Winter blooms - December 2015

There's nothing like being in the mood for blogging when you're laptop dies and the weather does not allow you to do much outside. There are exciting tings to come! This weekend we are finally getting our tree - we were supposed to get it last Saturday, but let's not talk about it (parcels that promise to come on a certain date but don't), and I am currently working on getting a new website running, which is a very exciting project.

Today, however, I was tidying outside this morning before going to work and thought I would quickly check on my plants, and I was pleasantly surprised!

The hellebore seems to have gone crazy! Lots of blooms everywhere.

 This hellebore is getting there. You can see a teeny tiny bud in the middle there.

Look at the crocus showing their little antenna already. My experiment seems to be working so far... We'll see when the bigger bulbs start to grown.

I have spoken about my soft spot for heather before.

 And the buddleia is showing signs of growth. I know they are amazing for bees, but I don't want it to get too out of hand! I'll try and keep a tight grip on in this year, especially if I want to try underplanting the area.

In the meantime, however, we will have to enjoy our indoor plants for some added greenery.

Weekend colours and textures 08.11.2015

A bit of a quiet weekend on the gardening front. Last week I offered to cut back the buddleia creeping over to the next door neighbour's back yard. In doing so, I also cut back a shrub that had also been growing on their side. When I came back round to my side, I found that there was quite a lot of bare space in the bed under the shrubs, and thought that some underplanting would look rather nice. I have saved some pulmonarias on Sarah Raven's website, ready to order next spring. 

This weekend I was going to plant the tulip bulbs I had dug up in the summer, and such was my surprise, and dismay, that they had all gone moudly and rotten! So I obviously HAD to go buy some new bulbs if I want some colour come next spring. I went to Sarah Raven, again, and ordered the Belle Epoque Collection (I was going to go for the Tapestry Collection but they are out of stock), along with the Narcissi for Pots Collection and the Ice Blue Crocus Collection. So, next weekend I will hopefully be planting those! It's also Northwich's Artisan Market, so I might get my hand on some autumn/winter annuals to have on display until the bulbs make an appearance. 

For now, however, here are some snaps of this weekend. I have been pottering about the garden (read: back yard) and I have been enjoying the colours and textures the plants I bough last week at Marbury are exhibiting. I have also taken some photos of the back yard and will do some measuring so I can find the perfect position for the cold frame, AND the perfect cold frame. I also want some sort of plant theatre, so have some pots on display and not everything is on the ground, giving some interesting views at eye level as well. 

I collected the seed of these pansies from my father-in-law's garden. Chuffed that they're all coming out! I might sow the seed earlier next year as they have only just come into flower now. 

Buds from the hellebore. Promise of more flowers to come!

I liked comparing the foliage of my two hellebores. One has spikes on the edge of the leaf but the other is smooth. The intensity of the green is also different.

 I love the contrast of the purple stem with the white and green of the leaves. 

Hydrophobic leaves make a rainy day all the more interesting. 

 I have never seen a lavender plant grown from a seedling. It'll be interesting to see it's development this year.