A Beautiful Decay
Reimagining the Winter Garden
The end of summer generally brings the end of the gardening year. The brilliant colors of autumn dry away, fade, and fall. Left behind is a tangled framework of branch and stem staged before a dull grey backdrop of sky.
Once the growing season is over, crispy remnants begin to rot, mold, and mildew. The annual cycle of decay begins.
The gardener tends to think that the aesthetic value of the landscape has been diminished to select evergreens and a handful of winter blooming plants. This is true in part, unless we find beauty amongst the decay.
Once perennials have stopped blooming, their skyward bound stems dry, turn brown, while seed pods blacken- all relics of summer's warmer days. Most gardeners remove the pruning shears from their holster and get to whacking back such perennials at the first sign of season induced chlorosis.
If, on the other hand, these post-blooming structures were allowed to remain, a different kind of beauty can be relished. It is true that these plant organs- stems, leaves, and fruiting structures- are all headed to decomposition, but many persist for months into winter. As they dry even further, they become quite dainty and graceful.
Umbel, spire, panicle, discs, these are all shapes and forms of dry seed pods that contrast well together. Even the center cones of Black Eye Susan and Coneflower are sooty jewels dancing against a winter sky.
Each species seems to dry out to its own shade of decay. From bright goldens to dirty browns and moldy blacks, these stems and pods orchestrate a symphony of neutral colors.
It's not just shape and color that are attractive. Sound plays a glorious part in this winter concert as well. As the hollow stems of dry grasses get tossed about in the wind, they rub and softly bang against the stalk of some slowly rotting perennial. From this gentle interaction a faint rustling melody is produced and expelled on the wind.
Beauty is always what the gardener is after but it’s not the only feature a winter garden provides. Nature and all of its creatures depend on the characteristics of these winter forms as well.
If we let the seed pods remain, we provide birds with a buffet for winter survival. With a coverage of stems and branches, a fortress is created for burrowing animals and avian creatures alike. On the microscopic scale, bacteria and fungus begin the process of breaking down nutrients for your plants to consume during the upcoming spring.
Leaving dry perennials in the winter garden is a great way to end the gardening season. Let the garden rest and the gardener will find a different kind of rest as well. Winter might bring forth a kind of decay but, oh, what a beautiful decay it is.