For the next few months there will be little, if any, change in the "dead look" which will permeate the color palette, save for the often scattered pockets of Pine Tree green.
The only other color to arrive might be WHITE. That means snow, & frankly "No thanks". I had more than enough for one lifetime, as a kid, living in upstate New York.
Not only is the ground covered in fallen leaves, but the deciduous trees now look naked without their leaves. This large Willow Tree on my South property looks kind of creepy & sinister.
The Clematis vine at the mail box -- which flowers continuously from April until just recently -- looks pitiful. With the vine providing so much color, for so long, it seems sad to see it look so brown & barren in it's present state.
The above photo -- taken about six weeks ago -- shows the abundant flowers the vine produces all growing season.I don't know the official name of this Clematis. I would love to have a couple more plants, since this variety seems to do so well in this area of the country & with our weather conditions.
I am able to combat the muted Winter brown colors on my property with the large number -- & variety -- of Bamboo plants I have growing. The colors of the Bamboo -- depending on the species -- range in various shades of green, along with yellow, gray & white.
The sun -- along with the shading effects it creates through the Bamboo -- adds a colorful contrast in the winter landscape. It provides me an uplifting feeling walking through the Bamboo in the Winter cold.There are two species featured in the above photo -- Phyllostachys Vivax & P. Edulis 'Moso'. [Sorry ... there are no common names for these two species of Bamboo.]
NOTE: The Moso is a "giant Bamboo" & in the movie, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" there is a scene of a sword fight in the top of a forest of Moso Bamboo.
Again, above, the sun light provides color variations, especially if the Bamboo is "moving" in the breeze. Bamboo provides more color stimulation to the viewers eyes than the plain green of Pine Trees.
Not all the Bamboo on my land is of the "giant" variety. The photo above is a plant named Sasa Veitchii. [Again, sorry, no common name.] It grows about three or four feet high & quickly spreads as a ground cover. In the colder weather -- NOW -- the edge of the leaves develops a bright white-stripe affect. For the next months, I may be reminded constantly of the change in seasons as I rake & dispose of the leaves which have fallen on my land. Thankfully, the colorful Bamboo provides a stimulus with both its size, shape & many color varieties.
Another fabulous post. The beautiful and vibrant bamboo is like a breath of the tropics! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThat means snow, & frankly "No thanks". I had more than enough for one lifetime..
ReplyDeleteWas stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado beginning in June of 1986 and up until that time I had seen snow four times in my life. Around November of that year I had long since seen enough and wanted to go home. I didn't until my enlistment was up in 1990 and no I never got into snow sking.
Now I like snow because my daughter likes to play, other than that I can live without the stuff.
Melissa -- THANK YOU !!
ReplyDeleteRon John -- When I arrived in Memphis in 1967, I shortly learned how the cities/people in the South handle snow.
They don't !! They wait till it melts. All TWO INCHES of it.
After living in places such as Utica, N.Y., it's a whole different world down South, when TWO FEET of snow is "normal" in upstate N.Y. in the Winter.
I still hate the white stuff.
The bamboo really is beautiful. I bet it makes lovely sounds too in the wind.
ReplyDeleteI "love" snow because it was so much fun as a kid. But I never had to drive in it, or worry about the sidewalks, and all the other grown responsibilities that snow makes more difficult. I have a romantic love of snow. It's fun!
Stacey:
ReplyDeleteThe one "advantage" of snow as a kid, for me, was the money to be made shoveling the white crud off sidewalks for $$.
I'd work a couple hours & have $5.00 in my pocket. I thought I was RICH !!