How bright and cheery is this iridescent green moss in the drab leaves!
It's the perfect native substitute for a lawn too, so encourage it, don't lime it to get rid of it. It's beautiful, low-growing and a useful stabilizer and protection against erosion, as well as for recycling nutrients.
A variety of mosses can grow together in one patch, making for a varied and interesting substrate that is also soft and cushiony underfoot.
The canes of black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis), a lovely New England native, have a lovely purplish - crimson hue in the starkness of winter.
According to Go Botany (Native Plant Trust) the whitish bloom on the canes occurs on first year stalks. The bloom is easily rubbed off the glabrous (smooth) stem with a finger as I did in the pic below:
This monochrome, wintery scene looks bleak and beautiful at the same time, but it's also a reminder that the solstice is just 9 days away! Isn't that good news - darkness will start to come later: bring it on!
