Yard Pictures: Snow in Savanna
Here are some pictures of my yard from Friday, January 21, 2024 when it snowed. Most of these are from the savanna, which lies between the Midwinter Grove and the prairie garden.
This is the view from the savanna looking north over the prairie garden. To the right is a large thicket of wild black cherry. It is a favorite of birds, especially cardinals. Beyond that, a path between two (probably white) mulberry trees leads through the prairie garden -- we mow a different cross-path every summer, but the outer belt remains similar.
This is the view in the savanna looking west toward the road. You can see the wildflower garden and the hazel thicket. Off to the left is the Midwinter Grove.
The wildflower garden is mostly dried-out northern sea oats at present. It's a fantastic native grass that has beautiful dancing seedheads, although most of those have been eaten by now. You can see a few dark spots that are echinacea heads. I leave a few for the birds, but I plant a lot of those in the prairie garden. Beyond the wildflower garden to the north are some of the baby oak seedlings that you can't see from here.
The hazel thicket lies west of the wildflower garden. Rabbits and squirrels like this.
The west hedge runs along the end of the savanna. You can see how well it's doing its job as a windbreak from the drifts forming. A little east of that is a row of saplings that will be the next line of defense when big enough. These include that good-sized redbud in the middle, which is flanked by serviceberries, which are flanked by Dolgo crabapples.
This is a wide view of the baby Colorado blue spruce, which we planted for Yule 2023. Technically it's part of the Midwinter Grove, but on the north side facing the savanna, and toward the west end.
This is a closeup of the baby Colorado blue spruce.
This is the view from the savanna looking north over the prairie garden. To the right is a large thicket of wild black cherry. It is a favorite of birds, especially cardinals. Beyond that, a path between two (probably white) mulberry trees leads through the prairie garden -- we mow a different cross-path every summer, but the outer belt remains similar.
This is the view in the savanna looking west toward the road. You can see the wildflower garden and the hazel thicket. Off to the left is the Midwinter Grove.
The wildflower garden is mostly dried-out northern sea oats at present. It's a fantastic native grass that has beautiful dancing seedheads, although most of those have been eaten by now. You can see a few dark spots that are echinacea heads. I leave a few for the birds, but I plant a lot of those in the prairie garden. Beyond the wildflower garden to the north are some of the baby oak seedlings that you can't see from here.
The hazel thicket lies west of the wildflower garden. Rabbits and squirrels like this.
The west hedge runs along the end of the savanna. You can see how well it's doing its job as a windbreak from the drifts forming. A little east of that is a row of saplings that will be the next line of defense when big enough. These include that good-sized redbud in the middle, which is flanked by serviceberries, which are flanked by Dolgo crabapples.
This is a wide view of the baby Colorado blue spruce, which we planted for Yule 2023. Technically it's part of the Midwinter Grove, but on the north side facing the savanna, and toward the west end.
This is a closeup of the baby Colorado blue spruce.
