February Favourites!

Good Evening!

Apologies for it being such a long time since I posted, I didn't realise that I hadn't wrote a post since January. Luckily February is one of the quieter months so you didn't miss too much that's been going in my garden! I thought I'd share with you my favourite pictures that I took last month to get you all back up to speed ...

Let's start off with more heavenly Hellebores! I know I shared a few in my last post but you can never have too many Hellebores!

Helleborus x hybridus 'Harvington ... Apricot' 'Picotee' and 'Single Yellow Dark Eye'

Helleborus 'Anna's Red'

Helleborus 'Pink Beauty'

This particular variety always flowers prolifically in my garden each year and is one of my 'forever' plants.

Of course the Snowdrops were displaying their delicate blooms last month, as soon as I see them peeking through the soil I'm seriously impatient for them to flower lol

Galanthus 'Flore Pleno'

Of course another Spring bulb that you can't be without at this time of year is the Crocus. Even though the heavy rain that we've had gave them a little battering the little golden blooms were a pleasure to see.

Meanwhile over in the Greenhouse where the conditions are a bit more bearable the annual routine of sowing the Tomatoes and Sweet Peas is well underway! As you can see from the following photo you can tell what I'l be doing on my next day off ... pricking out Tomato seedlings!

The varieties I've sown this year are ... 'Gardener's Delight', 'Sungold', 'MoneyMaker' 'Tigerella' 'Maskotka' and 'Black Russian'.

 Lathyrus odoratus (Sweet Peas) 'Fragrantissima' and 'Heirloom' Mix

Before I go I'd just like to mention that this year all my seedlings are being sown and potted on into an Organic Peat Free Compost. There really is no excuse not to go Peat Free nowadays due to the impact that Peat farming has on the environment, and so far I can say that the particular compost I've chosen to use is performing just as well as a regular Multi-Purpose! (No connection just a happy Gardener)

Thanks for stopping by, I promise I'l be back soon with more news from my garden!

HAPPY GROWING!

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 Warm Welcome Back!

Hello!

It's been almost 2 years since I last posted on this blog, unfortunately time got in the way of things but here's hoping this year I can find more time to write on here. Fingers crossed there's still someone that would like to read these posts! 

It's New Years Day so it seemed the perfect time to get this blog  going again ...

So, what do I have to share with you all? Well there was a little glimpse of Sunshine this morning for a few hours so I made the most of having the day off work and decided to take some photo's of the plants in my garden that are currently grabbing my attention ...

HELLEBORES
One of my favourite plants and they're invaluable in the garden during the Winter months. These are just starting to produce their flowers and it's always exciting waiting for their buds to burst open.

I have quite a few varieties in Pots and the Borders, the one's in the ground are the first to get going but the Pots are slowly waiting in the wings ...

TIP - Removed old foliage along with any that has black markings, this will reduce the spread of 'Blackspot' and also show off the emerging flowers more.

FOXGLOVES

Last year is sowed some Foxgloves, Digitalis 'Apricot', which were potted on into 2 litre pots. 

They are currently sitting on a table and will be planted out in the Spring. 

They were given a dusting of Frost this morning ...

SARCOCOCCA CONFUSA (CHRISTMAS BOX)

A Winter - Flowering Shrub that provides everygreen interest all year round, however at this time of year is when it really performs. It produces tiny white Flowers and black Berries, however don't let the size of the flowers confuse you ... the perfume is extremely strong and I can smell it a few metres away from where it's planted in a border near a bird bath. A welcome surprise when walking past! This shrub is about 5 years old and rather large however I also have a smaller version of it in a pot by the front door. That way I can smell the perfume when I go to and return from work!

PENSTEMON

Finally even though we've had Winter Weather and cold temperatures one of the Penstemons is still producing flowers. Not something you'd usually expect to see on New Year's Day!

Well I hope you've enjoyed today's post, I'l be back when I have more photo's along with sharing what I will be growing throughout the year ... here's to 2020!

HAPPY GARDENING!

Winter Blooms ...

Good Morning!

Over the past fortnight we've been graced with the appearance of some of my favourite blooms. The sight of these lovelies makes it known that Spring is around the corner, my favourite season!

Today I wanted to share with you a couple of photographs ...

Snowdrops pushing though the cover of Heuchera 'Black Knight'

If you've got Snowdrops in your own garden why not turn one of the heads over gently and take a look at the petals close up? This particular Snowdrop is Galanthus 'Flore Pleno'

The Hellebores are slowly starting to wake up, the following two have been in bloom for the past week with the rest in the garden patiently waiting in the wings ...

Helleborus Harvington Double White Speckled

Helleborus Blue Metallic Lady

A classic plant for this time of year is the Primrose, I have a few planted up in pots that add a great splash of colour, my favourite's are the simple white's.

Lastly another plant in flower is my Clematis 'Winter Beauty', unfortunately there's only a couple of flowers this year due to the resident garden birds nipping the buds off as they were forming ...

Thanks for taking a look, when the rest of the Hellebores come into bloom I shall share some more photographs to share with you all.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Wakey Wakey ...

Good Morning!

Apologies yet again for the blog being so quiet over the past couple of weeks. Due to work and undesirable weather conditions I haven't really been able to do much in the garden! We did however get a couple of days sunshine recently (although now it seems to have greyed back over) which seems to have helped wake the garden up! There will be more details on the jobs I managed to do during this brief spell of sunshine but I am saving it for this weekend's Garden Checklist.

Today I thought I'd share some snaps of how the garden is looking now, some plants are starting to wake back up and I've had a little bit of a shuffle around. 

The first and biggest change you will notice though is that there is a new addition .... 

a cold frame!

Made with some left over wood from the raised bed and a second-hand pane of glass, my Dad managed to fit it all together at the end of the raised bed. You can open the lid at different stages via the metal at the front or hold the lid back completely with some chain on warmer days. It's currently housing my Auriculas and potted Herbs, the auricula's don't like too much rain and the pots the herbs are sitting in aren't frost proof!

I've also moved the eyesore of the bins to the driveway and replaced the area with some large potted shrubs which makes the sitting area a much more pleasant place to sit! 

The Ribes in the centre is starting to form it's flowers and I can't wait for the perfume to arrive.

The various pots of plants near the raised bed have been repositioned and you will spot that the Belfast sink is still waiting to be planted up ... I have some of plants that I intend to use but they need to produce a little bit more growth before I plant them in position.

The pots next to the conservatory have been reduced and just like above I am waiting for some of the smaller ones at the front to produce more growth before I will be completely happy with how they look.

Finally the Hellebore's are producing some pretty and colourful blooms. One of the things I love about these plants is that the faded blooms look just as beautiful as the new ones!

Thanks for stopping by, I'l be back on Saturday with the next Garden Checklist!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
It seems this weekend the weather has changed to be a little milder compared to the start of the week! We were in low single figures early on but looking at the forecast we're set to reach double figures over the next few days, the weather can't seem to make it's mind up.
Here's a few things that you can be getting on with over the coming week ...

1. Sedums - Throughout winter I left the stems of my Sedum plants to provide some structure and also allow somewhere for over-wintering insects. However the flower stems are looking a little tired and the new growth has started forming at the base so it was time for me to cut them down to ground level. Other plants that can be cut down now are Willows and Dogwoods to promote strong new canes.

2. Hardwood Cuttings - If you have been planning to take some Hardwood Cuttings then now is the time to get this done. You can take Hardwood Cuttings from Shrubs, Tree's and Roses but the window to do this is closing in a few weeks.

3. Hellebores  - If you love Hellebores as much as I do it's always a good idea to remove any foliage showing signs of Black Spot which helps prevent the disease taking over. It also allows more light to the emerging flower buds! If you haven't removed them already then try to get it done asap.

4. Snowdrops - If you are in a milder area of the UK and your Snowdrops are already flowering, this is the ideal time to start thinking about dividing them if the clumps are congested. Snowdrops are best divided and planted when they are 'in the green', simply dig them up when they coming to the end of flowering, split them up into smaller clumps and re-plant.

5. Sowing - Salad crops can be sown now undercover to provide you with some early lettuce and salad leaves. 

6. Apple & Pear Tree's - If your Apple & Pear Tree's have congested, badly placed, damaged or diseased branches now is your chance to prune them out. 

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

New Year, New Additions ...

Good Morning!

This post is a little indulgent, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who likes to buy themselves treats once in a while!

Okay so the first thing I have to share is what I am also calling an 'investment' as it was a little pricey, but is something I will be using A LOT. 

I have bought the Double Layer, Double Size Vitopod Propagator.

Once fully assembled it will measure 55cm D x 1.1m L x 39cm H.

As you can probably guess you can get it in a smaller size that's a bit cheaper. 

(If you want to get one yourself pop me an e-mail and I'l let you know where you can buy it from with a 10% discount, which saved me just under £19)

 However I think that just like with Greenhouses, get the biggest size you can allow as you will soon fill it up! Not only can it be used for sowing seeds and propagation, it can also be used to over winter plants needing a certain temperature. Which will be cheaper than heating a full greenhouse! You can also buy additional layers if you need more height. The Propagator can be set at any temperature between 5c & 30c (ideal for germinating seeds needing high temps) and once it's up and running I'm sure you will be hearing a lot more about it! Fingers crossed you won't be too bored .....

Next up is a much cheaper addition than above, a plain notebook. 

I much prefer these to Diaries which allocate the same small amount of space to each date. Another advantage is that if you don't have anything to write for a few days it doesn't matter, you can just write the chosen date at the top of the page and having the pages blank allows for as much as space as you need and if you feel the need to, any sketches of ideas / plants that you see when out and about. Keeping a Garden Journal I think is a great way to record your success's and failures, notes on what you like or don't like, lists of seeds / plants that you have or want ... I could go on! 

It's also a great way to look back and see what was performing well at one time of year compared to the next, no matter what you think you can't remember everything lol I also prefer using a pencil to a pen as sometimes I write to quickly and get my words all jumbled up!

The New Year saw some new Gardening Books being added to my collection, if you are interested in a little light ready I would recommend any of these books. The ones on Veg & Herbs I think are also great for beginners as not only do they detail many variaties complete with botanical drawings, it also includes the history, cultivation, cooking tips and some recipes for each plant.

I just wish there were more hours in the day to get them all read! I still have some that I bought a few months before Christmas waiting to be opened ...

Finally I couldn't start the New Year off without some New Plants of course!

The Tree you can spy in the blow photograph is a Magnolia 'Black Tulip', found at a bargain price I've wanted one for ages and couldn't resist it.

There are also 3 Cornus plants, showing off their fantastic Winter Colour, 'Midwinter Fire' and 2 'Sibirica'. The pot that looks empty is hosting a Dicentra 'Aurora' which is a Herbaceous Perennial and will start to show itself in the Spring.

There were also some Hellebore Plug Plants that arrived as I'd been wanting some of the darker colours. I immediately potted them up into 9cm Pots and here's hoping they will grow into good strong plants! There are 3 'Red Lady' and 3 'Blue Metallic Lady' Lady Series. 

As you can spy they are currently sharing their spot with some rather confused Hosta's!

Whew! Well I hope I have inspired you to treat yourselves, even if it is just to a notebook!

Fingers crossed once the Propagator is all set up and the GH has been given a re-shuffle to fit it in I shall have some photo's to share.

I will also be back next week with my Garden Checklist Series and the Problem Area Series!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX