Last month’s update was all about the leaves, and while some more have come down and blown about (quite) a bit, the headline news in December is the pops of colour and hints of new growth from the bulbs which are starting to show through the soil - yay! There’s still been very little gardening, but there have been a couple of trips out to check on things following some of the windier days and to tie the fleece back onto the agapanthus and secure the patio furniture covers again.
As I was securing the errant fleece I noticed that the geraniums which I’d moved to be shielded by the larger pots were continuing to flower, and looking happy to do so. That was all the excuse I needed to take a wander around the garden armed with my phone to take a few more snaps. On the other side of the patio the jasmine leaves were standing out against the ivy and the metal frame I have hanging on the trellis, doing their best to imitate the yellow cascades of the winter jasmine just a little along the garden.
SUMMER JASMINE IMITATING WINTER JASMINE
WINTER JASMINE ADDING ITS OWN COLOUR
Around the garden our tardiness with the leaves was being enjoyed by the euphorbias, who are already making progress with their lime ‘flowers’ - they’re something that cheers me, but MOH less so, so I’ll need to supervise carefully when we come to clear the leaves around these, just so there aren’t any accidents and some ‘unintentional’ plant thinning at the same time.
Around the garden there were more pops of colour; the hardy primulas determined to put on a good show. This one has self-seeded here and I don’t have the heart to move it just yet. I think when I do I should reward it’s determination with a spot on the patio, don’t you?
By the side of the shed there was another river of leaves to be collected, the wind seems to have rounded them up and deposited them here, so hopefully they’ll stay put until we can tidy up properly, and add them to the giant bag of leaves we already have.
Under the cherry tree an old broken trug has been collecting water. It was broken before this, and I’d used it to hold plants in while we re-positioned them and to stand plants in water while we were away, it’s destined to be thrown out but it’s claiming a stay of execution by providing the reflection of the plants above. The Lords and Ladies by the small Christmas tree and in the gabion baskets are thriving, and enjoying a spot of winter sun. Alongside them there was just the hint of a hellebore bloom and new growth from the bulbs.
Since I took this photo there’s been more bulb growth and more obviously the bulbs alongside the patio are making themselves known, with almost ten centimetres showing above the soil. Let’s hope they’re hardy and haven’t been lulled into a false sense of security by this still relatively mild weather.
Even the strawberry plants are doing their best to add some colour in the garden, and yellow is most welcome in our mostly green garden right now. There’s a few crispy leaves there too, but the garden tidy up will wait for a few weeks yet. The weather forecasters are threatening much chillier weather for the second half of January, I hope they’ve got it wrong, but in the meantime I’ll enjoy the changing colours from the conservatory.
This year we need to do more in our garden. The small shed we brought back from the allotment needs its final home, we need to add slate to the right hand side of the circles - we need to buy the slate too and lay the membrane, and I’m sure some of the trees will need a trim. The patio needs repointing, I need to find some pots to grow some veg in, the greenhouse needs reorganising and we also need to find time to sit back and enjoy our garden and light the pizza oven again - that’s the most important bit, some time to enjoy our garden, that often gets overlooked.
But right now, it’s a time for staying inside, planning what to grow (and what to grow it in) as well as carving out some time in our calendar to do some of those bigger jobs. What do you have planned for your garden this year?