In Jenny Rose Carey’s newsletter this week, she posted the following quote from Marion Henderson’s book, Pot-Pourri:
“The year drips its life slowly away from naked trees where rain hangs in crystal drops. The days are short and seem bereft of light. Yet there are times when winter’s beauty cannot be denied and trees in their dark tracery are etched against the cold blue sky. If the sun shines, the world of nature, sleeping, seems to stir and almost to wake and live again.”
Ms. Henderson’s words reminded me of a recent trip to the Arboretum on a grey, rainy day, when I snapped the following photographs. The bare branches of Heptacodium miconioides (Seven Sons Tree) reaching up against a slate grey sky presenting a beauty not seen when the tree is leaf covered. The vibrant red berries of Ilex verticillata ‘Red Sprite’ (Winterberry Holly) dripping with rain drops providing a bright spot in the garden on a dreary day. No sun appeared during my visit, but I was struck by the beauty of various plants in close proximity to one another: a Blue Spruce in front of a large clump of dry ornamental grasses, the delicate branches of a tree in front of a dark green Spruce tree, all coming together in a mix of shape, color, texture, size to create a beautiful winter vignette.
Picture credits: Margery Ennist
