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YORKTON – Guess what’s going to happen on Sunday, December 21 at around 9AM?
It’s the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the time when the earth tilts away from the sun, giving us the shortest day of the year. If you and I were in the Arctic Circle, there would be no sunlight at all, all day.
So, what is the solstice? The earth spins around once a day as it travels on its orbit around the sun. But as it makes that longer trip, it begins to tilt away from the sun, about 23 degrees, and when it gets to the spot in time where it is at maximum tilt, that is when we are ‘leaning away form the sun” and therefor have the shortest day of the year.
Just for a moment, let’s take an armchair tour of Stonehenge in the UK. I read that at the time of sunrise on the day of the winter solstice, the sun will rise over a rock that is set up to behold this rising, so that the peoples of that time knew that hey, shortest day of the year, folks!
There are interesting ways this day is marked in various parts of the globe. Years ago, we were in Tulum, Mexico, we were told that on the day of the solstice, the rays of the rising sun came bursting forth through an opening in one of the buildings. It’s a mystery of architecture and planning ahead to build such a structure, isn’t it!
But for gardeners, the main thrill of the winter solstice is that the days will start to get longer after that. Only by a very short amount at first, but we’ll be heading in the right direction!
Did you get yourself on the mailing list for any seed catalogues? I hope so. I know that many seed companies have their catalogues online, which is great, but there is something about sitting down in a comfy chair or by the kitchen table with a cup of tea and browsing through the actual pages of an actual catalogue. It’s so relaxing and absorbing!
We got a Vesey’s catalogue recently, it’s just beautiful, showing a collection of colorful peppers on the front cover. You know how we always make a pact to try something new in the garden each year? Keith already picked out a few things from this catalogue, including seeds for Livingstone Daisy, also called Ice Plant. It’s a groundcover that likes a hot and dry location and doesn’t really care what kind of soil it calls home. I read that they are drought-tolerant and frost-resistant. Their blooms are stunning, like multicoloured daisies with very fine petals and in bright colors ranging from white to yellow to hot pink. They are annuals, but they would be fun to try. These were plants that I had in my ‘patch’ as a child, and though the seeds were scattered by child-hands with great enthusiasm but not a lot of skill, they did come up and produce enough flowers for me to call them a success!
Another plant that likes full sun is Nigella, also known by the romantic name “love in a mist”.
The best way to describe the look of this flower is that it looks like a centaurea, but with very fine, almost dill-like foliage surrounding the bloom. Pretty in the summer but also is a flower that dries well with a round seed pod and looks very interesting in everlasting bouquets. This is one of those beauties that will self-seed if we’re lucky, giving us more beauty the following year.
And you know how I love ornamental grasses; I saw seeds for one called “Javelin” that will grow up to 48 inches tall and can take almost any kind of conditions from ‘heat, drought and standing water’. It’s tough, very architectural, and beautiful, worth a try!
Thank you to our friends at YTW for their fine work. Gardeners, Keith and I wish you all the Joy and Light of this beautiful season! From our house and garden to yours, Merry Christmas!
