Winter Blooms

Good Afternoon!

Well after a sunny start the weather has turned and it is now chucking it down outside, so I thought I'd share with you some photo's of what's currently flowering in the garden.

To start off with is something a little bit out of season, however it's protected in the Greenhouse which is what has encouraged it to flower ... 

Fuchsia 'Dark Eyes'

Outside the Hellebores are putting on a delightful show, here's just a few of the lovely colours that can be seen on the plants right now ... there's still some more varieties waiting for their buds to burst!

 Hellebore hybridus 'Pretty Ellen Purple'

 Hellebore hybridus 'Harvington Lime'

 Hellebore hybridus 'Pretty Ellen Red'

 Hellebore hybridus 'Pretty Ellen White'

 Hellebore hybridus 'Double White Speckled'

A self seeded Hellebore.

This next Hellebore is slightly different to the ones shown above, the foliage has slightly jagged edges and the flowers are a subtle green, I have it planted in a large container on the driveway mixed in with other plants but it's currently the star of the show!

Helleborus argutifolius 

Next up are some plants that everyone knows, even if you're not a Gardener, Primroses! Simple yet still beautiful I have a small selection in a little container at the front of the house.

Meanwhile indoors I have two small pots of Dwarf Daffodils in the Living Room, one of which started blooming a couple of days ago. At least I have some sunshine indoors!

Narcissus 'Tete - a - Tete'

Lastly I just thought I'd share a photo of a little Ladybird I spotted earlier on in the week, it was climbing up this blade of grass in the front border.

Thanks for popping by, enjoy what is left of the weekend!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

A Brief Pause in the Rain ...

Good Morning!

Today I thought I would share some photo's that I managed to take yesterday afternoon when the rain stopped briefly. As much as I enjoy taking photographs of plants there's something about those photo's with raindrops still on the petals that I love that little bit more ...

This little group of plants is currently sat next to my conservatory door. 

The three plants shown work well with each other as they all have the colour purple in common. The purple foliage of the Heuchera and the Primrose bring out the purple tones in the foliage of the Leucothoe.

The next pairing wasn't planned but I think it works really well together. 

The white of the 'Thalia' Daffodils and the pink of the Azalea Japonica 'Hino Crimson' provide a great contrast.

There's also been a slight change in the layout of the back garden. As you know the property I am in is currently rented so I am unable to make any dramatic changes, resulting in a large part of it being patio'd. Across this wall we originally kept the rather unsightly waste bins but I have now moved them elsewhere and positioned these pots here instead with the patio table just out of shot. A much preferable sight to sit next to in the warmer weather.

The only thing now is that I need to add giving the fence a new lick of paint to my to do list!

A close up of the feature pot in the centre, Ribes sanguineum

Erythronium Pagoda

Whilst over in the conservatory some of the Auriculas are in flower and the Echeveria Lilacina is producing it's flower shoots.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist & Blooms ...

Good Morning!

Happy Weekend to you all, I am back with some things you can be getting on with in the garden this weekend ...

1. Daffodils & Tulips - The blooms are slowly starting to go over in my garden so once this happens to you it's a good idea to pick the faded flowers off. Do this by simply nipping off this flower head and this will help focus  all the plants energy back into the bulb instead of setting seed ... along with looking much tidier!

2. Delphiniums - The fresh young shoots should be putting on good growth so now is the perfect time to stake them before it's too late.

3. Sowing Seeds - This is the prime time to be getting on with your seed sowing, so don't delay much longer if you haven't started already.

4. Primroses - Once Primroses have finished flowering, why not divide them up giving yourself more plants? I will be doing this and then potting them up, which will give me extra plants for next year.

5. Summer Bulbs - Now is also the time to get bulbs such as Lillies & Gladioli planted in time for the Summer!

Finally I thought I'd leave you with a few snaps of what is looking good in my garden right now.

The Euphorbia's are looking striking with their contrast of Red & Lime in their pots ...

The Pink Wallflowers I sowed last year are starting to come into bloom...

My dark foliaged Primroses are blooming ...

Cowslips and Daffodils are looking cheery, I really like these dainty Daffs, they look much more delicate to the usual larger varieties ...

My Outdoor stand of Alpines and Primula's is providing a colourful display ...

The Azalea next to the back door has also come into flower this week with some striking pink blooms ...

And finally more of my Auricula's are starting to flower, I can't wait to see what colours the remaining 40 odd will produce!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX