Words of Wisdom from Henry Mitchell

My most favorite garden writer and, incidentally, one of my favorite authors in terms of style. In The Essential Earthman (Houghton Mifflin 1981, pp. 4-5), he offers these words on how to deal with winter in the garden:

The days are now at their shortest and the gardener should keep it in mind that his ill-humor and (as it may be) gloominess is directly linked to this nadir of the year. All that is necessary is to hold on until spring or a few sunny days which will surely come, in January, February, March, April, or May at the latest. Meanwhile, several activities will help the gardener keep cheerful.

• Whenever it snows, go out with a broom and swat all the conifers likely to be broken down by snow.
• Whenever there are ice storms, pull the window shades down.
• ...When Christmas gift plants, if any, stop blooming, either give them conditions they require or else throw them out. There is no point making yourself miserable by watching a poinsettia, cyclamen, or greenhouse azalea die over a period of three months.
• ...Force yourself, for once, to order the varieties of annuals you want from a seedsman in January, so you will not find yourself in a snit in March when you can't find what you want at the drugstore.
• Start saving money to buy next fall's bulbs.
• Borrow money to chop down those maple trees.
• Decide those old gardeners are correct, who have been saying for the past few hundred years that nothing is lovelier or more cheerful than common ivy, common holly, and common yew. And, you might add, junipers.
• ...Feed the birds. You won't get anything much but grackles, starlings, and English sparrows. What did you expect, flamingoes?
• ...Feed the squirrels. This is the same as "feeding birds." ...
• ...If it ever gets warmish again, admire the swelling buds of elm, ash, azalea, flowering quince. Make up your mind once and for all whether you will give space to a pussy willow bush. Whichever you decide, decide, and stop being of two minds about it.
• Thank God you do not have to stay in the garden all winter like a blasted snowdrop (which should, incidentally, be showing some signs of activity within the year's first month). Gardeners, on the other hand, will stir about April 8.