When I redid the rockery planting two years ago I had a picture in my head of how I wanted it to look. I think any rockery has to be a mass of colour in the spring but then has to still have structure, texture, colour and interest for the rest of the year.
At the risk of sounding very boring, we have had another week of non stop rain, parts of the garden have been under water for months now and are looking rather sorry for themselves, other parts are relishing it all and performing beautifully. I am still able to go for my daily wander in the back garden, the woodland and round the rockery and am still finding something new flowering nearly every day. To start this weeks six though, I’m showing my little tulip from last week which hadn’t opened and some of you asked what the inside was like……
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Last week it was like a balloon, now it is well and truly open, showing the blue on the inside. I think this is Tulip Little Beauty.
We have had another week of rain, with little bits of sunshine, but not very much, in between downpours of torrential proportions. Needless to say , parts of my garden are flooded once more. There is plenty of colour though in the half that isn’t too wet and the woodland is still looking rather lovely.My six for this week are as follows….
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Tiny species tulips are nearly opening on the scree, if they are waiting for the sunshine before they open, they might be waiting for a long time!
Another week of rain although yesterday was lovely and sunny, even though a bit cold! More rain is forecast, parts of my garden are flooded again so I will be avoiding those until it dries out once more., hope it won’t take too long. Even though the wind is cold when it comes from the north, the little woodland is nice and sheltered and at a lower level from the rest of the garden. When going for my daily wander yesterday it was amazing how many bees were out, visiting all the flowers that are on offer. Most of my 6 are of long views this time.
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My first view is from the archway into the woodland, looking over the rockery towards the circular lawn which becomes the summer meadow.
After being warned quite a few times that we were all going to experience snow here in the South West and not just on the high moors, it was a welcome relief when it turned out to be just rain, even though a lot of it. Further north there have been dreadful problems with the amount of snow that has fallen.The plants in the garden certainly appreciated the rain, they have all perked up and look a lot happier, lots of new plants have opened their flowers for the first time in some areas, mainly the woodland and the rockery.
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Not a new flower by any means but the chaenomeles by the back door is still flowering its head off, looking better than ever, maybe due to the wood being ripened last summer in the heat that we had.
Another cold week, with not much sunshine this time, even more cold to come next week with maybe some snow when the cold air from the Arctic meets the warm air from the Equator over the south west of the country, should be fun! Winter has certainly not finished with us yet. My six for this week are as follows……..
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More wildlife thinking that my plants are for them to nibble! I saw a rabbit in the garden the other day and went to check on my newly planted Acers in the redesigned area at the top of the garden. Sure enough the acers and a Prunus Kojo no Mai sucker that I had moved last year had all had a prune thanks to the rabbit so barricades were promptly made. Not a pretty sight but needs must for a while. The wild arum will be removed soon.
After having a mild spell for a while, we are now starting another cold spell. Lots of new bulbs have popped up and I hope they don’t regret it! Snowdrops are still presenting well in the woodland, some of the earlier “specials” have gone over but the wild ones are making everywhere look very white at the moment, which is rather nice. I think we have another week of freezing temperatures at night time, but hopefully it will be a bit warmer during the daytime. I don’t think this will stop the bulbs from flowering, they should be in flower for longer though which is a good thing. My six for this week are as follows……..
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At last my Camellia is flowering, usually this one starts in November, but not this time, it has been hanging onto its buds all through the winter until now.
What a difference 2 or 3 days and 2 degrees makes, I now have crocus popping up everywhere and opening for the bees, other little bulbs are popping up in the woodland and on the alpine scree, none of these were in evidence when my visitors came on Tuesday, but then, that is the risk you take when you show people round at this time of year. If you would like to take a tour round with my visitors, then please visit my previous post. I will start my six with a couple of problems though which I found the other day.
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There has been a rather brutal muder in my garden, I found this pile of feathers in the bog garden border and think it was probably a wood pigeon and maybe a visit from the sparrow hawk which I haven’t seen for a long time or maybe a fox.
I woke to a very misty morning and just had to hope that the sun would come out as promised and burn the mist away. It was still dull while we had our coffee and cake, but then suddenly the sun came out and we quickly rushed outside to see the snowdrops and friends. It is amazing how much warmth there is in the sun in February, the birds were singing, the snowdrops opened their petals and the bees were buzzing round us as each snowdrop was examined and photographed. So, come along with me and see what my visitors saw this morning.
The first flowers that they saw were the quince, Chaenomeles, by the back door. Very much admired!
Another week of freezing nights and mostly sunny days, a lot of the mornings have seen the snowdrops and hellebores collapsed to the ground, but by lunch time they are bright and perky, standing upright once more. I was getting on really well with clearing the rockery until I somehow did something to my ankle, and no, I wasn’t gardening at the time! Walking on the flat is fine, but even walking round the woodland is rather painful so I don’t think I’m up to balancing on the rockery yet for a while, my visitors next Tuesday will just have to put up with an untidy end to the rockery! In the meantime, here are my six for this week…………
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My first Narcissus this year, not Rijnveld’s Early Sensation as hoped, that still doesn’t have any flower buds for me, I think I need to split them and spread them out. I think this is Narcissus johnstonii or Queen of Spain. The purple in the background is Cardamine quinquifolia.
