A meadow under the rising moon, glowing with tawny grasses, punctuated by dark candle-flame cedars — this is a quintessential Vineyard scene. Small wintering birds hop about looking for a seed or an insect. Flowers of hybrid witch hazel begin their furling and unfurling. Early snowdrops break ground in the lawn. Catalogue enticement is at maximum strength.
The Island’s first winter snows are a delight. Views into distant woodlands or across fields emerge. When rendered in black and white, landscapes present an entirely fresh aesthetic, and an entirely new perspective.
New Year’s Day 2026
Two good people were lost on New Year’s Day, somber news sending shockwaves through multiple layers of Island life. They were well-known figures, for the two were strongly enmeshed here. A couple, they worked together, died together with their boots on, in the middle of their life together.
Like life anywhere, Island life is a many-layered structure — embedded, meshing, or siloed — depending upon the circumstances.
A lively tribute to both Patricia Bergeron and Roy Scheffer that will endure is contained in “The Sea Table” cookbook. Local effort and daily risk to earn a living seemingly shrink alongside national and international struggles for resources. Yet our own waters, right here, mirror international struggles for them.
“Think globally, act locally,” the adage goes. The grab for fishing permits that vertically integrated, megafunded international outfits are able to mount squeezes out our fishing community and its markets.
The onrush of events on global stages eclipses our small sorrows. In years to come, will the traumatic events of New Year’s Day 2026 be remembered? Families, friends, colleagues, rescuers, all who answered the call and who tried to help in rough conditions, will remember.
Freeze/thaw
Signs appear to point to a more severe winter, or to more abrupt shifts between weather events. More snow arrives, and then initial delight may turn to annoyance, especially when experiencing the infamous “wintry mix.”
Mild winters have bred newbies unfamiliar with snow driving and how accidents can happen in a flash; others must polish up their snow-driving chops all over again.
And then, rocketing between daytime temperatures in the 30s and 40s and nighttime ones in the high teens, plants must be able accept the shifts and adapt to them.
Mulches perform the function of insulation that mitigates shifts, as does snow cover. Nonetheless, the expansion and thawing of frozen soil can be brutal, heaving plants and hardscape alike, even tumbling stone walls.
Recent bedwork may exhibit frost heaving; clumps of perennials that have not firmly rooted are most likely to be hoisted loose. Small stones and pebbles will be seen littering the soil surface, where there were none previously. This is frost action, slow and powerful.
Tree trunks’ bark may show what is called frost cracking. These fissures are vertical splits, most often on south or southwest sides, caused by sunlight striking the wood. The heated wood begins to expand, sap begins to flow, but then freezes and expands when nighttime temperatures fall below freezing.
Pruning that has removed material previously providing shading may cause frost cracks to occur. Although they may not kill, frost cracks weaken the plant and create entry points for insects and disease organisms. Wrapping trunks with tree wrap can help prevent potential frost cracking in vulnerable locations.
Prune now
And speaking of pruning — if Island winter 2026 and shifting weather patterns devolve into one of those mild nonwinters, it is smart to take care of necessary pruning without waiting.
Pruning is best done while trees and shrubs are fully dormant. Many ornamental species, such as maples, dogwoods, stewartias, and birches, bleed sap from pruning cuts when they have left full dormancy.
Pawpaw possibilities
The Vineyard presents landscaping problems that exist due to the presence of white-tailed deer from one end of the Island to the other. Not only widespread deer browsing, but also the humid climate and widespread presence of red cedar trees, a co-host of cedar-apple rust organisms, create hurdles to fruit production of apple, pear, and plum.
Would you be interested to learn more about a deer-resistant fruit tree that produces delicious, abundant fruit of high nutrition content, in shaded locations?
The tree is the pawpaw, Asimina triloba, an improbable North American native with tropical connotations and appearance. Pawpaw likes moist soil, and thrives in shade. Foliage and bark contain compounds that animals such as deer dislike. Trees are clonal, and over time may sucker to create groves. They are self-infertile, and cannot pollinate themselves, requiring two differing trees for fruit production. Pawpaw would make good subjects for swale plantings in shaded locations.
How is it we are in almost total ignorance of the amazing pawpaw? The video linked here (bit.ly/YT_Pawpaw) describes more of the fruit’s taste and nutritional qualities, but also its one Achilles’ heel: The fruit does not keep nor ship well! This makes pawpaw a casualty of modern life and transcontinental food distribution systems.
However, this drawback creates its own silver lining. Available only locally, pawpaws could well be the poster child for a “buy local” product. Polly Hill Arboretum is growing ‘Shenandoah’ and a couple of Neal Peterson clones to add to its own collection, but will buy more for spring plant sales. In the past, Jardin Mahoney also stocked seed-grown pawpaw.
In the garden
Fungus organisms proliferate in underventilated indoor air. After watering, remove excess from houseplants’ saucers.
Please be mindful of deicing products. No one wants a fall: Use sawdust, shavings, and wood ash instead, wherever possible, on slippery steps and walkways. Use even those sparingly; it does not take much! Avoid chemical products that contribute who-knows-what to gardens, wells, ponds, and harbors.
