My Little Garden 23rd Jan 2021
The rain has been relentless ‘up north’ this week, and the risk of flooding has been a major worry for many people and an awful reality for some. On Wednesday evening, when there was talk of evacuating residents in nearby Didsbury, it began to snow. I think sleet might have been forecast, but this was proper snow that we rarely see in this part of Greater Manchester. And as I publish this blog on my return from an ‘early doors’ supermarket trip, it’s snowing again.
The garden is a bit of a mud bath, despite the drainage normally being pretty good, and the ground is totally saturated. Fortunately, a soggy garden isn’t much to worry about under the circumstances and I feel so sorry for the people affected by the flood waters.
Most of this week has been spent indoors catching up on some admin tasks and creating a spreadsheet for plant purchases….. prep work for the spring planting jobs I have lined up. As a result of this limited time outdoors, some of my six choices this week have links to the garden that are decidedly tenuous, but here goes.
- Snow
Well I might as well start with the snow. This is how it looked on Thursday morning, but by the afternoon it had gone.
The flowers on Hellebore ‘Penny’s Pink’ picked a fine time to open.
2. Kitchen windowsill
Who doesn’t like a bit of colour on the windowsill, and as the January view of the garden is not the best, I have been brightening things up with a few bulbs that can be planted outside in due course. These Narcissus ‘Tête-à-tête' are a bit spindly and I’ve had to prop them up, but they are very cheerful.
And my second pot of supermarket hyacinth is a lovely delicate shade of pink.
3. Calendar
Every year I make a calendar out of photos taken throughout the year. In a normal year this would be travel photos, but as we didn’t go anywhere in 2020 I used flower photos taken throughout the year instead.
I do something very similar for clients, in the form of a monthly maintenance guide for the plants in their garden. Where possible I use photos of plants from my archive that are also in their own garden along with some general, and bespoke, advice on monthly tasks. I always find them very popular so this year I want to explore some more professional ways of presenting the product.
4. Bulb update
The snowdrops are coming on nicely now, although as you can see they are a tad mud splattered. These are the ‘ordinary’ snowdrops Galanthus nivalis at the bottom of the garden.
I’ve been waiting to see if another clump was the Galanthus ‘Jacquenetta’ that I was given last year. This one was a casualty of the snow and it’s certainly a double variety so I suspect it is, although I couldn’t detect any honey scent. Hopefully the rest of the clump will be fine.
The first of the crocus also opened in the snow. Only the odd flower, but it’s definitely progress.
5. Orchid
I don’t have the best track record with orchids, but this is a really pretty one and I shall do my best to keep it alive.
6. Ear Bums
My youngest granddaughter came across these ancient ear muffs this week and wanted to wear them. I told her what they were called but somehow, as happens with a 20 month old, they got renamed and as she was so funny running round and telling everyone about her ear bums I suspect the name might stick.
The only vague link to the garden with this choice is that I have been known to wear them occasionally when I’m gardening in winter…… but if I didn’t include them it would have to be a Five on Saturday blog, so there we are.
And that’s my six choices for another week. I’m really hoping for some better weather next week and a chance to get out for more than a muddy walk.
For more ‘sixes’ take a look at the blog of The Propagator who is the creator of this weekly collection. There are also many more excellent photos and blogs on twitter under the hashtag #SixonSaturday
