Winter is Dead

She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
"Winter is dead."

- A. A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

New Growth in the Sedum Patch!

Autumn Joy sedum in January. From a distance, it seems dead and dormant. But look closely at the base of the plant. Do you see a hint of greenery?

Yes, even in the dark and cold days of January, when the Christmas lights have come down and the days are still too short for my tastes, it is possible to find hopeful signs of spring lurking in the undergrowth.

When it's not too cold, I like to walk around my garden, checking to see how leaves and dead plant matter are decomposing and adding organic material to the soil.

The Autumn Joy sedum that I left standing for "winter interest" has pretty much toppled. It's my first year growing this sedum, and I was wondering if/when I should cut it back and perhaps toss the cut parts somewhere less conspicuous to decompose.

As I leaned into look closer, I spied it - fresh new green rosettes, tightly curled, just starting to poke through the soil.

Beautiful fresh new sedum growth poking through the cold soil. Is there a more hopeful sight in January? :)

What a hopeful sign of Spring to come! The sight filled me with joy and wonder.

At first I only saw a couple new rosettes among the collapsed and decaying leaves of last year's growth. But then I shifted my angle and saw many more new rosettes forming at the soil line. And it looks like some new growth on the lower part of one of the older stems? Should I cut above the new growth when I trim back the plant?

I like the way that gardening encourages us to look more closely. Is there anything you noticed recently in your garden that caused you to take a second look?

Two more proud little sedum shoots peeking up through the soil. I have to admit I wasn't overly impressed with the sedums I planted last year, but they're off to a great start this spring and maybe will do better in 2013 now that they have settled in and have a chance to engage in a full year of growth?

I feel like the perennial garden will be waking up shortly and soon it will be time to sow annuals. You can follow the action with email updates.