Virtual Garden Tour 2000-2021

Wow! This was a good-to-be-alive day today if there ever was one. Nothing in my garden displeased me; the sun was shining; air was warm - perfect.

The area on the hillside below my house gets full sun all day (well, all 8 hours and 42 minutes, that is). Plants growing there are always at least a few weeks ahead of the same ones in other parts of the garden. Here's what I found today:

1. Snowdrops - these are a named variety but I don't remember which.
2. Jasmine - I've shared this before but it was spectacular today.
3. Daffodils with buds - this group has been in the same rocky spot for well over 15 years . . . never divided, never fertilized.
4. Rosemary - blooms continuously year-round.
5. Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' - gets some shade.
6. Euphorbia from seed - I'm pretty sure this is new growth.
I will also post these last 3 photos on the Plants with Spores forum.
7. Mosses - it takes a lot of time and patience to pick little annual weed seedlings out of it, but it's worth it.
8. Mosses
9. Pentagramma triangularis - this is a native fern that comes into its own in winter; shrivels up in summer if it gets too dry.

 

I'm seeing more activity in my gardens, but that kind of scares me because it's too early for most plants (and we're expecting cold weather and possibly snow later next week). But there is one plant that is showing color in an otherwise drab area....Chinese witch hazel.

 

Sometimes even in these dark days everywhere, along comes a time that makes you feel good about just being in the moment.

 

Totally agree P, it's lovely to see, but we all know the cold will come along and knock it all back.
Are you getting lovely perfume from the Chinese witch hazel atm?

 

Not much scent but its just starting to open...

 

I have my first Snow drops, so very pleasing and especially as the press has named this Blue Monday. Apparently the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year.
So I hope these couple of photos give you as much cheer as it did us this morning.

 

Definitely not the case here. It's "Golden Winter Sunshine, isn't this as nice as Hawai'i" Day here, and my Begonia rex on the balcony isn't even complaining. I have to pretend my balcony is a garden to reply this post here. I don't remember when I bought this, but it was months ago, and I was expecting it to cheer me up for a week.


Our snowdrops are at about the same stage here as yours, at least in my neighbourhood.

 

A garden is any space with plants Wendy. I've just enjoyed your Begonia rex.
Glad to here your Snow drops are also out. They are such happy little flowers.

 

More blossoms opening on my ornamental cherry 'Fudan Zakura', and definitely more pink than I remember...but apparently they open that way (guess I never really noticed before).

 

I love the way this Cherry gives and gives all Winter and then a full cascade of colour in April. Wonderful photos P.

 

The buds look quite white. Some white cherry flowers open pink, then are white by the time they are fully open; others open white, then go pink as they senesce.

 

A few days ago I posted my first Snow drops appearing, but today with a blanket of snow they looked as they should. OK, not a mass covering but rather cute IMO.

 

This morning we awoke to a hard freeze after yesterday's snow. I think that maybe it for the South of England for another 8 years !!!?? Lol.
Here are a few of my plants this morning with a white topping.

 

Well it's the 1st February and we can now say that Spring is next month. This morning I was welcomed in my garden by the lovely scent and pretty new flowers of my Daphne Odora. Every year it's this that brings all the excitement of what is to come 'very soon'.

 

It's a beautiful day so I thought I'd wander through my gardens and was quite surprised to see a lot of growth and activity...which says a lot about the weather we've been having.

Cornelian cherry - buds are now starting to open
'Jade Tiger' - funny thing is in past years the flowers have had much more green in them
Witch hazel - in full bloom and looking rather pretty in front of the dried zebra grass (miscanthus sinensis)
'Golden Lotus' - again, in past years the flowers have been much more yellow
Alaskan cedar - I bought this little variegated tree in memory of Storm; a very narrow, upright weeping tree that will only reach a height of about 3 m.

 

A beautiful day and beautiful photos P.

 

It has a similar growth pattern to 'Green Arrow,' but grows just slightly slower due to less chlorophyll in the foliage....

5 to 10 feet (1.5 – 3 m) after 10 years

Cupressus nootkatensis 'Sparkling Arrow' / Sparkling Arrow Nootka cypress | Conifer Trinomial | American Conifer Society

 

I have no doubt that most of us will relate to your love and loss of a very special friend. You've chosen a wonderful tree to remember him by.

 

We finally got the snow they've been forecasting...

Ornamental cherry 'Fudan Zakura'
Cornelian cherry
Winter jasmine

 

Well, it got up to 10°C for a while today and the Hellebores have decided to forgive the recent snow for its harsh treatment. It's hard to believe they were completely covered for 2 or 3 days.

 

On a gloomy, foggy, but mild day (+7C) the melting snow is making the stream very full and noisy. Still no flowers of any kind in the yard.

 

I took these photos yesterday in a friend's garden nearby. She has been interested in alpine plants (among others) for decades.

 

Amazing! So much color already..

 

What species are the irises?

 

They are 'Katharine Hodgkin' irises; such a strange, beautiful shade of blue.

Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin' - Plant Finder