my photos

WINTER INTEREST

.. berries



.. grasses



.. seedheads

.

my photo

IN FEBRUARY

The frozen ground is broken
Where snowdrops raise their heads
And nod their tiny greeting
In glades and garden beds.

The frozen stream is melted
The white brook turns to brown
And foaming through the coppice
Flows helter skelter down.

The frozen air is golden
With February sun
The winter days are over
Oh, has the Spring begun?

P A Ropes

o

my photos

WINTER JASMINE

A pretty shrub to brighten up the garden in the bleak of midwinter is Jasminum nudiflorum, commonly known as Winter Jasmine.

You may well think it ordinary, but do you know of the interesting history it has?



More often than not these days I find myself snapping away with the camera, when I really should be gardening!

I like the blurry effect these two photos have taken on.

You could compare the yellowness of the Jasmine to a Summer's day - William Shakespeare Sonnet 18.

Happy St Valentines Day!

o

my photos

THE DARKENING GARDEN

Where have all the colours gone?



Red of roses, green of grass
Brown of tree-trunk, gold of cowslip
Pink of poppy, blue of cornflower
Who among you saw them pass?







They have gone to make the sunset.







Broidered on the western sky
All the colours of our garden
Woven into a lovely curtain
O'er the bed where Day doth lie.



Anonymous

o

my photos

JANUARY

Good progress has been made in the garden this month.

With a lot of ivy pulling, cutting back and trips to the tip, the garden is looking much better for all our hard efforts.

My back is now killing me!



The top photo is Hawthorn.

The bare branches of the tree are noticably striking against the bright sunny skies we've been seeing this month, adding interest to the garden in Winter.

The photo above is Hazel.

I had been contemplating using it to join in with the Tree Year Project, but this along with the Hawthorn, are now in for a severe prune!

However, I shall be following Flighty over on his blog, as he watches his plot Hawthorn changing throughout the seasons, and Glo who is keeping a sharp eye on a Hazel.

In the meantime, I've signed the petition to Save England's Ancient Forests over on The Woodland Trust.



I've noticed too how the bare branches of Philadelphus are adding interest to the Winter garden ...



along with Grasses ...



and Rosehips.

my photo

HAZEL CATKINS

Long male Hazel Catkins (also known as Lamb's Tails) as seen on a walk through Clapham Wood in January.


ooooooooooooooCicely Mary Barker

Click here for more photos from a walk in the woods.

O

my photos

LOOKING IN FROM THE OUTSIDE

I'd rather be out than in.

Being outside is where my heart and soul really belong.

Guessing my love of the outdoors stems from my childhood, and from my Dad who chose an outdoor occupation, as a farmer.

My Dad liked to work alone, just as I like to be alone in my garden.

This is a place where I feel calm and relaxed. To just be me. A place where I can fully escape from the mundane in life. A place I love to be.

Even a heart-shape has formed all by itself in the shrubbery, to remind me of this.



I have missed being outside.

It's not like me to be absent from the garden, or my blog for so long.

Truth is, over the past seven weeks I've been fighting a bout of Laryngitis, and all the symptoms that go with it, and what with everyday life getting in the way too, there'd be zero energy left for the garden, or this blog.

I've felt happy to be back in the garden this past week.

The winter bees are back out too, happy to be buzzing around scented winter clematis.



Bronze carex
o
A garden at this time of year, brings with it hope.
o
With the prospect of warmth, bulbs will burst into growth, plants will flower, and birds will nest.
o
Spring brings with it, new beginnings.

o

my photo

A WINTER STAR PERFORMER

The admirable Clematis Cirrhosa.

From November to April the Winter Clematis flowers flat-out, the month of March being no exception.

I have five well-established plants trailing over a wooden structure which separates the utility area from the main garden, three being var. Balearica, Wisley Cream and Freckles!

The South East has seen a hard winter this year, and the coldest on record for three decades. I am seeing a show of flowers on the Clematis more spectacular than ever.

Great for Bumblebees! The few who dare to 'brave it' in the coldest and darkest of months, can be seen buzzing around Clematis Cirrhosa in search of nectar.

o

my photo

CROCUSES

A kind voice calls, 'come little ones', 'tis time to wake from sleeping
And out of bed without a word, the drowsy folk come creeping
And soon above the chilly earth, their tiny heads are peeping.

They bravely face the wind of March, its bite and bluster scorning
Like little soldiers, till oh joy, with scarce a word of warning
The crocuses slip off their caps, and give us gay good morning.

Anna M Platt

o

my photos

HYACINTHS

Doesn't everyone love the smell of a hyacinth? I do, and my favourites are of the blue variety.



Back in September, after buying a few plants from a catalogue, I acquired a free bag of bulbs, and back in October I placed three on the top of old jam-jars, filled almost to the rim with water.

From this ...



... to this.

I lost one to rot, but the remaining two are now in flower, and smell bloomin' lovely.

o

my photo

SNOWDROPS

I'd like to think, that long ago,
There fell to earth, some flakes of snow
Which loved this cold, grey world of ours
So much, they stayed as snowdrop flowers.

Mary Vivian

o

my photo

... yellow Mahonia fills the air with a sweet scent of Honeysuckle.

o

my photo

LEAVES

Then in the Winter they come flying down
Light as a breath, and crisp, and brown ...

I know I probably shouldn't, but I leave fallen leaves amongst the borders.

I know it's a hiding place for slugs, but it makes a great backdrop for up and coming snowdrops and hellebores, and creeping ivy.

o

my photos

PRIMROSES AND BARGAIN BUYS

It's already the middle of February and this is the first post on my blog for 2010!

What with recovering from an operation in September (all heavy duties in the garden off limits), constantly tired with working my day job, and our five week trip to Australia with Christmas inbetween, my garden at present is no Eden, be sure of that!



To put to rights, I've made a start in buying these lovely primroses after a quick visit to a local Wyevale garden centre yesterday. They are now planted up, and should do a very good job of brightening up a dull space around the front.

I had just enough time to pick up a large Tubtrug, half price at £3.99. They come in really useful for all sorts of jobs around the garden. For mixing compost, carrying water, cutting and deadheading, potting up, as planters, the list of uses is endless.

Failing miserably to make a swift exit before doing any more damage to my purse, I spotted and consequently bought a pair of woollen Thinsulate gloves, also half price at £2.99. I do find wearing gloves in the garden restrictive but these are fingerless, and today they came in really handy for keeping my hands all toasty and warm.

o

my photo

... the afternoon light shining through the skeletal remains of oriental poppyheads.
o

my photos

ALLIUM SCHUBERTII

Shows a spectacular firework burst of flowers in June,



and dramatic seedheads later in the year.

o

my photo

MAHONIA

The flowers, tiny, fragrant and narcissi-like, on a stem. The foliage is like holly.

Otherwise known as the Oregon Grape and a member of the Barberry family, this evergreen shrub appears to do well in any situation, in full sun with dry soil or in shade with moist soil.

In the photo above, Mahonia is planted in a woodland situation in semi-shade. After a hard pruning, lovely new growth has sprung back. If no attention is paid to this shrub it will grow to be a monster!

Plant Mahonia near an open window or front door, its intoxicating scent will waft through the air as you sit or walk by, and winter bumble bees will pay interest in it too.

my photo

FROST DAMAGE

There has been a noticeable amount of frost damage this winter. Not only has this favourite pot of mine pictured above, with its piecrust rim, succumbed to the changeable weather conditions, but also many other terracotta pots around the garden.

Not being one for covering up with fleece or bubble wrap, mesembryanthemum and lavender plants, usually fairly hardy in this part of the UK, have not made it through the winter. In hindsight, I should have placed out of harm's way along a sheltered wall. A plant cannot possibly survive with constant freezing and thawing, and having to sit in cold, wet compost!

Tell me which plants have you lost this winter, in your part of the world?

my photos

WINTER

... white



... bright



... delight!

my photo

STUMP

This old tree stump sits in a wild area of my garden.

Can you see what I can see?