The Gloom Continues

In mid January we had our first frosty morning, so it has not been so cold – but gloomy and wet.

The garden is progressing as the winter wears on. The Viburnum tinus has been flowering since December and the ornamental apple is gradually losing its fruit to the birds. The difference is more with me as I am a fair weather gardener and it is the bright days that pull me into the garden. The plants do not seem as effected as I am by the low level of light since mid October. The plants most certainly appreciate the extra rain they have received this year.

The exception is that the Hellebores have not been as happy. After being scorched by an extra hot summer, the Hellebores were deluged by the heavy rain that turned many of the leaves brown and I had to cut off a lot of leaves as they had become unsightly. The Hellebore flowers are opening in earnest now and I notice that the bees appreciate the downturned flowers that keep the pollen dryer and easier for the bees to collect.

We thought that we had lost all our bee hives to the Asian hornets (Vespa velutina) at the end of the summer. However, two hives seem to be surviving and bringing in pollen. It is still early days to know whether they will survive till springtime.

There are plenty of flowers to provide pollen inside the garden and the winter flowering honeysuckle has been flowering since December and the gorse is in flower in the woods.

My Cornus mas shrubs are getting bigger and producing more flowers but I still find that the bees are not attracted to them.

Our old apple tree always has some mistletoe growing on it but this year it is covered with it. I will knock most of it off when I get around to it but there is so much yet to do in the garden that warrants more urgent attention.

Yesterday we saw the first flowers on our old plum tree. It always likes to be the first plum tree to flower. It seems to be signaling that despite rain and thick cloud the garden is pushing forward.

This is just to prove that I have been down on my hands and knees as I picked up a hitch hiker while I was weeding. I am not sure what the lizard was doing as it was not a warm day but I must have disturbed him and he was happy to stay on my fleece until I removed him to shelter under a bush.

The best thing about the garden at the moment is the flowering Sarcococca confusa which we have strategically placed where we park the car. We are welcomed home by the perfume of this amazing plant.