Our Nixa, MO Yard – January 2023
/The January yard is full of plants surviving the cold – a cedar damaged by last summer’s drought, the hollies that are very green all 12 months, and bushes with growth damaged by the abrupt frost from last November.
There are pokeweed fruits that never ripened (because of that abrupt frost) and seeds on ornamental grasses.
I was surprised by the irises already coming up in one bed that must have been planted by the previous owner and a few of the bulbs I planted in November sprouting through the stones in another location.
The rhododendron is full of buds. The first time I looked at the house was just after it bloomed last spring, so I am looking forward to seeing it thise season. The leaves are not universally green and I am wondering if it too was damaged by the November frost or if this is just the way rhododendron leaves look when they are old. This is the first time I’ve had a rhododendron at my house.
The lamb’s ear is surviving the winter. There are small plants coming up in other locations. I’ll need to decide about whether to put mulch around the ones in the yard to curtail the growth of grass around them!
