It wouldn’t be a blog about an English garden, if there was no mention of the weather. At the very beginning of December, we had heavy frosts for days, which saw the end of a number of our annuals.
At the end of December, in fact for the last few weeks, we have seen warmer weather but torrential, incessant rain, leading to flooding of rivers, roads and fields. The majority of us are suffering from waterlogged gardens, making it almost impossible to do any work in the garden, when we can get out between the gaps in the rain.
There is a sign of Spring, which is quite heartening. The snowdrops are bursting through, and so are the daffodils, although these are the established ones, the daffodil bulbs I planted last month are yet to decide to make an appearance. I also saw that the Day Lillies are sending out new shoots, but something is eating them so they look a little ragged.
Putting the camera to one side for a while, I spiked the flowerbeds to help the rain water drain away, and where the rain had flattened the soil, I hoed gently around the shoots. Then I emptied out the bottom of the compost bin and spread some very healthy looking homemade compost.
There is a lot of growth going on in the garden, which is exciting but I do hope it is not too damaged by another bout of freezing weather we are sure to get before Spring arrives. Someone should tell that to the Forsythia and the Elder (Sambucus Nigra) because they are full of buds.
I still have some leeks left, and the Swiss Chard is looking such a fabulous colour, with wonderful new dark glossy leaves, so rather than pull it up, a job I had planned to do today, I removed the old leaves and decided to leave it until the cold weather gets to it.
Much to my surprise the parsley is looking healthier than I have ever seen it and it has taken over the herb pot. I need to cut the fennel down to the ground shortly but it is covered in new fresh green, fluffy looking leaves so that, like that Chard, is having a stay of execution for the moment.
At this time of the year it is lovely to see that there are some flowers in the garden. The very pretty, purple/orange Erysium (perennial wallflower) is in full flower and the variegated variety with the yellow flower is just about to send out some tiny buds.
The Hellebores (Lenten Rose) are flowering now also. They are growing underneath the Choysia (Mexican Orange Blossom) so don’t get much light at all, I think therefore my next job will be to cut back the Choysia to release them from their dark environment. As I write this I am listening to Gardeners Question Time on the radio where, by coincidence, they are talking about thinning Choysias . Apparently if I am careful I can thin it out at any time of the year by taking out old shoots, leaving last year’s new growth to harden off for flowering next year.
