Finding the Fruits of Winter in the Witt Winter Garden

Witch hazel

“But the winter was not given to us for no purpose.  We must thaw its cold with our genialness.  We are tasked to find out and appropriate all the nutriment it yields.  If it is a cold and hard season, its fruit, no doubt, is the more concentrated and nutty. . . ”
— Henry David Thoreau, Journal

The sun was shining — a rare occurrence this winter season — and I was moved to go outside for a walk.  In the spirit of adventure, I made my first visit to the Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden at Seattle’s Washington Park Arboretum.  What a delight to see things blooming in this seasonal garden, proving that even winter yields its fruits.

Washington Park Arboretum

Orange beauty witch hazel

Ruby glow witch hazel

Cyclamen patch

Hellebores

Snowdrops, Washington Park Arboretum

Snowdrops

Autumn at Lakewold Gardens

Patch of tiny cyclamen on the forest floor, Lakewold Gardens

The visual rewards of gardens may be less obvious in fall or winter, but they are still worthy of a visit.  I returned to the Lakewold Gardens this past weekend to see what it had to offer on a gray, damp autumn day.  Here are some photos:

Green canopy of dappled leaves

Cyclamen encircling an old tree

Anemone in bloom

A variation of pale maple leaves

Looking up yielded some of the best sights in the garden

We are seeing a second bloom of crocuses this year (one in spring and again this fall)

For sale in the garden store at Lakewold Gardens

Watercolor sketch of white anemones