Winter Garden | Gardens For Goldens

Winter Skye

January 24, 2021 by Ogee

Two weeks ago, the asters and Mexican marigolds were still in bloom. Mother Nature can so easily lull Northern California gardeners into false hope of early spring. The narcissus have flowered, the tulips, hyacinths and iris are rapidly making their way. But grey skies and a cold north wind blew in today, with the promise of a hard freeze Monday night. I was there early for puppy duty. German Shepherd, Annie and her newborns are just visiting. Found stray and […]

Categories: Dog Fostering, Dog Rescue, Gardening, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Dog foster, Puppies, Winter Garden

Fragility and Resilience

January 14, 2018 by Ogee

“Life is fragile, like the dew hanging delicately on the grass, crystal drops that will be carried away on the first morning breeze.” ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche Sometimes, the most fragile-looking things have the greatest resilience. A spider’s intricate web is designed to hold its maker, its prey, and a chandelier of droplets ten times its weight. This tiny frog is everywhere in the garden in the middle of winter, finding shelter and warmth under leave piles and overturned pots. […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Nature Photography • Tags: Fragility, golden retriever rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Resilience, Spider Web Droplets, Winter Garden

Winter Comes

January 7, 2018 by Ogee

Winter comes. It arrives in its own time – sometimes early; sometimes late. Winter has finally arrived in the Memorial Garden, first, with the return of cold and wind… and then, much-needed rain. Nothing like the winter that family and friends are experiencing east of us (brrrr). Still, it leaves more time for dogs – and one of my favorite “jobs” at Homeward Bound: going home photos. Saturday, it was Rover’s day… and Bandit’s, too. And then, there was a […]

Categories: Dog Loss, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Thought • Tags: Dog Loss, Time on earth, Winter Garden

Garden Update: Listen for the Rain

January 4, 2016 by Ogee

Winter arrived with a blast of cold. It blanketed the garden in little crystals and frozen bird baths each morning for a week. A final whisper from the north to the garden: “go to sleep.” We have learned to let the garden stand instead of conducting an end-of-season clean up. The dead stalks provide cover from the cold for the future growth below. While we have had some nice December rainfall, the total still put us at “average”; nowhere close to […]

Categories: Nature • Tags: California El Nino, Gardens Goldens, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden, Winter Garden

Winter Approaches

December 6, 2015 by Ogee

All signs point to winter. In the span of one week, the garden has transformed from a fall garden to a winter one. This, of course, means that I am way behind. Dogs come first, and more than a few have had their turn recently. Hurray for… Marley, River, Keiko, and Dart. While it looks like the garden is beginning to slumber, there is still a lot going on under the surface. Until a freeze, newly transplanted perennials and trees, and […]

Categories: Photography • Tags: dog rescue, Gardens Goldens, Golden Retriever Rescue Sacramento, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Photography, Winter Garden

To my chosen family

December 24, 2013 by Ogee

This is the note I found in my inbox this week after failing to post last weekend: “Did I miss it or did it go on vacation this week?” It’s nice to be missed. But just as the garden winters, gardeners (and bloggers) need to take time to rest, recharge, appreciate the quiet of winter… and let the true meaning of the holiday spirit sink in. This week at Homeward Bound is about celebrating pups going home in time for […]

Categories: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Dog Photography, Dogs, Holiday spirit, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Winter Garden

Bow to Winter

December 8, 2013 by Ogee

Just a week ago, the garden still managed a display of fading, but beautiful color. Then came the cold. From west to east across the nation, the freeze is on. The garden has bowed to winter. “Autumn to winter, winter into spring, Spring into summer, summer into fall, – so rolls the changing year, and so we change; motion so swift, we know not that we move” ~ Dinah Maria Mulock Record-breaking overnight lows have burst pipes and snapped the […]

Categories: Gardening • Tags: Frost, Garden Freeze, gardening, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden, Nature, Photography, Winter Garden