Have you watered your garden lately? That may sound like a silly question but it is a serious one especially this winter, in this part of the world.  There are situations where a bucket of water will mean survival or not for some plants.

In this unseasonal dry winter at low mountain elevations, the ground remains frozen. However water continues to evaporate from the soil and leaves continue to transpire (breath) in the warmth of the day. Plants are alive although they may be dormant. Evergreens especially, do not lose their leaves and although protected by their waxy coating, oils and physical form they remain metabolically active. They are in a quiescent state. Perennials and those plants that lose their leaves go into a more dormant state but they are still alive.  Roots require moisture around them to remain alive until spring. If the roots, bulbs, tubers or corms dry out, that plant will die. It is the reason those novelty Christmas wax covered Amaryllis/ Hippeastrum bulbs are covered in wax. They survive without soil because their water content has been conserved within.

A quick check under the eaves of homes or in protected areas is worth the effort to see if the ground or soil in planters, containing plants, is dry. Water is life, year round.

The effect of recent droughts can be seen, not only in our gardens but in the forests around us. This area of the Rockies has seen many of its native Douglas Firs succumb to the lack of water. The dead trees are easy to spot. Not only do the needles become a dull green but insects soon invade the dead material and in turn the birds have a feast. Below are pictures of trees after the birds discover the plentiful food sources. The woodpeckers including this ‘Black Back’ for example have a wonderful time stripping bark to find beetles, grubs and other larvae to feast on.