We’ve been having frigid temperatures for a bit now, but yesterday brought a winter storm. Snow doesn’t bother me too much. It brightens what can be a very dreary palette on the Lot at this time of year. Plus, the snow cover provides a layer of protection between the plants and the freezing air temperatures.
However, all the snow arrived over a 24 hour period. This causes a bit of stress on our little city as the plows struggle to keep up with the snowfall.
Oh, and it’s still snowing.
The Other Half and I were delighted his employer chose to hold this year’s company holiday party at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. During this time of year, the Gardens’s displays are transformed. There is always a lovely collection of evergreen trees decorated in styles to represent how Christmas or the New Year is celebrated around the world.
There is also a railway garden, complete with train and models of different buildings from around the city and from sister cities. These miniature buildings are constructed using plant materials by Paul Busse of Applied Imagination.
No representation of our cityscape would be complete without a Calder.
Bark, acorns, gourds, leaves, mushrooms, and branches were only some of the materials used to create the structures.
Plants throughout the display gave the whole exhibit a fairy tale type atmosphere. Dwarf evergreens were used to represent large trees. Splashes of color were added by some tropical plants like anthuriums, kalanchoe, and bromeliads.
One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs, the Meyer May House, is located in our city. Here is the model of the home in the railway garden, along with some more detailed shots to see the materials. Isn’t it cool?! I adored the shingles.
And to get a bit meta, here is the Lena Meijer Conservatory which was literally down the hallway.
After enjoying the railway garden, we walked down to the conservatory to check out the after-hours, lit display. It was quite lovely.
The plants on The Lot in Zone 6a can only pretend for so long to have “winter interest”. As the snow falls, becoming wet and heavy, the structure of the plants can no longer hold the weight.
Most evident of all plants struggling with the snow is the privet I’ve continuously been pruning to resemble something of a multi-stem tree. This is where Nature reminds a gardener a shrub isn’t necessarily built the same way as a tree.
I want a tree in that space in the worst way. However, the Other Half and I are not made of $$$, and aren’t willing to take out a loan to get a mature tree. Something will have to be soon as even the past Spring rains caused the privet to bow down in front of the garage door this year.