Monthly Archives: January 2018

A Little Light Reading…..!

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These are the two new additions to my garden library.

The first was a Christmas present which promises to be interesting bedtime reading – the gardening memoirs of Penelope Lively. I must confess that I know nothing about this writer, but the write up sounds good, covering not only the gardens she has personally experienced, from Cairo to Somerset, but also gardens in literature.

The second was my purchase. I feel the need to brush up on my Latin. May not be everyone’s cup of tea, granted, but Latin nomenclature is so descriptive, that I find it fascinating and informative. Not so much bedtime reading, though, I’m sure!

And my garden library?

😊

The Beautiful Calm

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There’s something strangely beautiful about this time of year.

I love the calm that follows the hustle and bustle of the festive season. There’s something nice about ” getting back to normal” and that’s finding the time again for other things.

Now I must admit that our stove is more appealing just now than the great outdoors, with this spell of cold, damp, dreary weather, but it’s well worth making the effort. After all the Christmas tree had to be disposed of.

Five minutes with the secateurs reduced the tree to the trunk and the base. Final result is another log to edge my woodland bed and a bit more firewood for aforementioned stove. ( The branches were recycled courtesy of our green recycling bin.)

So now with that job ticked off my “getting back to normal” to-do list, I had my stroll down the long garden path!

It was all looking decidedly damp and disheveled. The winter weather has taken its toll – flattened grasses and a worryingly, sorry-looking Helwingia shrub, which had been doing so well.

But looking past these set backs, all the wonderful signs of regrowth are starting to appear.

The first crocus shoots poking through….

….and the rhubarb (Oops! I need to weed!)…

And of course, the snowdrops nestling alongside an unfurling hellebore – “Anna’s Red” – under the coloured dogwood stems.

And with all the delight of the gorgeous fragrances wafting out from the Lonicera fragrantissima and Chimonanthus praecox (among several others) shown at the top, it was, in all, a most rewarding stroll.

That’s the strange beauty of this time of year.

It’s hard to hibernate when the garden is waking up! 😀