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.
n20gardener 
The geraniums in my greenhouse look dead too, after the cold.
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It’s in the hands of the horticultural gods!
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That’s about what most of our pelargoniums look like too, but our Euphorbia took it better than yours. It may well shoot from the base, ours has proved indestructible for 25 years or more.
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That’s encouraging. It’s a wait and see game at the moment. As I said it was a self seeder but I did get quite attached to it.
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2 surprises for me; the choisya which is all green here despite having suffered from stronger frosts in the past. Don’t hesitate to cut it shorter and see if it starts up again in the spring. Another surprise is the euphorbia mellifera which here had this look when it was freezing but the leaves returned to normal when the thaw came… I covered the top to avoid too much humidity.
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I left the mellifera uncovered and it coincided with when I was ill so I didn’t do any rescuing. I’m going to leave it until Spring and see how it’s doing then. Yes I agree with you on the choisya, I’ll cut all the dead wood out and cut back the rest if needed. Always something in the garden to think about!
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Jim would tell you to cut back the euphorbia in the spring too if it’s still droopy
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I have left some of my pellies outside under a bench, others outside are looking a bit brown, but I’ll cut them back in March. Luckily we only had a few very cold mornings. The ones inside the conservatory are suffering from damp (a leaky wall/roof) but not as bad as yours! Mine tend to get whitefly which doesn’t help. Like you, if they die I shall replace the pots with something else, I have had several years out of them so maybe time for a change with things that don’t require being mollycoddled.
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The allure of Eleagnus escapes me. The yellow variegation really does look sickly, and the silvery cast does not help. We have a hedge of it at work that I really could do without. Some of it climbed up high into a bay tree (which is the native California bay tree). It is so thorny and nasty to pull down. I pull a bit more down every so often, but I think it replaces itself even faster.
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We are simpatico in our feelings towards eleagnus!
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You have my sympathies regarding your poorly plants. I think my scented leaf pellies have had it too, but they seem more resilient than the others of their ilk, so may be OK.
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I think most of us are still discovering the effect that Decembers cold spell had. It’s such a shame.
When I put my scented leaved pellies in the glasshouse for the winter I cut them down to about six inches and remove most of the leaves and scales.
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I cut mine back by half and will cut them back again in May – if they show any signs of growth!!
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Thank goodness for snowdrops at this time of the year!
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