Happy New Year!

Most of you are writing such wonderful posts of all your achievements in the garden for 2016 and for all your hopes in 2017. I certainly didn’t achieve much last year, the only new bit done was the gravel garden at the back. I couldn’t even keep up with the normal maintenance and have had to get someone to help me sort out the mess that had appeared in all the beds.

Iris unguicularis.

Iris unguicularis.

So far between us, we have sorted out half the garden, the beds nearest the house and the ones that we can see from the windows.

Chaenomeles.

Chaenomeles.

The rest will be done soon I hope and hopefully one more border will have a makeover during the summer.

Wild Primrose.

Wild Primrose.

The undergardener is still having chemo, and is not able to do any gardening as the side effects are cumulative and now, even in good weeks, he is very weak and wobbly. His eighth session is tomorrow, 2 more to go after that.

Frosty first thing this morning.

Frosty first thing this morning.

I had a bad reaction to the flu jab they give to us oldies in the autumn and haven’t been very good for quite a number of weeks now, all the muscle pains have returned which does limit how much gardening I can do each day.

Viburnum bodnantense Dawn

Viburnum bodnantense Dawn

It might have been frosty first thing, but now the sun is out and just look at that blue sky, good enough to tempt me out this afternoon and get a little bit of gardening done!

Snowdrops in the woodland.

Snowdrops in the woodland.

With all the flowers starting to pop up,  the sunshine and the garden are tempting me to be outside once more. If I manage to do a little each day, I’m sure the garden will eventually be back to how I like it.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope that it is a healthier one for both of us here.

 

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34 Responses to Happy New Year!

  1. Cathy says:

    Best wishes in 2017 for both of you too, Pauline, and especially for better health for both of you. It must have been hard to accept at first that you couldn’t maintain the garden yourselves in the way you used to , but I suppose you will get used to it. Thanks for sharing some of your winter garden – there will be so much happening in your woodland areas as it builds up towards spring

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you for your good wishes Cathy, 2017 can only be better than 2016!
      The woodland is starting to wake up, flowers are emerging, soon I will be taking my morning coffee there to enjoy it all!

  2. Peter/Outlaw says:

    May 2017 be a much better year for you! Good for you for finding gardening help. Your garden is full of wonders and I’m sure that it soon will be brought back to your standard. Gardens are forgiving.

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you Peter, I too hope that this year will be better than the last. It’s just as well that gardens are forgiving, I have neglected ours dreadfully over the last 6 months, but we are getting there and I can see improvements already.

  3. Alison says:

    I hope 2017 is happy and healthy for you both. Like you I didn’t accomplish much this past year, until near the end when I managed to put on a burst of activity. Now I’m back to no-energy mode. So sorry you had a bad reaction to your flu shot.

    • Pauline says:

      I too seem to have lost my gardening mojo Alison, hopefully it will come back soon! Hopefully 2017 will be a better year for both of us, especially the undergardener, as he is going through so much with all the side effects.

  4. Anne says:

    Best wishes for 2017; and especially for better health for both of you. I am glad you have help in the garden and the days are lengthening so soon you may have more energy. Just take care in the cold for now!

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you so much Anne, it can only get better! As each flower is popping through, my interest in the garden is getting stronger and I’m sure I’ll soon be out there enjoying it once more.

  5. debsgarden says:

    Hi Christina, I am so sorry to hear that you have been ill, and I am rooting for the Undergardener to hang tough through all his treatments and to get cancer free reports. My brother has been undergoing chemo, and I know how terribly tired it has made him, along with some other complications. He will have a stem cell transplant in a few weeks, and hopefully after that he will be in complete remission. Meanwhile, one day at a time! May 2017 bring new strength and joy to you!

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you so much for your good wishes and concern Deb, I hope your brother’s treatment works and that he will soon be in complete remission, that will be wonderful! As you say, one day at a time and today we will be spending it in the hospital having chemo, only 2 more after this!

  6. Denise says:

    2016 really has not been kind to you! So now into 2017, onwards and upwards! It sounds like you are already making good progress in the garden and with the health issues as well. I enjoyed your flower photos as always Pauline. Wishing you both all the very best for the year ahead.

    • Pauline says:

      Many thanks for your good wishes Denise, for the coming year. Yes, we are making progress with the garden, slowly though, a bit at a time. It will probably take the rest of the year to get it all straight once more, but I’, beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel!
      Wishing you a wonderful New Year and Happy Gardening!

  7. Christina says:

    I’m so pleased that you have found a gardener that works well with you – you are lucky to have found such a treasure but he is also lucky because he cannot help but learn and increase his gardening knowledge by working with you. I send both of you all my good wishes for good health in 2017 and for many years to come. BTW, I think you have achieved far more than you give yourself credit for but that’s a gardener’s trait isn’t it?

    • Pauline says:

      You are too kind Christina! I think we gardeners do tend to see the weeds where others see the flowers, but then, that’s gardening for you!
      Wishing you and your husband good wishes for 2017 and many happy days gardening!

  8. Annette says:

    Dear Pauline, I’m sorry to hear your husband isn’t well and wish him speedy recovery. We shouldn’t put ourselves under too much pressure with the garden and try to enjoy it even when it isn’t as tidy as we’d like. There’s a time for everything and I’m sure once your husband is better, you’ll both be relieved and ready to tackle things out there. Lovely to see those little flowers in winter. Glad you have an ivy (gate seems a good place!). Best wishes in 2017, Annette

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you Annette for your kind concern, hopefully this year will be better than the last. The flowers that are popping through now lift the spirits and are a promise of all the delights of spring which will be with us sooner than we think! The Ivy by the gate is getting rather large and is in serious need of a trim sometime soon.
      Best wishes to you for 2017.

  9. Susie says:

    Your cheerful photos brightened my day Pauline. Sending you good wishes for speedy recoveries to you and your husband. Glad you have the garden to enjoy when time permits. It’s such a source of joy.

    • Pauline says:

      I’m so glad you like the photos Susie, they certainly cheered me up when I found them flowering in spite of the frost.Thank you for your good wishes, we will be enjoying the garden once more as soon as the weather warms up a bit! All the best to you for 2017!

  10. Sue Cable says:

    Sending my best wishes for 2017 and hoping that all goes well for you both. Your garden is a delight and now you have some help I hope you will be able to enjoy it and that it will be a place that energises you.

    • Pauline says:

      Many thanks Sue for your good wishes for 2017. Already the garden is looking better in the borders near the house, soon we will be able to tackle the ones further away. All good wishes to you and your family for the coming year and good gardening weather for us both!

  11. Cathy says:

    Best wishes to you both for the new year Pauline. Hope it brings you both better health and that your lovely garden brings you both lots of joy!

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you Cathy for your good wishes, I do appreciate them. Hopefully this year will be better for us and this will be the year the garden is back to what it should be!
      Wishing you both a Happy 2017 with lots of lovely gardening!

  12. Wendy Swift says:

    Best wishes for a happy 2017 and I hope you both have much better health this year. It is wonderful to see the snowdrops and primroses. There’s no sign of any here yet, but I am delighted to see green shoots in different areas of the garden. Not long now!

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you so much for your good wishes Wendy and I wish you a very happy 2017 with many days happy gardening! More snowdrops and primroses are opening each day now and my early daffodils are almost open too. It makes such a difference seeing all the little flowers, you can’t help be cheerful when you see them.

  13. Diana Studer says:

    Here it is a simpler recovery from pneumonia – and we are slowly and steadily making progress in the garden.

    I wish you and your husband a good year!

  14. Jason says:

    I wish both you and the undergardener a happy and healthy 2017! Lovely photos!

  15. Frank says:

    All the best to the two of you for 2017. I hope you can finally put these health issues to rest and get back to actively enjoying your time together.
    Good to see all the signs of the new season sprouting in the garden. I’m trying to convince myself to take in a little sunshine today, but it’s far below freezing with a bitterly cold wind, so I might opt for a coffee near a sunny window 🙂

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you Frank for your good wishes, I’m feeling more back to normal already, thank goodness, it wasn’t nice while it lasted!
      It sounds as though it is very cold with you, a nice hot cup of coffee sounds a very good idea!

  16. snowbird says:

    Sending you both the very best of health for 2017, it’s hard gardening with so much going on, but I’m sure you’ll get sorted eventually. Hope you both feel better soon, lovely seeing what’s blooming for you now.xxx

    • Pauline says:

      Thank you Dina, that’s very kind of you! We are gradually getting the garden sorted, about half has been done so far, just the other half to do! The early flowers tempt me out each day to see what is new, there is usually something worth photographing.

  17. annie_h says:

    A belated Happy New Year to you Pauline and really hope this year brings better health to you both. Lovely to see the cheering signs of Spring in your garden. It will be here before we know it. The snowdrops are just so perfect at this time of year, I need to get some earlier ones in mine. Mine are only just peaking up out of the soil.

    • Pauline says:

      A very Happy New Year to you Annie and thank you so much for your good wishes.
      There are more flowers opening each day, making me think that spring is just around the corner, although I always think that February is our worst month. I hope the flowers don’t regret opening early.

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