Paths through the garden look a lot different in winter, and to a casual glance, the surroundings may seem pretty bleak or boring. Instead of the exuberance of summer color, the palette is grays and browns, with an occasional evergreen relieving the monotony. Although the garden may seem to be dead in the cold season, it's really only resting dreaming of spring, just like we gardeners do. Under the top layer of frozen soil, earthworms are still moving about, making their way to the surface when they find an unfrozen spot under a thick layer of leaves, or eating their way through pounds of soil, turning the organic matter into rich, well-aerated soil in their wake. In winter, they move deeper or go into suspended animation in the top soil layers until the warmer days of spring kick them back into high gear.
Plants are at work in winter, too.
Yet in that cold soil, roots are still taking up moisture and nutrients to be ready to support the first flush of growth. Big changes are taking place out of sight with your spring bulbs, as well. Those daffodils you planted in autumn are expanding their roots, while inside the bulb, the tight layers of leaves and buds are gathering strength, elongating and getting ready to burst through the bulb coat to start growing upward through the earth, long before the first green shoot breaks the surface. I like thinking about what's going on under my feet as I stroll the sleeping garden, but I get a bigger thrill out of the changes I can see with my eyes. In winter, I regain an appreciation for subtle colors and shifts in hue.