#pachysandra

Six On Saturday: Reasons to be cheerful

/ n20gardener / 12 Comments

We have blue skies here. A beautiful sight. This means low temperatures tonight, minus two is forecast, but I’m going to enjoy the sunshine. January is coming to an end and the garden is beginning to take shape again. Here’s six things I found this week.

One

The hellebores are popping up, these are unknowns that self seed very happily and I let them do their thing freely.

Two

This is hellebore ‘Pretty Ellen Red’ that was in bud a few weeks back.

Three

I planted euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ around the hellebores but hardly ever share a photo of it. It does a good enough job of covering the ground so I shouldn’t be so mean.

Four

Speaking of ground cover, I also planted some pachysandra terminalis. Various people frowned and looked concerned, but I did it. It can spread to 1.5 metres but so far it’s been a little slow to get going. It has lovely glossy leaves and looks very fresh at the moment

Five

These are absolutely tiny but they are the first snowdrops in flower. Already nibbled of course.

Six

The asplenium scolopendrium, or hart’s tongue fern has also done well over this winter. These splashes of green keep the spirits going.

There are plenty of bulbs nosing through now. I’ve spotted the first shoots of tulips and muscari and the ipheion uniflorum has put up grassy leaves. All very encouraging. I’ve also spotted green shoots among some of the grasses which means I must get out there and cut the old stems down. Thanks to Jim, our host and his garden can be admired at Garden Ruminations where you can find the links to other SOS posts. Happy gardening.

Six On Saturday: Gloomy gardening

/ n20gardener / 11 Comments

It’s a gloomy day today but the countdown has begun. The shortest day is twelve days away. It’s a fair way to go still until Spring but I’m feeling a twitch of positivity. I have planted the last of the tulip bulbs and have set out some new hellebores. The lawn is squelchy but there was a brief morning of dry weather and the fig leaves were mowed up and deposited in the leaf mould cage. I am beginning to feel that the last of the gardening jobs are being ticked off. Here’s my six for the week.

One

This comes with a warning of rampant spreading. Pachysandra terminalis. I have two plants in a thin border at the back end of the garden and if they spread I will (I think) be very happy. I have not chosen successfully here in the past, so here’s hoping they will settle in well.

Two

The new hellebores, fifteen in total, are in the old gooseberry patch border. Here they will have the white tulip ‘Maureen’ and hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow Queen’ for company.

Three

About now I start looking for something interesting in the garden for Christmas wreath making. It is going to be a challenge as everything is so wet. I cut back the hylotelephiums and I will keep them to see if they dry out and are useable.

Four

In cutting back they hylotelephiums I pulled off a few new buds. They had the barest amount of root attached so I swiftly potted them up to grow on. They are usually fairly easy to propagate so I am optimistic.

Five

There’s not much colour in the garden but the seeds of iris foetidissima are just about holding their own against the rain.

Six

To end, a grainy photo of the parakeets and persimmons taken through the kitchen window. A bizarrely exotic site for a gloomy garden.

Jim, our laudable host will have much to ruminate on as usual. Stop by and take a look and happy gardening to you all as usual!