Bog Turtle's Garden- February 2026

A Leucothoe or Doghobble now showing little red buds. Perhiaps L. fontenasiana. Always problematical to me, as saying the species is difficult. Ordered a lifetime ago from a southern nursery that, probably, should have denied my the flat of them, me just being a home gardener with no commercial tax number. It was cut to the ground a number of years ago, and has come back beautifully.

Nandina 'firepower' shows stress from this severe Winter, but is still looking almost fluorescent. 

The evergreen, furthest in the picture, is simply called the Japanese Temple Juniper, but it surely has a proper Scientific name. The plant with the large silvery buds will soon be in bloom. Edgeworthia chrysantha. There are now several distinct named clones. 

And nearest, well budded for Spring, is Pieris 'Caventine'.

This Mahonia, developed in Ireland, is showing quite a bit of Winter damage, and never did bloom as it has in milder Winters. M. 'Winter Sun'.

Among one or two especially blue clones of Cupressus arizonica, this one seems the best in that color. C.a. 'Blue Ice'. 

One of the recently shown Witch-hazels. Hamamelis 'Rochester'.

One of the dwarf clones of the Colorado Blue Spruce called 'Thune'.

Recently shown, this Osmanthus heterophylla is more southern but seems to be doing fine. I hope it blooms with the fragrant flowers many of these plants have

Now a sizeable tree, this chinese species, Cunninghamia lancelata is a lumber source, there. This is the bluish clone, C. l. 'Glauca'. The men who removed large trees, because I thought I was getting solar panels on my roof, left it, thankfully. 

Another Leucothoe, and behind it a Rhododendron. I can tell how cold it is, out, by looking out my windows. Unfurled, today, to reflect that it is above freezing today.

A grand dwarf form of a Japanese species of Holly. Almost like an architectural addition, in dependability and not growing too fast. Ipaca hetzi, I think.

Despite unusually bitter weather, this Camellia shows buds swelling for Spring. C. japonica 'Red Jade'.

Another attempt to grow the 'Peacock Moss'.  A real preference to silvery, gray or blue toned foliage. And Selaginella uncinata, if grown in low light, becomes a really beautiful turquoise toned plant. It needs high humidity, so I will keep in in some sort of closed container and out of Sun entirely. Supposedly hardy into zone 6, while mine is, I think, 7a, it should grow out in a damper place in the shade, but I have never had that success. Did see it, while riding the elevated rail, at Disney World. A grand place for all sort of beautiful plants. Someone knew what they were doing, there. 

One of the plants on my want list, and easier to find than others, such as the baby blue form of the Tasmanian Violet or Viburnum bognantense. 

Expected the Galanthus or Snowdrops to be here, but did not see them. Perhaps below the snow, that is over 90% gone. Always great to see.

Saddly unimpressive on this dull day, and getting hard to photograph, being high up, Hamamelis 'Angelly' has, as have the others, gone through this brutal weather and done fine. And I am surprised with the lack of leaf retention and the fine lemon yellow.

And the tiny Cyclamen has come through being covered with snow and is starting to bloom again. I would prefer the Wild Turkeys were still visiting, as they did for years. Up to 54 in my yard, once. Rarely see or hear any, for several years, although still on the church acres a few miles away, and common in S. Jersey. But they were pests, in that I planted this uniquely silver leaved Cyclamen, once before, and just out of idle curiosity, they pecked at it and killed it.   

Taken through the window. The first shows how significant this heavy, wet snow storm has been. Many shrubs broken, or weighed to the ground. Quite a cleanup is probably due, and I will use the chipper, shredder, with lots of places where I could use those. 

Such a dull day, but one branch of 'Angelly' shows its yellow flowers, and, surprisingly, none of the clinging brown leaves that are such a minus.  The rest is weighed down to the ground. And a small bit of the bright, rust colored H. 'Robert' is shown, with most of that buried and weighed down.

Taken using my phone, and through a window, so it is not crystal clear, but the bright yellow of Hamamelis 'Angelly' amd the bright rust of Hamamelis 'Robert' are apparent. Not so much in this photo is the third of the trio, H. 'Rochester'. That is mostly a mass of undesirable brown leaves, hiding the orange bloom. 

To my knowledge, these names are all assigned to these hybrids by the DeBelder family, in Europe. And they are usually grafted on to roots of a sort of Witch-hazel that is not succeptable to a virus root disease that would take down many of their beautiful hybrids. From time to time, those roots send up sprouts that are entirely unwanted and are recognizable by a different color or texture of bark, long before those unwanted bloom.