Happy New Year, everyone! Hopes and plans for the new gardening year are bouncing around my brain. Outside, relentless rain flows over the trees and shrubs and the earth. Let the ground soak it in. After last year's drought, I am grateful for the steady downpour. I think 2016 was a hard year for the garden, but when I look back over last year's photos, I remember the beautiful spring and a summer that wasn't too bad until it became the monster that ate up fall.
But now it is time for my "Best of the Rest" feature! Every year I look back and choose photos from each month. These are photos that did not make it into the blog, for various reasons. I use only photos of my own garden for this feature, so it is a good overview of Deb's Garden through the year. So, here we go:
January: Stump World is a group of huge oak stumps that have been slowly rotting in the woods for over 25 years. All but two have completely decayed. They provide nourishment and shelter for countless small critters.
February:Camellias are beginning to bloom in the woodland garden.
Edgeworthia and quince are late winter bloomers that brighten the gray days of February.
March: The garden comes alive in March. It was hard to choose which images to use. I have too many!
A fallen Magnolia petal nestles next to a Bloodroot bloom.
Serviceberry is one of the first trees to bloom in the spring.
March sky
April:
May:
Anthony Waterer Spirea is one of my favorite May bloomers, and it will repeat bloom through the summer.
June: I call June the "deep greening" month. Green becomes prominent in the garden.
Clockwise from top left: Gardenia bud; Gardenia flower; Cercis canadensis 'Whitewater' leaf; Dwarf gardenia.
July:
August:
September:
I bought these on sale at the beginning of September, with plans to plant them before the next rain. It was months before I was able to plant them.
These persimmons fell prematurely from the tree, no doubt due to drought stress.
October:
November:
Hosta and Toad Lily foliage as they go dormant
Rings on a windchime
December: Goodbye, 2016!
I hope you enjoyed my tour through the year! Did you have a favorite month?
Best wishes to you all! Deb
Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 7:00PM 
He's still here! This old rubber lizard has appeared on my blog before. He grows more fearsome with age.
Red twigs of Acer palmatum 'Sango-Kaku' stand out against the frosty background.
Are you cold yet? After I took all these photos, I was happy to come inside for a cup of hot coffee! We need these cold temperatures, but soon I will be looking forward to spring.