I feel sorry for gardeners who have no incentive to spend time in their gardens in January, especially on the more clement days like those we have had this week – with colder days due soon, however, it might be a matter of looking for tasks that can be carried out inside for a while! Now that the working greenhouse is up and running again (albeit currently sharing the space with the remnants of reconstruction and unpacked bags and crates) I can at least begin sowing seeds, starting them inside the house before moving them into the greenhouse upon germination.
It’s not just about the seasonal tasks though, as it is a continued pleasure spotting and admiring anything coming into bloom for the first time. With five weeks to go till we open our garden, the witch hazels are all currently in bloom and will be past their best by then, but the hellebores are mostly just coming into bud, the named snowdrops are the same, and the natives will probably be coming into their main display, so I shall just enjoy their progress towards that point. I have recently cut the leaves from most of my hellebores, and the first to bloom, H Spring Promise ‘Anja Oudolf’ (above) has now pushed her stem up higher and more proudly, hopefully soon giving us a better view of the pretty interior of her petals. Below, H ‘Pure Pink Double’, is also much further advanced than any of the others, showing too that hellebores can thrive in a woodland setting.
Also in the woodland, tucked into the bank of the path less travelled, this week I found the first Cyclamen coum, a massive clump I moved from elsewhere after hearing that they can lose out if they have to compete with H hederifolium (or perhaps it’s the other way round!).
I let out a little squeal when I saw my next contribution for this Saturday meme, hosted by Jim of Garden Ruminations, a bloom on Narcissus ‘Cedric Morris’, a bulb kindly given to me last year by blogging friend Anna, of Green Tapestry. I had forgotten where I planted the bulb so it was a huge surprise in every sense of the word, and I was delighted to be able to report back to Anna on its success.
Whilst moving plants back to the greenhouse, I cut one or two back a little to conserve space, and was not prepared to see the following when I cut back Salvia ‘Mystic Spires – does anyone know of the botanical or scientific reason for this purple colouring?
Setting the greenhouse to rights once more meant I could finally plant out the ‘Winter Sunshine’ sweet peas into the greenhouse border, something I have usually done before now. I am sure they will quickly get going now they have space to put down their roots, with their first flowers due by the end of March or early April.
Finally for today, I have nearly got my replacement cutting bed – hurrah! It just needs a fourth side and then I can start emptying all those bags of compost, taken from the displaced bed, into it and begin tidying this side of the cut flower area, whilst the Golfer paves the area behind the greenhouse. All-in-all, this has been a very satisfying project…
Rambling in the Garden 
I love your Hellebores. Beautiful specimens.
Thank you for the information about competing Cyclamens. Whichever way, it’s good to know. We try to Garden with nature. Knowledge is king.
Thanks Paraig – I do have a lot of hellebores, so at their peak they are a real joy. I have just began adding seedlings or ‘spares’ to the woodland, and it is a joy to see them proving successful too. The cyclamen fact came via Monty on GW last year – C hederfolium certainly spread easily, so I expect it is them that are dominant
So, best go with the dominant ones. I’m sure MD knows best.
😁
well done on all your projects. Lovely to see the Narcissus
Thanks Rosie – it is an early flowering variety and it will be a long time before there are any other splashes of yellow!
Beautiful hellebores! Jealous that you can do anything outdoors in winter. I have been outdoors, mostly moving the same hundreds of pounds of snow as it continues to drift back into the sidewalk and driveway.
Yes, it was rather a shortsighted comment of mine, for which I apologise! It caused a wry smile reading about you moving the same snow backwards and forwards though… 😉 We do have snow, but rarely anything that needs much moving, if it all
The snow can be a challenge, but it protects the soil and plants from the deep cold. We are expected to have a high of -13 C today (not including wind chill, of course). I will be cocooning with the cats!
Hmm, yes, I suppose it would do. I can’t imagine what a high of -13C would feel like, as the only negative daytime temperatures I have knowingly experienced would only be a degree or two below zero. I suppose it’s what you have come to expect – or has it got colder in your lifetime?
Hurts at first, then you go numb. Then you better get inside! The temps are warmer than they should be in November and December and colder in Spring, which is not ideal for planting food.
Yes, it seems strange to think that you could get frostbite going about your everyday business, as I have heard on the news
I saw a primrose in bloom this morning. Sadly not in my garden but in a hedge bank.
That’s exciting! A couple of tatty ones here too, and their foliage is certainly becoming more evident
I’m afraid I am not a cold weather gardener (not a hot one either!) though if the sun were to shine for more than an hour I might spend more time out there. At the moment it is a quick look around as I take out the bird feeders each morning. The hellebores are beginning to flower – mostly white ones – and other bulbs popping up, so not too long to wait I hope.
Sorry, I clearly wasn’t thinking of those who struggle with the cold, Jude. It’s surprising what a difference the sun makes, even at quite low temperatures, and we are due some sunny days this week – how about you? Good to hear your hellebores are starting to bloom for you. I noticed a crocus yesterday, which I must photograph before it is no longer pristine!
I must confess that I don’t venture out as much into the garden in the winter as I used to Cathy. Mobility issues and arthritis in one hand means that doing the jobs that would warm me up when it’s cold are much more of a challenge 😢 I do go out there though most days for a reccie and also to potter in the greenhouse. I can just imagine you squealing with joy when you came across ‘Cedric Morris’ 😂
In hindsight it was a rather thoughtless comment of mine, Anna, as there are all sorts of reasons why people don’t get outside as much in winter. Hope your joints don’t make gardening increasingly difficult for you 🤞
I didn’t think that it was a thoughtless comment Cathy and understood exactly what you meant and agree with you 😀 If people can get out there then it’s a great shame if they they don’t! Such a great way to boost vitamin D levels as well as improve general levels of wellbeing. I just have to do it in much shorter stints these winter days or I suffer.
Thanks Anna, it was meant in that sort of way – certainly my neighbour is only just managing to get himself out in his garden over winter now that he has a greenhouse, having moped over winter up to now. It’s certainly much milder here now, but my goodness, that wind!!
Two very pretty hellebores Cathy. I do actually have some buds on mine, but they are still frozen solid! It must be lovely to have jobs you can do at this time of year, but I do enjoy having a few weeks off. Just as well – it’s snowing again!
It amazes me how hellebores can pick themselves up from that Frozen state, but they do! Snow is expected in the UK too, but not here – it’s cold though, and not really above freezing today (but I still did a an hour or so in the garden, moving slabs and emptying soil into the relocated bed – as one does…! 🤣
😉
No incentive?! That is difficult to imagine. Winter is the busier season for us because it is so brief. We must begin dormant pruning immediately after defoliation so that we can finish prior to refoliation. There is not much time in between. I go to Washington to prune apple trees before they bloom, but because winter lasts slightly longer there, I can go after it finishes here.
I have no idea what that purple color is. It looks like amethyst crystal in the picture.
Yes, I suppose it is very different in commercial gardening as you have to work to a seasonal calendar. How far do you travel in your work, Tony?
Well, this is not exactly a commercial garden. It is a Conference Center with landscapes. I do not travel much at all for work, since I work at the Conference Center nearby for only two or three days weekly, and in the home office for the rest of the week. I go to Washington at the end of winter, but that is technically vacation rather than work. I just happen to prune apple trees on my Pa’s farm while there. Less than a month later, I go to the Los Angeles region, and perhaps the Phoenix region, technically on vacation, but also for a bit of specialized horticultural work. My home is in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a few miles south of San Jose.
Ah, that explains things Tony, thanks for that. Does your Pa grow the apples commercially?
No, but the apple trees remain from a small mixed orchard that was near where my Pa grows bonsai stock long before my Pa arrived. Sadly, only neighbors get the apples now. I prune them only to maintain them. They are very healthy.
Always interesting to read your comments Tony 👍
So many flowers are determined to show themselves, in spite of the cold, hope they don’t regret it! Looking forward to warmer times, just a couple of degrees would help at the moment. You are managing to stay busy in spite of the cold, good for you!
And it has been interesting to see what perennials have retained a green crown despite the cold
It is starting to get exciting in the garden with all the spring flowers beginning to show. I hope we don’t have a severe cold snap.
Indeed it is, Brian. Yes, unfortunately it’s too soon to guess if we will manage a winter without snow…!