Month: January 2023

Six On Saturday: New Shoots

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It is the last week of January and there’s not a lot about. It’s been another cold week with minus 4.2 celsius recorded in the greenhouse. I’ve not been tempted into the garden but in honour of Six On Saturday I took a turn around it this morning. I can see signs of Spring and so that is what I am sharing this week.

One

Primroses. These have been in flower on and off since November but they are really making a push for star billing now. Very welcome.

Two

The very first tulip shoots have pushed their way through the thick layer of mulch. I’ve spotted camassias, thalia and tete a tete as well. I can’t wait.

Three

The first snowdrops were spotted a few weeks ago but it is February in this garden that they really begin to make a show. Here’s a clump that is very ready for dividing after flowering.

Four

More and more hellebores are coming through. These are self seeders, some flowers have opened but plenty more buds are just waiting to burst into life.

Five

Speaking of self seeders. Another euphorbia has colonised the veg plot along with an ox-eye daisy. I tend to leave the daisies to their own devices until they look like taking over. The euphorbia will very likely be moved somewhere else when the weather warms up.

Six

The very first signs of aquilegias are coming through. These are a.vulgaris ‘Alba’, a tall growing variety of about 90cms. This will be the second year in the garden so I am hoping they will clump up more this year.

There are some warmer day-time temperatures to look forward so I will have no excuse. Jobs to do include cutting back the grasses, finishing the rose pruning, cutting back the autumn fruiting raspberries, the blackcurrants and the grapevine. I would normally be starting of tomatoes for the greenhouse but as the main greenhouse is no more I am going to try a year of outdoor toms that I will start later. I’ve saved a few egg boxes for chitting the potatoes in. Top priority is to make my choice of variety and get them started off. And so it begins. Happy gardening to you all. Other SOSers have more colourful offerings so do drop by Jim’s for browse around.

Six On Saturday: Ever changing moods

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Forgive the earworm, or not if it doesn’t happen for you. Ever changing moods has been my state of mind in January. One week wanting to take down the eleagnus but then realising that it provides great cover for the birds. The next being absolutely sure that I must find room for a hamamelis but then sensibly realising that I just don’t have the right long term space for this desirable winter shrub. I’ve moaned about constant rain and grey days, haven’t we all? Then thrilled to glorious blue skies and winter sun. The garden catalogues have arrived and I am being pulled this way and that by their temptations. I’ve settled down this week. Accepting that January in the garden is what it is. I managed to prune back a good number of the rose shrubs but there are more to do. The climbing roses weigh heavily on my conscience but there’s still time. Raspberries and blackcurrants need to be looked at but they too can wait a little longer. This week I happily left the garden alone. The paths were slippery with frost and the ground is frozen once again. There’s not much to show but it is January and that is how it should be.

One

The frozen ground and frost may seem inhospitable but the garden grabs each growing moment and gets on with it. These are day lily shoots and the first leaves of geranium phaeum. It will be some months before their time to flower comes.

Two

You can see why the climbing roses are on my mind. There is quite some sorting out to be done here. The ruthless gardener must be found and all these branches thinned out and the framework tied into the wires again.

Three

The hellebores will nod their heads downward so it was a little difficult to capture this ‘Pretty Ellen’ red against the sun. Here’s my best effort.

Four

Somewhere out in the garden are some foxgloves seedlings waiting to push through the mulch. Here, in the greenhouse, are two that didn’t get planted out. It looks like they will have a head start when the time comes to relocate them.

Five

At the end of October I planted some Japanese red onion sets. They seemed very slow to get started but week by week they are making progress. Could they be ‘Electric’? I really can’t remember.

Six

A month later at the end of November I planted out the winter bedding. I filled the pots with bellis daisies. They had a week to acclimatise before they were covered by six inches of snow and experienced minus 5 degrees Celsius for a week. They made it through that and have just experienced another week of minus degrees overnight. I am so impressed by their sturdiness and I know that they will just get more and more cheerful as the warmer weather creeps in.

It’s a weekend of cold weather here and I am not going to feel guilty about the garden. Far better to wait for a time when the fingers won’t freeze and the paths are safer. Happy guilt free waiting to you all. Happy gardening times are around the corner. Jim, our host for SOS, features the links to other blogs on his Garden Ruminations pages. He has some lovey photos this week. No wonder he is the leader of the pack!

Six On Saturday: Mid January, I’m looking for the positives

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It can be so difficult at this time of year to keep the positives in focus. Wild, wet and windy weather can be dramatic but the leaden skies feel heavy and not conducive to spending time in garden. This was another week when the roses did not get pruned and the raspberry canes suffered the same fate. There was a cheering moment when I spotted two female black caps on the bird feeder, their soft hues seem just right for the winter colour palette. But otherwise I was not optimistic about finding much in the garden to celebrate. I sighed and went out to see what I could offer up.

One

Starting small, and not very successfully captured, my first delight was spotting new growth on the hydrangeas. Look closely, in amongst the brown there are some small fuzzy dots of green. Every little helps.

Two

Moving on. Little splashes of white on the iberis sempervirens. Another little nudge in the right direction

Three

Showing promise of things to come. The one year in the garden, cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ with its startling red stems looks good now, but in a few years it should be offering up a much sturdier hit of mid Winter colour.

Four

Heading round to one of the darkest, most inhospitable corners of the garden, this is the home of helleborus foetidus, the stinking hellebore. Also one year in the garden, it is offering up a good number of flower buds for future enjoyment.

Five

Heading to the very back of the garden where I about two years ago I planted asplenium scolopendrium, the hart’s tongue fern. It’s looking rather gorgeous in the rain. This is definitely a shady spot, but I wouldn’t really say it’s a damp spot but the fern has settled in well.

Six

Lastly, even though I struggle to maintain a quartet of euphorbia wulfenii in the main border, I do find that seedlings spring up with regular frequency. This one is from a transplanted seedling and those lovely lime green bracts are forming up well. When these open I will know that the Spring garden is under way.

I hope you can find some positive moments in your open spaces. Some SOSers will be sowing chilli seeds, others celebrating camellias. You can find out more by visiting Jim’s garden. He’ll have all the links to the SOS weekly blog posts, so take a stroll over there and see what’s occurring.

Six On Saturday: Challenges are opportunities

/ n20gardener / 14 Comments

I went in with all gardening guns blazing last week. Optimism abounded, a New Year approached and signs of new growth filled the glass of life to the brim. It’s still pretty full but realism has to be given a space too. The clematis armandii maybe untouched by the cold spell but other things look to have suffered. There may well be gaps that need to be filled in the coming year. Here’s six things on my mind this week.

One

The choisya did not suffer too much in the cold but it was already showing signs of stress before the dry Summer. The leaves were yellowing and in the drought they drooped forlornly. It is clear now that there are dead branches to be removed. I will watch it through Spring but if it does not recover there’s an opportunity to replant. Note the gap in the fence – a fox route, every time I close it, the fox opens it. The fox has won.

Two

Poor, poor euphorbia mellifera. Hardiness rating H3, which translates to -5 to 1 degree. Another one to watch. It came to me as a self seeder so I can’t be too aggrieved if nature has decided to take it back.

Three

I inherited a hedge of viburnum, bay and eleagnus that divided the ornamental garden from the veg and fruit garden. I have managed to unhedge the viburnum and give it space to branch out freely but the bay and eleagnus have so far remained hedged. Over the years I have nibbled away at the eleagnus, I’m not a fan of its yellow and green variegation and have happily let it revert to a dark green. It was useful in disguising the greenhouse but now that has gone and may not be replaced, I find myself thinking that I could dispense with the eleagnus and plant something attractive. At this time of year I think of hamamelis, and at other times I wonder about amelanchier. Suggestions welcome.

Four

A few years back I planted a row of three pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’. The furthest one is growing faster than the other two but shows signs of yellowing. This end of garden definitely has access to some underground water and I am wondering if the wet winters are playing havoc with this pittosporum. The symmetry is being challenged here. Another one to watch.

Five

I managed to get the scented leaf pellies into the remaining greenhouse before the snow and cold arrived but it didn’t do them much good. I fear they have succumbed to damp conditions. They are looking quite dead but I will be patient and ventilate in the mild weather. If they don’t make it through to the other side I won’t be too sorry. I have had five years out of them and I am happy to entertain something new for the summer pots.

Six

I’m slightly concerned to see thalia and camassias nosing through the winter mulch but the snowdrops are very welcome and this week I spotted the first sign of flowers. Something good (if out of focus) to finish on.

It’s another wet weekend here and there is not much progress with the to do list. But we can only do what we can do and the time can be spent day dreaming for the garden and looking at seed catalogues. Don’t forget to stop by Jim’s garden in Cornwall. Our knowledgeable host features camellias this week.