Planting Edmonds: Bringing the garden home — living beauty for the dark days of winter

As I push my garden shovel into the loam, grit, and pebbles of my yard, I feel a mix of excitement and mild anxiety. Mostly, I am wondering whether the squirrels will undo my ambitious spring bulb planting. (For new gardeners: spring bulbs go in the ground in fall and make their big debut come spring.) I am also hoping I have timed things right.

Still, I am grateful for this small window of dry weather today, dodging the famous Pacific Northwest rain that has settled in for the season the way I will soon be settling into my couch with a blanket and a delightful book.

This time of year, I like to take stock of what went well in the garden and what I learned. My biggest takeaway? You cannot fight nature, especially curious critters who treat raised beds like their personal buffet. Two rounds of cucumbers, then the green beans… gone. Mystery holes, snipped stems, missing carrots. Lessons learned.

My last-minute fall planting includes daffodils (the nursery swears they are rabbit-proof), pink parrot tulips, muscari (grape hyacinths), a few berry-heavy wintergreen plants, and some thyme and rosemary. Oh, and those poor plants that have been languishing on my deck since June. Today, they finally found a home. Ready or not, I am committing.

Now comes the slower season, when I trade my garden gloves for a teacup and turn inward. It is time to plan, dream and bring a little of the outside in. Because truth be told, I can never stop loving nature.

As the evenings grow long and dark, we start celebrating light in new ways: the glow of a fireplace, a simmering pot of soup, candles flickering on the dinner table. It is a season that reminds us that life is still stirring beneath the soil and sometimes inside our homes. An amaryllis bulb quietly growing from root to bloom is a joy this time of year.

When the holiday lights begin to twinkle through the misty, rain-heavy nights, they fill the void left by summer’s brightness. Even in darkness, beauty finds a way to shine. That is why we take such joy in bringing nature indoors; to stay connected, to create, to celebrate. Here are a few simple ways to fill your home with living beauty this winter.

 A Fall Forest Holiday Table

Bring a touch of the woods to your table not just with family recipes, but with nature’s own décor. Gather treasures from your yard: pinecones, colorful leaves, branches, moss, tiny pumpkins and sprigs of evergreen. Bits and pieces from your sleeping garden can be great additions.

Sword ferns are green through the winter, and my camellias are starting to get buds for their show in a few months beautiful; dark waxy leaves of camellia and the fronds of the fern make perfect companions. Even these few items make lovely additions to your holiday table.

Arrange the materials down the center of your table around some larger sticks or branches, add candles or mushroom-shaped accents, and you have created a woodland wonderland. I added a few felt mice ornaments to mine, which I hope will amuse my guests and we can hang them on the holiday tree later.

If you have children or grandchildren, take them on a nature walk to collect the materials. It is a lovely way to make memories, and a woodland forest table will draw out all their imagination and excitement.

Growing Winter Joy: Forcing Bulbs Indoors

Each winter, I plant a few bulbs to bring a bit of green into my kitchen. My favorite is the amaryllis. They are large, elegant, and fast-growing enough to enjoy every day. They come in deep red, pure white, or pink-and-white, and are easy to grow.

Find a pot about 6 to 8 inches deep (no drainage holes needed), fill it with pea gravel and nestle the bulb so the bottom third is submerged, root side down. Add water up to the base of the bulb and keep it topped off. In six to 10 weeks, you will have a showy bloom that feels like a reward for your patience.

Paperwhite Narcissus are another winter favorite, with tall, elegant stems and delicate white blooms. Their fragrance is strong. Some love it, others not so much; try mild-scented varieties like Inbal or Ariel as beautiful alternatives. I like using a translucent glass vase so I can watch the roots grow. They are every bit as beautiful as the blooms and a delight for children to see. These take four to six weeks from sprout to bloom.

Pinecone Elves: A Whimsical Winter Craft

My first year as a new mom, I made a bunch of these for our tree that had only a few ornaments. I went for a walk and was able to collect pinecones and pick up a few pieces of felt at the craft store for hats, scarves, and shoes. Pulling them out of the ornament box reminds me of making them, and the slow times you have at home with a baby trying to fill time while they are napping.

Still, some of my favorite ornaments are a reminder that handmade things, like gardens, carry the warmth of the hands that created them.

If you have extra pinecones in your yard, turn them into charming little elves. You will need:

• Small wooden beads or balls (for heads)
• Pipe cleaners (for arms and legs)
• Felt (for mittens, shoes and scarves)
• Googly eyes and hot glue
• Fine tip Sharpie

Glue the wooden bead to the top of the pinecone for a head, twist pipe cleaners into arms and legs, and dress your elf with felt accessories. Add googly eyes and a smile with a sharpie.

 As the rain falls and the days grow short, remember that life in the garden never really ends. It just moves inside for a while.

Jill Hall is a local watercolor artist, gardener and maker. www.jillhallart.com

Planting Edmonds is a monthly column by and for local gardeners.