Well, that was a cold week and Wednesday such a strange day, I think we had every bit of weather just in one day. I woke up to snow, then we had a bit of sunshine, rain which then turned to sleet, then more snow, followed by more sunshine, which was when I got some gardening done, then some hailstones so I gave up and came in! Lots of snowdrops are flowering now, but severe frost every night has them lying on the ground each morning and some days, because the temperature hardly rises, it takes a long time before they perk up again. I still have some of the original snow left, in areas where the sun never shines at this time of year. In the meantime, here are my six for this week.
No 1.
Iris reticulata Pauline is always my first reticulata iris to flower. She is spreading nicely and now forming a nice spash of purple on the scree. She didn’t like the cold or the snow!
No 2.
The Chaenomeles by the back door didn’t seem to mind its new winter coat, it was fine after the snow had melted.
No 3.
I still have some of the snow on my drive, even though it was just a sprinkling. With the sun being so low, it doesn’t reach here at this time of year.
No 4.
The box balls are standing out in the front garden. I will need more snow before they look like iced muffins though!
No 5.
Finding snowdrops that were standing up after the frost yesterday wasn’t easy, this is G. Magnet.
No 6.
A clump od G. Lapwing in front and G. Wendy’s Gold behind which will be another couple of weeks I think before she joins in.
Another freezing day, but the sun will make it a bit warmer and in the woodland it is very sheltered so I will get a bit more tidying done. Soon I will hopefully be ready for the village snowdrop day, at one stage I thought I would have to give it a miss this year as I’m still without help!
Thanks once more to Jim at Garden Ruminations for organising us, do pay him a visit to see what is happening in gardens around the world.
Pauline is very early to flower, I wonder if are you the same? Lovely to see. Your chaenomeles is also beautiful in the snow, this weather will certainly sort out the hardys from the hardy-nots!
Yes Gill, I’m an early bird too! Iris reticulata Pauline is always my first iris to flower and always does so in January, quite a bit before the others. I have lost a few plants but due to the drought last summer I think, the chaenomeles will be ok with a bit of snow.
What strange weather you are having Pauline. I think I. reticulata ‘Pauline’ is so pretty, I really must try and get some. The box balls are lovely…….even if they don’t quite look iced muffins!
It was a strange week weatherwise Denise, I think we will be almost back to normal next week, thank goodness.The Iris reticulata like really well drained soil which my garden doesn’t have, so mine are on the alpine scree where we have made is especially well drained by adding lots of grit.
Very pretty snow photos. It’s always nice to look at then from this side of the world. I love the irises, and how nice that they are colonising. The constant wet clayey soil did for mine I think as I had one lonely flower in spring.
Thanks Jane, our snow was just a sprinkling, it eventually went today as the temperature rose above freezing! I had to make an area of very well drained soil for the little iris as I have heavy clay too, this became my alpine scree which is kept for special plants.
Such good clumps of your special snowdrops, and I also love those neatly clipped box balls. They make a lovely winter feature standing out with the light sprinkling of snow.
The box balls help to show the structure of the garden in the winter Noelle, in the summer they are surrounded by roses and geraniums and aren’t so noticeable.Some of my snowdrops now need splitting, a job for when they have finished flowering.
In another few days I’m sure things won’t even remember the cold! Glad you’re able to get out there and tidy a bit. It’s often only the gardener who notices the dropped twigs and ‘too many’ leaves in certain spots, but it makes you feel so much more accomplished to finish off a few things.
All the best for your snowdrop day!
The box balls are lovely in the snow. aren’t they? Is this the usual time of flowering for your iris? They make a lovely splash of colour. I have enjoyed seeing some of your snowdrops – when is the village open day?
The box balls certainly show up the structure of the garden at this time of year Cathy, with or without the snow! Yes, Iris Pauline always flowers in January and is always my first reticulata iris to flower.I’m frantically getting the work done in the woodland for the villagers to come and see the snowdrops, this year they are coming on February 14th, I just hope it isn’t a hard frost the night before or they will all be flopped on the ground! I think I’ll be finished in time.
What weird weather! Lovely pictures of the flowers, especially with a dusting of snow. We rarely get snow here.xxx
We don’t often get snow here either Dina! The snow certainly changes how the garden looks, the structure shows up well.x