It's Springtime

And now is the time of year to prune, sow, plant.
Oh, hang on a minute.

Oh well, maybe not. Hard to believe that at this time last year it was 20C (that's 68F in old money.) That Candlemas prediction was right on the button, wasn't it ?

When I first started gardening, it seemed quite straight forward. After all, the instructions of when exactly to do everything were written on the seed packets and in the gardening books. And so, I would sow tomato seed in February, because that's what it said on the packet, no matter what the weather was like outside. It took a while for the penny to drop, wondered why my seedlings were always so spindly. So now I garden to Nature's calendar which changes from year to year. The moral is, I suppose, to not believe everything you read. Oops, shot myself in the foot there.

Hope you're keeping your bird feeders well-stocked, so that the little birds can just fly in and ....

Something not quite right there. Yes, it's back, at least it was a few days ago, when this photo was taken. Must have been stocking up before the snow.

Ah, that's better, long tailed tits feeding today. Lots and lots of birds in the garden today, they'll be attracting predators if they're not careful. Talking of predators:

The magpies have finished building their nest at the top of the hawthorn tree. They don't seem very impressed with all the snow that's fallen inside it. And this brings me onto a very worrying point. Now is the time of year when many birds are usually nest building. In recent weeks there has been a lot of 'spring activity' if you know what I mean.  Hopefully, they knew what was coming and delayed things a bit.

Took this photo of self-sown Helleborus orientalis a couple of days ago. They are now under a large blanket of snow, but they'll be back. As too will these:

Galanthus Sam Arnott, usually finished blooming by now. But these aren't even fully open yet.

By the way, topical tip here. Topical I said, not tropical. If, like me, you have plants residing in a cold greenhouse. Maybe residing isn't the correct word to use there. Anyway, you're probably wondering when you should be watering them. The compost will be looking very dry at the moment, as a result of the cold weather. Well you know that snow, put it into your pots, not directly onto the crown of the plants though. Whilst the temperature is cold, the snow will act as a blanket, and when the greenhouse warms up, the snow will melt, not only gently watering the plants, but feeding them as well. Don't try this on tender plants that are still resting though. You don't want to wake them up in this weather.

And on a brighter note, remember that Nature always pays her debts. So, soon, we must be heading for a heatwave. You read it here first. Now what was that about not believing everything you read.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - February 2013

It's that time of the month again, to record what's in bloom.
But because of the recent heavy snowfall, this is going to be one very short post.

Galanthus Sam Arnott, commonly known as snowdrops. The clue is in the name. Despite the snow they've managed to bloom.

 Clematis armandii, the first bloom of the season. This clematis should be in full bloom in a few weeks.

Helleborus orientalis, the Lenten Rose , love 'em. You wouldn't believe the contortions I had to make to get these photos. They face downwards, you see, but because of the recent snow they were really sulking.

And that's your lot I'm afraid. If you want to see what's blooming around the world today, please visit May Dreams Gardens where Carol is hosting this meme.

And finally, totally off topic, again, have you heard about the recent discovery of King Richard III in a Leicester car park ?  Leicester is just down the road from here, well it's a very long road, a motorway actually, but I digress. A tomb has just been designed, but some folk are saying they want a memorial that also depicts the discovery of his bones. What on earth are they thinking of ?   A parking meter ?

Snow Joke

Yes, folks, it's coming back again.
Heavy snow forecast.

This photo was actually taken about three years ago, when I was walking home from work. The buses and trams had all stopped running, so I had no option but to walk. Sheffield is built on seven hills, and I had walked up and down two of them by the time I got here. As you can imagine, I was feeling very sorry for myself, but at least it had stopped snowing, and I just stood there knee deep (I'm not very tall) in snow, and admired the scenery around me.

I wasn't taking a shortcut through the countryside, by the way. This is the rear entrance to Birley Spa, an Ancient Roman spa that now sits in the middle of a housing estate. In Roman times, the water was believed to have healing properties; today it comes with an 'elf and safety' warning. In Victorian times, the pond, then used as a boating lake, and the adjacent woodland were a popular tourist attraction, the Disneyland of their day.

I visited the spa several ago, first time since my childhood. As a child, a very small child, yes even smaller than I am now, I remember paddling in the nearby stream, full of frogs and water voles. I never saw the pond then, because the man who lived in the spa house always kept children well away from it. Very wise of him, although I didn't appreciate it at the time.

Anyway, back to the recent visit. The spa has been renovated. You know the sort of thing, Roman marble columns patched up with concrete. Although it is now a Grade II listed building, so future work should be more in keeping with the old building. As well as seeing the pond for the first time, I also went under the spa house to see the actual Roman spa. Unfortunately, the stream has been concreted over and now runs underground.

Saw this in the garden today, a Goldcrest. The first time I ever saw one was last year, amongst a flock of goldfinches, but this one came alone. It stayed in the garden for a couple of hours, undeterred by the blue tits who were constantly chasing it off the feeders. The only problem with seeing unusual birds at this time of year is that they are usually an indicator of bad weather to come. Have I mentioned the snow ?

And finally, totally off topic, I thought I'd just give a mention to the High Speed train service that has just been announced this week; due to arrive in Sheffield in twenty years time. Somehow the phrases 'high speed' and 'twenty years' don't sit well together do they ?  And, apparently, the proposed train route runs straight across Sheffield Airport's runway. Now that is going to be one amazing level-crossing.

In The Shadows

Although, actually it wasn't.
I'll explain later.

The snow has only been gone a week, and look what I've got, flowers. Yippee. These are spring-flowering pansies that have been blooming since I planted them in the autumn. For the last two weeks they've been under a 6 inch blanket of snow, but don't seem any worse for wear. And the bulbs planted in there have sprung up too.

Last weekend's bird watch went better than I expected. We had a winter wonderland on Saturday after another dollop (technical term) of snow. Hardly any birds that day, but Sunday, after a deluge of rain, snow all gone and along came the birds. I'd put out plenty of food for them, especially on the bird table, but they were a bit reluctant to go on there. Can't imagine why.

Now back to that shadow thing. Today is Groundhog Day in the U.S. or in Punxsutawney to be precise, when a Groundhog called Phil ( I know, I'm not making this up, you know) comes out of hibernation. He didn't see a shadow today, which apparently means an early spring, in the U.S. at any rate. Obviously a very scientifically proven legend. I'd like to see Professor Brian Cox explain that one.

Meanwhile, over here in the much more subdued UK, we have a legend too. Well we would, wouldn't we?  Ours is called Candlemas Day, and we get a little poem to go with it:

"If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight,
But if Candlemas Day be clouds and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again."

So today has been bright and sunny. Marvellous. And the weather forecasters are predicting Arctic winds and snow next week. I think I prefer the groundhog.

Love Is In The Air

Yes it is, despite the snow.

This robin has been visiting the garden recently with its mate, who refused to have its photo taken. Typical. Robins are very territorial, and only tolerate another robin in their territory during the breeding season. Also had a couple of blue tits checking out the nest box, already.

So despite a very wintery picture outside, spring is definitely on the way. And how do I know that, you may ask. Have I been listening to the weather forecasts? Well no, it's more to do with observation.

Take this magpie, for instance. It has not only been flying around with its mate, but they've also been building this:

Yes, even when it was covered in snow, they continued to build this nest. Magpies do tend to nest early, so that their young can be fed on the eggs and chicks of smaller birds, but they don't usually build  the nest this early. And that would mean that the other birds should soon be nest building too. Time will tell. Of course, the magpies could have got their timing wrong. And, to be honest, they were building the nest with very prickly hawthorn branches. Ouch!

This weekend is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch when you can record the birds seen in your garden. Unfortunately, it also corresponds with the "big garden holiday" when all the birds you've seen in the garden over the past few weeks, decide to take a weekend break. They do, honestly. They've obviously been checking out the internet on their iPhones.

And finally, if you're fed up of the snow, take a look at this:

It's a hellebore, but look at the colour of the leaves. Looks like it's had a good feed, and indeed it has. You see, snow is not just water. It contains lots of minerals as well. And when the snow thaws, it not only waters the plants but feeds them too. Check out the plants in your gardens, when the snow disappears this weekend. They should be looking really happy, as long as they're not knee-deep in water, that is.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - January 2013

It's that time of the month again, to record what's in flower in the garden today.
Well this won't take long.

Helleborus sternii, bowing its head because of the recent snowfall.

Primroses purchased a couple of years ago and still doing well.

Rose Princess Alexandra of Kent, an English Rose bred by David Austin. Remember the rosebud I featured a few posts back, well this is it. Not fully open yet, but not bad for a snowy January day.

And finally, Helleborus orientalis, also featured in the bud post a short while ago. How kind of it to open for today. I'll be featuring this one again when all the buds are open.

So that's it, said it was short. Oh there were some violas and pansies as well, but you would have had to use your imagination, as they were under the snow. They were in full bloom. Really.

If you want to see what's in flower around the world today, why not visit May Dreams Gardens where Carol is hosting this meme. Thanks Carol.

Strawberry Alarm Clock

No, it's not a new variety of Strawberry
Or a reference to the 60's rock band.

But these are flowers on Strawberry Buddy, an ever-bearing variety. I featured this variety last year, and explained that it flowered and fruited throughout the growing season, not just in June. However, here we are at the beginning of January, the middle of our UK winter, and it's flowering.

Oh, and did I mention it's fruiting as well ?  I really don't think the fruits will ripen, but who knows. Anyway, I've tidied the plants up, a job I usually do to strawberries in early spring, and I'll see what happens next. In fact, I've already started doing a spring clean in the garden already. With hellebores now in full bud, and bulbs showing through, I thought I'd prepare for the spring display. I know it's very early, but with the mild weather we're having right now, it won't do any harm, I hope.

A few days ago, I saw this magpie in the garden. Now it's not my favourite bird, by any means, having seen it take many a young bird every spring. But I couldn't help but notice its remarkable plumage. And now, not only are there two magpies in the garden, but they've started building a nest, already. Is my calendar broken ?  It is midwinter, isn't it ?

And finally, a look at that squirrel-proof feeder, you know the one that works:

Well they never claimed it was mouse proof, did they ?

Slugging It Out

It's official; 2012 was the 'Year Of The Slug' in the UK,
And 2012 was the wettest year on record in England.
Happy New Year.

I could have put a photo of a slug here, you know. I mean it wouldn't have been difficult, they don't exactly run away from the camera. But then I thought, no, I'd feature another pest instead. These are feral pigeons. We have a flock of them that fly around and for some reason, they always land on one particular house roof. Bet the house owners aren't very happy.

I've never seen the pigeons feeding in the area, we only get Wood Pigeons in the gardens around here. But I often see this flock flying around and landing on this one roof. Why ?  Maybe it's the pigeon equivalent to Starbucks, without the coffee of course. Maybe they just meet there for a good chinwag.

And finally, as all the seed and plant catalogues drop through my letter box, I'm faced with a bit of a dilemma. You see, it used to be so much easier to choose plants that could put on a decent show in the summer. It was always a lottery as to whether the sun would shine frequently, but usually you could rely on the soil drying out by midsummer.

This time last year, in the middle of a drought, I purchased lots of drought-tolerant plants. Well they might have been drought-tolerant but they certainly weren't deluge tolerant. So what to buy this year ?  Might leave it a bit before I decide.

Season's Greetings

A holly, jolly Christmas to all.

I was going to post a seasonal photo here, you know a robin or something, but the local robin seems to have gone on holiday, so I settled for a cute photo instead. Actually, speaking of the robin, I have seen two of them in the garden recently, but not today. And two blue tits are showing a very early interest in the nest box. Ooh spring is just around the corner.

But back to today. I thought I would write about holly, traditionally used at this time of year. There are lots of holly bushes in the woods and hedgerows around here. So I decided to do a little digging; on the internet, not in the garden, it's too wet.

Apparently, way back in 1725, Lord Oxford and his entourage travelled through Sheffield. As they crossed over Birley Moor, Lord Oxford remarked on the large plantation of stunted holly trees, or hollin as they were known in those days. It was used for keeping sheep in the winter. Where the plantation ended became known as Hollins End, or Hollinsend as the area is known today.

Of course, those trees are long gone, but wouldn't it be nice to think that the holly tree in my garden, may be distantly related to those old trees on the moor. Distant in miles as well as time, but still possible I suppose.

Oh, and Lord Oxford also remarked about the bad state of Sheffield's roads as well. Some things never change.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - December 2012

It's that time of the month again.
To show what's in bloom in the garden.

Pansy Colossal, purchased this autumn for next spring's display. They obviously didn't read the instructions on the pack.

Primrose, purchased a few years ago. Yes it's another one for the spring display.

Antirrhinum majus Madame Butterfly, purchased last spring for a summer display. I forgot to tell it which summer, so it didn't begin flowering until autumn, and is still producing blooms despite the recent frost and ice.

Lobelia erinus Superstar, purchased last spring, and flowering throughout the summer. Amazing that it is still in bloom after the severe frost.

Apart from the violas, that I have regularly featured recently, that is all that is in bloom today. Last week's weather has really sent the garden to sleep.

If you want to see what is in bloom around the world today, please visit May Dreams Gardens where Carol is hosting this meme. Thanks Carol.

The Darling Buds Of.....December

Now that just doesn't sound right.
But there are buds a plenty:

This is a nice, healthy bud on Rose Princess Alexandra of Kent, one of the David Austin roses that I planted last autumn. Somehow, I don't think it will open because of the severe frosts forecast this week. But it is in a very sheltered position, so who knows?  Maybe.

This, on the other hand, is Helleborus argutifolius, which normally produces buds at this time of year, and should be flowering in a week or two, and will continue to bloom right through the winter whatever the weather.

And this is a 'twirly' (too early.) Another Hellebore, to give it its full name; Helleborus orientalis Double Ellen Red. I bought it two years ago from Hayloft Plants. The first year I grew it in a pot, and the second year I grew it in a deep hanging basket, but no flowers appeared. I then discovered that these Hellebores like a really deep root run to get established. So last summer, I moved it from the hanging basket into the ground. The cold, wet summer must have tricked it into thinking I had planted it in autumn, as now it is on the verge of flowering. It is in a very sheltered spot so hopefully any early flowers will survive.

And finally, I'm pleased to report that Long-Tailed Tits have returned to the garden. A flock of about a dozen of them have been feeding in my neighbour's conifer. Although I have put out fat balls for them, they seem more interested in the sunflower hearts at the moment. Maybe I should put a notice up for them.

The Wild West

Well it's not really wild, it's a cultivar.
But it has a wild habit of growth.

This is Fuchsia Tom West, a hardy fuchsia, believed to be a mutation from Fuchsia riccartonii. It originated in France in 1853. So here we are in December, and it is still flowering. It is growing in a shady border, protected by privet hedges, and has survived the two recent severe winters, so it really is hardy.

And the wild bit?  Oh yes, well, it sends out runners. It thinks it's a strawberry. Most of the growth is upright, but it also produces branches that run along the ground, and root several feet away from the main plant. Plants for free, requiring no work on my part. Result.

But there's another habit that is not so helpful. The plant has variegated foliage, but sends up branches with no variegation, as can be seen in the photo above. These branches need to be regularly pruned out, otherwise the entire plant will revert back to green.

The squirrel has been at it again, trying to get into a squirrel-proof feeder, but this feeder really is squirrel-proof. Although the squirrel didn't think so.

I'll give him ten out of ten for effort, but he didn't get any food. Not this time anyway.

Twirly

Christmas is coming
But this is twirly:

This is my Christmas Cactus that I featured last year when I accidentally managed to get it to flower at Christmas. This year, however, I watered it too early.Well it was looking very sorry for itself. And the result; it's twirly.

Now for those of you who are not from this neck of the woods, perhaps I should explain the term 'twirly'. Years ago, the local bus companies operated a system whereby pensioners could not use their bus passes before 9.30a.m. And if any pensioners dared to try to use their bus passes before the exact stroke of 9.30a.m. the bus driver would say "twirly" (which translates to 'too early') and refuse to let them on the bus unless they paid the full fare.

Anyway, I digress, back to the garden. A couple of magpies have been rebuilding their nest recently. Why? Don't they know that winter is just around the corner?  Today they started annoying a squirrel who was perched on a  branch close to their nest.

The squirrel was totally oblivious to them, fully engrossed in what it was doing. And what was it doing?

It was eating an apple, one of my apples. How dare it.

On the subject of apples, I harvested all of mine recently by a rather unusual method. Don't try this at home, it's not the way to collect apples. My two Ballerina apple trees had grown very tall, unlike me, and the apples were all at the top. I had already decided that I would be pruning the trees this winter, so I brought the project forward a little, and pruned the branches laiden with fruit. It wasn't that successful, as most of the apples fell off during the process, and some got damaged. But I've now collected all the fruit, and the apple trees just need a little bit of tidying up.

One of the trees is biennial fruiting, it produced fruit this year, so it wouldn't have been producing much next year anyway. I left a lot of fruiting spurs on the other tree. So it wasn't a complete disaster. But as I say, it is not a method I would recommend for collecting apples.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - November 2012

After my last post, peering into my neighbours' gardens,
Thought I'd better get back into my own garden and see what's in flower this month.
Not a lot:

Antirrhinum majus Madame Butterfly, bought as small plug plants this spring. They struggled all summer to reach flowering size, and this is the first one to bloom. I'm hoping they'll survive the winter and provide a good spring display.

Pansy Colossal, bought for next year's spring display, but producing a few flowers already.

Geranium Sybil Pink, a trailer, still flowering in the hanging baskets.

Lobelia erinus Superstar, not done very well this year. Largely my fault, I didn't plant it out in time, and it got a bit pot bound. Oh alright then, it got very pot bound.

Fuchsia, I don't know which variety, but it's growing in the border, and has survived the two recent severe winters, so it is very hardy.

Viola Penny, also purchased for next spring's display, but putting on a superb display already. Hope they don't burn themselves out before next year.

And finally, I've cheated a little. With so little in flower in the garden, here's a bromeliad flowering indoors.

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this meme. If you want to see what's in bloom around the world right now, why not pop over to Carol's blog.