TAKE HEART. We just passed the halfway mark of the year's darkest quarter. The winter solstice, when the sun's arc barely peeps over the horizon, is past. For the next six months, every day will be a little longer than the one before it, however imperceptibly, at first.
It's no wonder we feel as unaccustomed to sunlight as a squinty-eyed mole snuffling from its hole. At the summer equinox a single day in Seattle lasts just a minute shorter than 16 hours (sunrise at 5:11 a.m., sunset at 9:10 p.m.). But four days ago on the winter solstice, the sun rose at 7:55 a.m. and set at 4:20 p.m., meaning we lived in darkness for 15 hours and 35 minutes out of 24. Believe me, I never would have calculated that, let alone written it, if more daylight wasn't heading our way.
For gardeners, winter is sensory deprivation in the extreme. While the break from active gardening is welcome, we crave the energy generated by fresh air and green living things. So stir yourself from dormancy by getting out of the house — what's all that new Gore-Tex and fleece for, anyway? — and visiting places that are more green than brown even in December. These plant-rich destinations offer a brisk tonic for our holiday-jangled, winter-weary souls:
Kerry Park. I don't know of anyplace in the city where you can get such a dose of big sky as at this narrow strip of park on Seattle's Queen Anne Hill. You see all of Elliott Bay, past Alki Point to Vashon Island, the Olympic Mountains and Mount Rainier. You'll also get the most spectacular view of the city around — all the way to Capitol Hill. Soak up the most light possible before joining the walkers, joggers and dogs parading along Highland Drive, just as they have for a century. You'll pass some of the grandest old houses and formal landscapes in the city as you head west a few blocks to the Parsons Garden, at the corner where the road curves north.
The quiet, old Parsons Garden is a Seattle treasure, the Northwest equivalent of a Japanese stroll garden. A path laps the perimeter, with benches to pause and contemplate, and mature stands of rhododendrons, magnolias and camellias. These original trees and shrubs have been updated with a liberal underplanting of daphnes, euphorbias and hellebores. How relaxing to enjoy an intimate garden that feels residential, yet is so meticulously cared for by someone else.
Parsons Garden: Seventh Avenue West and West Highland Drive, open every day 4 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Now In Bloom
Buddhist pine or yew plum pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus) is really an evergreen tree or shrub with especially long, shiny leaves. It is ideal for difficult sites because it tolerates sun or shade, air pollution, poor drainage, drought and compacted soil. Buddhist pines grow slowly to between 15 and 30 feet with a neat, narrow shape; the cultivar 'Maki' tops out at 10 feet and is great in a container for year-round greenery.
ILLUSTRATED BY JULIE NOTARIANNI
J.A. Witt Winter Garden. Our city is blessed with an entire garden planted specifically for winter interest. The Winter Garden, in the Washington Park Arboretum, features plants that peak when the weather is at its worst. A short stroll south from the Graham Visitors Center, the winter garden is sheltered by tall cedars and firs and sited to catch the sun. The main path curves around a central lawn and sweeps of colorful heaths and heathers. Sasanqua camellias and hellebores may be in bloom already, and the fragrance of lonicera, wintersweet and the earliest witch hazels are satisfyingly heady despite the cold.
Washington Park Arboretum: 2300 Arboretum Drive E., Seattle; open dawn to dusk every day.
Kubota Garden. Japanese gardens are often most impressive in winter when leaves drop to reveal their artful design and pruning. Fujitaro Kubota designed and built both the Japanese Garden at Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island and his own family garden, now a city park in South Seattle. The garden at Bloedel Reserve is hushed in winter, with mounds of textural groundcovers, a raked gravel garden, pond and stream. Kubota Garden is a 20-acre park planted in a Japanese manner. You'll find a forest of pines, dramatic stone lanterns and a necklace of ponds and bridges spanning a conifer-rich hillside.
Bloedel Reserve: north end of Bainbridge Island; for hours etc., call 206-842-7631 or check the Web site at www.bloedelreserve.org
Kubota Garden: Renton Avenue South and 55th Avenue South, Seattle; open daily during daylight hours.
Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and contributing editor for Horticulture magazine. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.
