It’s official – winter is nigh
Snowfall has come, dark clouds are high
Leaves are all gone leaving branches so bare
Hoping these buds bring flowers to the air
Next spring.
*** These photos were taken about a week ago before the first frost and fist dusting of snow; today, almost all the leaves are either gone or very very brown…
County Gardening 
Those last three are three more that are uncommon here. I do not even remember what aronia flower look like. I would guess that they are like tiny pear blossoms. Forsythia is something I would like to see more of, but there are no gardeners who know how to prune it.
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Ah yes…pruning Forsythia. .so many people wait til late summer and wonder why they never bloom!
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‘Gardeners’ shear it whenever they want to! They shear it like a privet hedge! I just wrote an article about how gardeners will pollard flowering crabapples, just before bloom, just as the buds are starting to show color. They do the same for wisteria, etc.
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Magnolia buds always look so plump and full of promise at this time of the year.
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I agree and I love how hairy they are. So fascinating that some buds are smooth, some hairy and some (Chestnut) are shiny and sticky.
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