I found it hard to believe it when I saw these fuchsia blossoms on a plant that is growing in a secluded corner of the garden. Well actually it grows in my neighbour’s garden but blossoms in mine. The plant has just two leaves – so how on earth have these managed to thrive without any cover for protection?
It takes a very clever person to come up with a new purpose for an old, badly damaged, terracotta pot. Sadly, I am not one of them and was just about to take a hammer to it when someone more creative than I produced this lovely niche for my statue. With luck it will live for many more years to come.
My quince plant came up trumps again with a few flowers before the New Year. It is looking a little ‘frost’ worn but is still very welcome.
This photograph (above) was taken in one of a few moments of sunshine in the last month. The slope adds a different dimension to the cluster of mushrooms which appeared on the bank behind the house and makes them so easy to see. It should also make them easier to identify but I think that I will stick to wild flowers which are generally less confusing. With mushrooms I have decided that I can appreciate them without knowing what they are.
I have mixed luck when it comes to Echium. Some years they grow to giant proportions while others never survive the winter. So far this one is doing well. I have planted this in the same position as its successful predecessors and while I think it is in a reasonably exposed site it continues to flourish.
I have a number of Scots pine trees at the top of my drive which have done very well in the site. They are now almost completely covered in lichen and as well as this been a good sign for the purity of the air it also turns them into a vision of beauty that I get to see many times a day. I am so taken with them that I have decided that I will replace the one that blew in the field during Storm Darragh with at least four more.
I have no idea what is happening with this Skimmia. Half the plant is the usual deep green and the other this lovely pink and yellow. I have tried feeding it, to no avail, and while I like the colours I am worried that the plant may be on its last legs. So far the internet has been of no help in identifying the cause!
Another winter surprise as these Arbutus flowers are the only ones appearing on the bush in the hedgerows. There were many more but I suspect that the blackbirds have polished them off.
This camellia was ripped from the ground in a storm three years ago. Some of the remaining roots started to produce suckers which I encouraged and this year it is now five feet tall and producing flowers again. I was never sure that it would flourish but as if often the case when gardening I underestimated the resilience of plants.
A Sweet Violet that was in flower at the time of the BSBI (Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland) wildflower hunt. I am filled ith admiration as it navigated the appalling weather in a completely exposed position on one of my dry-stone walls.
The fourth Hebe in the garden, Hebe ‘Wiri Cloud’, that is in bloom. Actually, it is hard to remember times when it is not. It does have a brief rest in October/November but comes back looking as fresh as ever. Interestingly, my Leptospermum and Ceanothus which are also usually in bloom at Christmas seem to have decided to take a break this year. Given the weather you can’t blame them.