We woke up to the most amazing sunrise the other morning, it was such a beautiful sight while it lasted but was over so quickly.
Sunrise.
Sunrise.
It only took 5 minutes before the beautiful colours were fading away and the sky was light for another day.
Camellia.
The Camellia bush in the corner of the back garden is absolutely covered with flowers at the moment, more and more flowers open each day and the bush is looking so beautiful, so springlike.
Hellebores.
A few more Hellebores have now opened, since I last photographed them.
Hellebore.
Hellebore
Hamamelis Arnold Promise.
At last my little shrub has started flowering this year, it is still rather small, but at least it is flowering.
Retail therapy.
A quick visit to my local garden centre this morning meant that I brought a couple of little treasures home with me. The little pot of snowdrops on the left were sold as being bulbs of Galanthus elwesii, but look, 3 flower stalks are the correct size, but the 4th stalk is twice the length and the leaves are so different too.
Yes, this is the flower of G. elwesii
But this flower is so different.
The flower itself is twice the size of the others and with being twice as tall, it must be another variety. This is a good excuse to get all my snowdrop books out to see if I can find out which variety it is. Not bad for just £1.99 for the pot! This is the second time I have found something different in a pot of cheap snowdrops, it’s worth keeping your eyes peeled!
*Please see the comment left by Chloris where she explains the differences belonging to Galanthus elwesii*
Temptation!
I was tempted to buy this little pot of Iris reticulata Alida, the bulbs will be planted in the garden when they have finished flowering, again they cost just £1.99.
Galanthus Blonde Ing.
These snowdrop bulbs were very kindly sent to me by Anna of The Green Tapestry, 3 bulbs when I was only thinking that one would come, how generous! They have been in the greenhouse until a couple of days ago, now that they are nearly flowering I must go and choose a space for them in the garden.
Mosaic bird bath.
I was asked in a previous post, again by Anna of Green Tapestry, if I could show the mosaic bird bath that I made at a Women’s Institute meeting in my village last month , but without the ice this time! It was fiddly to make, each square had to be cut into quarters, there were times I wished I had chosen an easier pattern. It now sits on the steps opposite the back door and the birds show their appreciation each day!
Bird Cake.
This weekend is the Great British Bird Watch to see how many varieties of bids came to the garden during one hour. To encourage them into the garden, I made them a cake the other day, they thoroughly enjoyed it, it didn’t last very long, so I will definitely make another for this weekend!
Rosemary.
The rosemary by the back door, has been flowering since before Christmas, I wonder when it will stop.
Crocus tommasinianus
The first of my crocus has opened, there are lots of buds showing in the woodland, so another week should see lots of purple in amongst the white of the snowdrops.
The first flower on Narcissus pseudonarcissus.
and the first flower on Narcissus Tete a Tete.
A pale pink Spanish bluebell, far too soon!
A little Iris reticulata opening in the woodland.
Another Iris reticulata on the slope at the end of the woodland.
Front garden hellebores.
We have been busy cutting back shrubs by the drive and now, all of a sudden we can see the hellebores that have been hiding.
Front hellebore.
An Eric Smithii hellebore.
Cutting back by the drive.
This is what we have been doing, working hard the other day, cutting back whatever hadn’t been cut back last year due to ill health, it was all rather a mess, but hopefully a couple more days should see it looking better. At least now we can see the hellebores and snowdrops coming under the red stemmed Cornus and when the shaggy box cubes have had a hair cut, and the weeds cleared everything should look so much better. The back half of this border is for winter interest, then in the summer, the front takes over and it is the Bee and Butterfly border.
Are you able to get out into your garden to work or are you covered in snow still?
Lovely to see bit of sunshine today. Camellias seem to be having a good year, mine is loaded too. It’s the wet that is stopping me working at the moment. I went up on the bank a couple of days ago and literally sunk.. and that’s on a slope which should be well drained.
The sun was nice and warm today Jessica, I managed to clip my box cubes in the front this afternoon and the border looks so much better already. At least this border can be worked on from the gravel drive, but I wouldn’t like to stand on the soil yet, I think I would sink right in. You were brave working on your slope, but at least you didn’t slide down!
Snowing on and off here today – filling the bird feeders was about all I managed to do. I was just about to sit down to do my bird count then visitors arrived so decided to put it off until tomorrow. Sod’s law as I was putting the kettle on the woodpecker appeared – it would have been nice to be able to include him in my count but was not to be. He doesn’t come very often so doubt he will be around tomorrow.
I love your drive at this time of the year – although I’m sure I’ve told you that a few times before and how lovely to see those Hellebores get to see the light of day this year. Keep up the good work Pauline!
I can remember one year Angie, just as I’d started to count my birds, a sparrow hawk arrived and sent the birds flying every which way! After that it was very quiet indeed with not many birds showing themselves. I’ll be doing mine tomorrow, so hope for a good turnout!
The border is looking better already, we both worked on it again this afternoon, a couple more days should see it tidy once more.
Lovely sunsets and great to have a good old catch up. What a lovely surprise to get a different snowdrop in your pot. I am sure someone will be able to identify it for you.
The sunrise was beautiful Annette, it’s worth getting up early, you never know what you will see! The odd snowdrop in the pot is so tall compared to the others, and a really big flower too.
A most well captured sunset Pauline. Thanks for revealing the true colours of the bird bath. It’s most attractive. Can I spy a couple of marbles set in it? I’m so pleased that ‘Blonde Inge’ has thrived since I sent her to you. She clumps up very quickly compared to some. What a find at the garden centre 🙂
Thanks Anna, it was just as well I didn’t stay in bed another 5 minutes, I would have missed it!
They weren’t actually marbles in the bird bath, more like half spheres of Mother of Pearl, the lady that took the group had so many accessories, we were spoilt for choice and could take our pick.
I always look through the little pots of wild snowdrops and G elwesii at the garden centre, this isn’t the first time I’ve found something interesting.
The ground is frozen now but there is hardly any snow cover. Last week I was able to get into the garden for the first time in what felt like a couple of months, but all I did was pruning and dealing with fallen limbs and such. It always feels very satisfying to clean things up after they have gotten a bit too wild.
Tidying fallen branches and pruning makes the garden look so much better Jason, I can understand your feeling of satisfaction. I always feel that February is our worst month weatherwise, so I hope all the woodland flowers don’t regret flowering so early.
today lots of pruning and chipping the pile down to a few buckets of mulch.
That red Cornus is lovely!
We all seem to have been out pruning Diana, what a busy lot of gardeners we are!
We love the red Cornus in the winter, it just forms a green backdrop to the border in the summer, but in the winter sunshine it glows and looks lovely underplanted with snowdrops which should be out flowering in another week.
What a lovely greeting from the morning sun! You found some fun bargains at the garden center. Beautiful hellebores. One patch of my has bloomed but the other is still holding back. Sun is out today and for the next few so I hope the garden here will dry out so I can start some cleanup.
It was a lovely way to start the day Susie!
It would be so nice for the garden to dry out, we all seem to have had far too much rain for far too long, surely it can’t last much longer.
More and more hellebores are opening each day, they make such a lovely splash of colour at this time of year.
Nothing quite a like a beautiful sunrise to lift the spirits, what I see when I draw back the curtains sets the tone for the day at least in terms of outside work. Iris Alida is such a heavenly pale blue, a lovely compliment to your enviable collection of late winter flowering beauties. It’s an overcast drizzly day again here, good for watching birds though – hope your count isn’t interrupted this year!
We have just finished our bird watch, we did it while we were eating Sunday Lunch, a few times the birds looked in at us eating as we were watching them! All the usual varieties came, but nowhere near the same numbers as in previous years, I think they are all still able to find lots of food on the fields next door with all the mild weather we are having.
I couldn’t resist Iris Alida, she is so different from my other reticulata Iris.
It’s lovely to see spring arriving in your garden so early Pauline. Everything is still dormant here, as the ground is very cold now after a week of sub-zero temperatures. Although it is now milder it always takes ages for anything to get going! The unnamed snowdrop is a really pretty one – I like them on longer stalks. That cornus in your driveway border is very striking and a lovely backdrop to spring flowers.
We love the Cornus bushes in the front, they really brighten up a dull day. From when the leaves drop in Oct/Nov, we have the stems contrasting with the silver birches that are with them, until we coppice them at the end of March. 1 months interest with the fabulous Autumn tints then 5 months interest from the stems – not bad!
We are still having lots of very mild weather with temperatures in double figures and night time not much less, when will we get back to normal?
Hi Pauline,
We are still in winter mode here in Massachusetts. Hellebore won’t show their faces until late April. It is wonderful to see them blooming! So many other Spring blooms…..It makes me want to play outside. Soon we’ll be starting seeds indoors. That will satisfy me for a while.
Don’t you love a bargain? Some of my best plants have been rescued off the mark-down shelf!
I do love a bargain Sally, you are so right! The little pot of snowdrops will be planted soon, but I will separate the tall one from the others and plant it by itself, then see what happens.
You will be enjoying your hellebores when mine are long over, I think your spring bulbs will all flower together, whereas ours follow on from each other, giving colour for 4 months.
Your garden is so far ahead of mine! My hellebores are late this year for some reason; they are just now beginning to flower. I could use some retail therapy! Your hellebores are gorgeous. You have many bulbs coming up and blooming, and your garden has so much to offer. It seems to be springtime there, rather than winter! After some freezing bouts, our temps are warming back up this week, so I am sure to see more blooms soon.
I think Deb, that we have gone straight from Autumn into Spring, we haven’t really had any winter yet,only a couple of little frosts which you can’t really call winter. February is usually our worst month, so I hope my flowers don’t regret opening!
We are covered with snow still but I love your garden as the light hits it….fabulous blooms and I love the bird bath.
Glad you like the bird bath Donna, the birds do too! All your plants will be keeping nice and warm under their covering of snow, they will all be beautiful when the snow goes at last.
I never get to see the sunrise, what a dramatic shot- beautiful.
Your garden is alive with interest.
G.elwesii is very variable. As they are imported from Turkey in their millions, understandably their will be many variations. I have short ones, tall ones, some with both basal and upper green markings, some with just a basal v, others with a solid block of green on the inner segment. There are so many variations that only the best have been named.
Many thanks for the information about G. elwesii, I have now been to my snowdrop books and you are so right, there are so many different ones of all shapes and sizes. I think I will still plant the tall one separately from the others and see how it multiplies.
The sunrise is beautiful Pauline; sunrise colours seem to disappear more quickly than sunsets and I never seem to have the camera to hand in the mornings. Keep up the good work, its all looking lovley.
I keep the camera by the back door in the kitchen Christina, handy for sunrises and popping into the garden to see what the flowers are up to! We still have so much work to do in the garden, it’s only now that I realise how little we managed to do last year.
Oh what an interesting lot of bits and pieces, Pauline – loved reading what has been going on. And seeing your bird bath has reminded me I have some deep dishes like this waiting for a creative project, plus lots of those half glass marbles… Did you set them into tile cement? I used tile cement for a similar project but found cleaning the excess really difficult as the surface wasn’t flat.
Making the bird bath Cathy, was a WI craft session where we all made something with a mosaic finish. We were given the cement by the tutor, so I presume it was the correct cement, then we had to wipe it over straight away with a damp sponge to get rid of the excess. It was so fiddly to do, some of the others made house signs where the tiles didn’t need cutting, every one of my tiles had to be cut into 4!
Spring seems so much more ahead in your garden, my snowdrops are just coming out now and the hellebores. Thats interesting about your snowdrop, I’ve definitely learnt something there. Be good to keep it separate anyway.
Love the mosaic bird bath, a lovely creative project.
Thanks Annie, I’m glad you like the birdbath, the birds do too!
Our weather has been so mild for such a long time now, I think we’ve gone straight from autumn into spring with only a couple of little frosts on the way.