January Blues

Or rather faded greens and browns.

On Boxing Day we had quite an amount of snow which stuck around til New Year's Day.

Then came the winds.

The first battering came and went with little disruption to the garden.  The second time round we were not so lucky and lost part of the fence in the front garden.  We will need to replace the whole run.

It's mid January and following the latest dusting of snow, I'm on the hunt for something to cheer me up in the garden.

No leaves, just a lone apple to decorate the apple tree. I didn't have the heart to remove it since it has been through so much.

 In the raised bed, tiny crimson shoots are emerging from Bumblebee's rhubarb crown.

Along with a very hardy marigold

Another casualty of the high winds (reaching gusts of 92mph at its worst) was Bumblebee's bird box. He made it at a local wildlife fayre just before Christmas.  It has been secured a little better now.  It is behind the trellis so will eventually be well concealed.

Thankfully the birch held up in its corner and the bark is becoming increasingly whiter as it matures

The cold snap has brought out the little jewels in the birch bed. All the colours in this part of the garden are shades of pink and white

With one exception. Winter Jasmine. I make no apologies. There's little to beat it for a splash of colour in a shady corner.  It's got some way to go yet, but it will soon cover the area of fence. It does need to be tied in though.  For the rest of the year it will provide a good green backdrop.

Either side of the arch at the top of the steps is a pot of bulbs, each topped with a skimmia. One is still a bit shy, but the other isn't doing too badly.

I love primroses and primulas. They are such good plants for colder months and come in a vast array of colours for very little money.  They soon bulk up and are extremely easy to divide to make new plants for free.  They were the first plants I tended in my first home and most of the brightly coloured ones indeed came from that garden.  Last year I added the native primroses to my collection, most of which are in the birch bed and given to me by our very good friends in the Midlands.

Spotted amongst the weeds and decaying foliage I spotted the first buds of my most favourite flower, the daffodil.  It'll be a day or two before it opens to reveal it's full glory.

And finally fat pink/purple hellebore buds.

And there was me thinking I hadn't prepared my garden for winter!