Brilliant colours in late January light up an area of our Langley garden. The chartreuse green ‘grass’ is Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’ ,a very tough cookie that likes moisture and protection from hot sun. It thrives around our lake, as does this showy, shrubby willow , Salix x ‘Flame’ . No flowers necessary .

Another spectacular winter display comes from the showy , shrubby dogwood Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’. It takes a few years to get going (growing), but there is nothing like it !

Further into the woods, Mother Nature has draped gorgeous moss on almost everything. The Pacific Northwest climate even allows epiphytic ferns to grow on some tree limbs year round. This lovely fern is evergreen and quite common. It is Polypodium glycyrrhiza ,which always positions itself on the North side of anything it sprouts on.

I planted the cute little fern below, Asplenium trichonoides, in a stump.It loves it there, and seems safe from marauding slugs. It is a native to the British Isles. It is a delicate-looking survivor of dry summers.

One of the many huge Western Red Cedars  (Thuja plicata) in our woods. Nobody’s going to make shingles out of our beauties! This tree is 6’ in diameter at ground level.