My Little Garden 30th January 2021
Another week has gone by and here we are at the end of January. The days are getting longer and I know I’m grasping at any little cause for optimism at the moment but there is much to look forward to in the garden over the coming weeks. To celebrate the impending arrival of February (any excuse), I had a little outing to a local garden centre on Friday and had a good mooch around the plants with virtually no other people about. I also did a little online shopping for some seeds. Not too many, as I need to be realistic about how many I will sow, but I’ll share my choices when they arrive.
The weather has been a tad wintry again this week, so my six choices for this week starts with another sprinkling of the white stuff.
- Snow and Frost
This week’s snow was the sparkly powdery sort and it just about lasted long enough for a few photos. This is an evergreen choisya which has attractive leaves and pretty scented white flowers in spring. Apparently it can reach a height of 2.5 metres, but mine is in semi shade and only growing very slowly which is fine by me.
The little Christmas tree was looking quite festive again.
2. Garden ornaments
The heron has found itself a sheltered spot in amongst the pots to see out the wintry weather.
And the plant stakes look like they have a bad case of dandruff.
3. Buds
I seem to be spending a lot of time at the moment desperately looking for signs of new life in the garden. I’m hoping for great things from the camellia.
I was really pleased with the amelanchier last year.
4. Birds
I’ve failed miserably in getting any decent bird shots this week, but perhaps it would help if I put the zoom lens on the camera! I certainly need to get my act together for the Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend.
There are various feeders in the garden, but I’ve noticed that in the last few weeks they’re ignoring a couple of them. I think they’ve been a little nervous since my annoying neighbour destroyed the tall evergreen hedge that bordered my garden and they have lost a lot of their shelter.
We get the usual selection of garden birds, including occasional visits from a family of long tailed tits, and it’s great to watch them. The blackbirds are partial to a few currants every morning and are usually found lurking and waiting for their breakfast when I get up.
The robins get their own special selection to avoid squabbles.
5. Bulb update
After the excitement of two crocus last week, I don’t really have anything new to report but everything is coming on slowly. These are Iris Katharine Hodgkin and last year they were flowering on 2nd Feb so I have high hopes of being able to share this years flowers very soon.
But in case they take a bit longer this year, this is what they will look like.
6. New Purchase
Well I couldn’t come away from the garden centre empty handed could I, and as you see from the header photo they are keeping my snowdrops company.
That’s my six choices for the last week of January 2020. I’m supposed to be off for a walk with the husband this morning but the wind is howling and sleet is forecast so I may change my mind. Much better to stay indoors and take a look at all the other Six on Saturday blogs including that of The Propagator who is the creator of this weekly collection. There are also many more excellent photos under the hashtag #SixonSaturday
