With one lovely sunny day on Wednesday , in a week of lots more rain, I was able to get into the garden and prepare the bed for snowdrop flowering which backs onto the woodland. It was a pleasure to work in the fresh air and the sunshine coming through the trees and made such a change from all the grey, dreary days that we are having at the moment. We have also had our first frost, yipee!, and lots of flowers are now everywhere, they were just waiting to be kick started!
No 1 Camellia.
Last week I started off with one of just a couple of flowers which had opened on Camellia Donation, what a change this week.
This week the shrub is absolutely covered with flowers and looks so beautiful.
No 2 Iris reticulata
One day I noticed a patch of purple on the alpine scree so had to go and investigate. Sure enough, Iris reticulata Pauline had risen up and opened its flowerbuds for me.
Such a reliable little plant, other varieties always seem to flower a bit later.
No 3 Iris unguicularis
More flowers open up each day on Iris unguicularis, they don’t last very long, but that doesn’t matter as so many new ones are coming all the time.
No 4 Clematis Winter Beauty
I still come and see this clematis most days when I have my wander, so beautiful and still looking like Christmas decorations even though those in the house have been put away for another year.
No 5 Garrya elliptica
In the opposite corner of the back garden to the camellia is Garrya elliptica James Roof. After sitting doing nothing much for 11 months of the year, now is its moment of glory when it opens its long tassels and draws attention to itself.
No 6 Chaenomeles
After just having a couple of flowers for a while, the chaenomeles by the back door is now into flowering mode and opening lots more buds.
Hopefully it will now carry on for the rest of the winter despite its late start.
Those are my six for this week, more snowdrops are now up and flowering, you will probably see them next week! Many thanks to Jon The Propagator for hosting once again, do pay him a visit to see what else is flowering around the world.
The Barry’s is amazingI don’t know this shrub!
Barry? I think you maybe mean Garrya, lovely at this time of year, but I think I need to plant a clematis up it to flower later in the year for some interest later on.
If that’s what your Chaenomeles looks like with a late start, I’d better have a word with ours. Such a pretty colour too. The clematis has gone on my shopping list too.
I have read Jim, that cutting it back as a hedge, is what makes the Chaenomeles usually start flowering in November. It causes it to form flowering spurs like an apple tree, I have another the same colour, which doesn’t get pruned each year and it flowers much later.You won’t regret the clematis, I am so pleased with mine and wish I had bought it years ago!
Well, such a lot happening in so short a time. Iris reticulata Pauline is just beautiful and that clematis has to go on my list too though it won’t be flowering quite this early in Sweden.
It was quite a surprise to see the little Iris flowers Denise, one day just tight buds with no hint of colour and then the next a large splash of purple! The clematis is my new favourite plant, I am so pleased with it!
What glorious winter bloomers, Pauline – no doubt you will be making new discoveries every day!
Thanks Cathy, definitely new ones will be coming each week if not daily!
And what a lovely six it is too. Your Camellia is beautiful and very early. How appropriate to have Pauline popping up all over your garden. This is an exciting time with new surprises every day.
I agree Liz, it is an exciting time, worth a daily wander if possible just to see what has popped up overnight. I can’t believe I missed my lovely Daphne when I was taking photos, but there she was yesterday perfuming the air in the woodland, she will definitely appear next Saturday!
A lovely Six. Your plants are way ahead of mine, especially the Iris reticulata
Many thanks Ann, Iris r. Pauline is always quite a lot earlier than my others, don’t know why, but she always has been, even so I don’t think she has been out in the first week of January before!
Goodness, everything has sprung to life for sure! Gorgeous, each and every one. Delighted to hear the frost has done it’s business!xxx
Yes, we all need a good frost Dina, to get rid of the nasties, and the plants have responded. The camellia is amazing and caused lots of comments from WI Committee yesterday when they came for a meeting, socially distanced of course and with the windows open!x
Lovely all around. I like the clematis very much. After admiring for so long your winter flowering irises I finally bought an Iris Reticulata ‘Harmony’. No sign of it blooming yet but I hope it will begin soon.
The clematis seems to be very popular Susie, with not just me liking it! I have to admit that out of all the Iris reticular that I have bought, the only ones that come back each year are the ones on the alpine scree which has very well drained soil and it quite artificial,just like a huge planter. Any that I have placed on a slope, thinking they would have good drainage, haven’t appeared again, hope you have success with yours.
What an amazing climate that you can celebrate the first frost with an explosion of new flowers 🙂 I love everything of course. The camellias are perfect and I’m glad to hear you had a little sunshine to enjoy as well as dry weather.
Even here the sunlight is appreciated, even if there’s snow and ice to go with it. I am looking forward to the start of your snowdrop season!
The weather is very strange at the moment Frank, much too warm in this part of the country for Dec/Jan, I’m sure the poor plants don’t know what to do!Snowdrops are appearing, but I am way behind with the tidying, got a lot done yesterday and hopefully the rest of the week will be dry so more should get done by the weekend. Stay safe with your snow and ice!
You’re six are well ahead of the plants in my garden, Pauline. All spring bulbs are only just showing leaves, no flowers on the hellebores, even snowdrops are hesitant and yet I’ve been working in gardens where roses are still in bloom … crazy weather! I’m rather hoping for a cold snap just to restore the balance a bit! I do love that Iris reticulata, such a beautiful deep purple colour … think I might have had one of those at one point but seems to have disappeared now.
We are in the middle of a cold snap Caro, with frosts each night this week until Sunday. A few of my flowers are later than usual, but I’m sure they will sort themselves out. I have tried a few Iris reticulata but only the ones planted on the alpine scree have survived to become permanent, the rest have vanished unfortunately, they obviously need fantastic drainage, not my improved clay!