I know. That title sounds very wrong to those of us who are out and about in the garden during Melbourne's brisk winter. It is very hard to find the motivation to cultivate, weed and prune whilst the wind is blowing 30+ Kms and driving our beloved, bone drenching rain into your face.

I never really appreciated winter until I became a horticulturist. After a decade of man vs Melbourne winter, I now look forward to the season where days get short and cold. Why? Well, a few of winter's more positive aspects are: the beauty of the deciduous trees showing off their bare skeletons of branches, the winter scent of daphne, the masses of flowers of our beautiful native plants and just the simple pleasure of not having to rake any more autumn leaves! The major reason why I love winter is that it is just a great time to really asses the development of my garden and where and how it can be improved if needed.

Winter is the second busiest quarter of the year as far as consultancy is concerned for Overleaf. And for good reason. Lots of plants are in some kind of dormancy and the species which are in flower at the moment generally don't flower as much throughout the other seasons. These factors really allow for a balanced perspective of the whole garden. Rather than being swept off my feet by the foliage of a beautiful maple, I can focus on just the shape of the tree and I can really see what the plants growing beneath are doing. Heavy pruning can be done on most plant's canopys allowing the sculpting of the geometry of the garden to take place. Those winter flowering plants can be fully enjoyed and decisions can be made on whether to move them to a different spot in the garden bed (once they have finished flowering) to provide more of a visual statement for the next winter.

This time of year also gives a great indication of where hard landscaping is potentially needed. Lawns that are constantly walked upon throughout winter generally become muddier and it becomes harder to stay clean while trying to get to the clothesline. The route of the needed paving becomes quite clear to see.

I guess the word bliss is quite subjective. Even more so when coupled with the winter. Walking around with a warm drink in my hands whilst admiring the beauty of mother nature on a crisp winter afternoon is quite blissful for me though.