Winter or early Spring?

The sun on my face and the birds singing suggests that spring is almost here.  In the garden it's a balmy 13c...however the realist in me poo-poos the very idea that winter is over.

"Ne'er cast a clout til May be out".  Clout meaning clothing and May actually refers to Mayflower, or hawthorn in what was thought to be the original version and when exactly that is can differ enormously depending on where in the UK you live. 

Since its February, winter therefore it still is.  But as its mild, a few jobs were in order.  Firstly the Acer in the front garden was in need of attention.  

When we moved here in June 2013, almost all the trees were removed.  The front garden was pretty much impenetrable due to overgrown trees and shrubs.  The Acer was actually cut right down at the base and the stump had an x cut into it, which the tree guy said would kill it.  A year later, like a phoenix it rose up once more and we gave the tenacious tree a stay of execution on the understanding it had to be spectacular.  It didn't fail.

Winter is the best time to prune most trees (a particular exception are cherries which are pruned in summer).  Last week a large branch was removed from the staghorn tree, this week the "phoenix" acer had its turn.  All the twiggy bits were removed from the lower stems to begin to shape a multi stemmed tree.  Then any crossing branches and a couple of thick stems were cut out that were growing out at the wrong angle.  Now we'll let it leaf up and look at it again.  If any further branches need cutting out, we can make a note for next winter.

Next up, we removed all the dead foliage from beneath the bergenias (along with any slugs and snails that tend to hide out in their dark, damp bases).

The old foliage from the hellebores was also snipped off to help prevent leafspot.

Better late than never, well rotted manure has been mulched around all the roses (apart from r. New Dawn which are still in containers on the terrace).

We had friends from the Midlands visit yesterday so went to a garden centre for a cuppa and a slice of cake.  I was coerced into purchasing this new Acer Sangokaku.  Honestly, talk about twisting my arm! 😉 

It'll look amazing in the Yen with the bright red stems picking up the red details in the pergola and the red winter stems of cornus siberica.

And now we have 15 trees!

Little green shoots

All around the garden, tiny flashes of green are appearing as daffodil and tulip foliage is thrusting through the soil. 

All the snowdrops are in full fettle and look like glistening pearls amongst grey-green leaves.

I hadn't realised that this pot of vivid irises had begun flowering, so was quick to move it into a more prominent position on the terrace where it can be appreciated from inside.

Not content yet with the February display, we nipped to the garden centre to buy some potted bulbs.

Planted in the terrace seat along with r. Special Anniversary and some wallflowers, I've added some miniature narcissi, some pink hyacinths and a selection of primulas in blues and yellows. 

Pockets remain among the bedding to add some violas when I can find some suitable varieties.

At the outer edge of each bed on the patio, the crocuses have failed to materialise. Usually the striped foliage is at least visible by now.  Therefore clumps of blue irises and purple crocuses have been planted to inject some colour in what can be quite bare beds.  If the other crocuses emerge, it'll make a beautiful display. 

Pink primulas adorn the potting table. These will eventually go down into the Pink Garden when it gets replanted in the spring. 

Storm Erik passed over this week leaving our patch unscathed, thankfully.  Milder conditions continue to build for the coming week which should help to bring on further flowers from our bulbs, with narcissi looking to be next in focus. 

Happy gardening! 

Budding up

It's a glorious winter's day. The sun is bright, the sky azure and the birdsong is developing a flirtatious key.  All around the garden, buds are breaking. 

Wisteria 

Rhododendron 

Magnolia George Henry Kern 

Rosa Special Anniversary 

Clematis Royal Velours 

Rhododendron Christmas Cheer 

Hydrangea petiolaris

Sambuccus nigra 

Hydrangea macrophylla

Wrapping up in hat and scarf against the chill, the garden was calling. There were a couple of jobs to be done while the weather held today.  As the bulbs are flowering in the pots beside the patio doors, I'm gently teasing them out and planting out in clumps in gaps in the borders.  Today were crocus and some more snowdrops.  The crocus were yellow with a darker stripe and although their flowers are past their best, I've planted them in the patio arch borders for next year's display. 

This pot of bulbs above will receive the same treatment, but the hyacinths below are going to come inside once their buds begin to open so we can enjoy their rich fragrance.  They will then be allowed to die back naturally out of sight, leaving the strappy green leaves to feed the bulb for next year.

The other task was to attend to this acer in the Yen Garden. You may recall that it performed poorly last year.  I wondered whether there was insufficient drainage.  TMTC popped it out of its pot, improved the drainage with extra gravel at the base, along with more crocks over the single drainage hole and replaced the compost with a mix of John Innes 3 and a just bit of ericaceous compost, before replacing the pebble mulch.  Now we wait.

I titivated the soil a little, removing a few weeds and cutting back dead foliage to tidy things up a bit and allow the crocus, narcissi and snowdrops room to shine.  The papery heads remain on the hydrangeas all round the garden to help protect the buds, but one or two of the roses received their winter prune.  

In the next 48 hours the "Beast from the East" arrives, dragging freezing Siberian temperatures and snow our way.  

I'm not a winter person.