side are the leaves of a clumping bamboo and a red twig dogwood (Cornus sericea, Zones 3–7).
Curb appeals at the front garden: combination of pergola, fences and evergreens (rhododendron, false cypress and arborvitae), and an eastern redbud tree (Cercis canadensis and cvs., Zones 4–9) on the left. Outside the fence are a young Japanese maple, a gold cone juniper (Juniperus communis ‘Gold Cone’, Zones 5–7) and a dried maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis, Zones 5–9).
Our dog Luke is enjoying the sun after the snow. In front of Luke is a lotus in a mini pond, with dried flower heads and stems. On the left side is a clumping bamboo. The colors of Chinese mums (Chrysanthemum × morifolium, Zones 5–9) are visible from the glass of the green house. The fishpond under the pergola is frozen. All koi fish have been moved to a pond inside the sunroom under the solar panels.
Chinese mums looking at the snow-covered front yard. Deep in the winter we may receive heavier snow. Then the garden will have very different looks.
Back garden in January 2023, after a heavy snow. Luke went for a walk (Deedee was nearby but not in this picture).
Front garden after a heavy snow in a previous winter. The eastern redbud is standing tall and proud, dressed with fluffy snow on its branches.
Thank you for another incredible tour of your gardens, Tingshu! Winter interest is acquired with lots of foresight, and it’s clear that you’ve planned and prepared for snow-covered beauty to great success.
Have you experienced the first snow fall of the season yet? Or is your garden already covered in a thick layer of ice and snow? Though the more subtle and subdued scenes of winter don’t necessarily have the same vibrant energy as peak season blooms, there is still plenty of interest and plants to admire and appreciate. Consider sharing your winter garden with Garden Photo of the Day! Follow the directions below to submit your photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
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