In spite of the frosts that we have been having, there are still flowers in the garden which don’t seem to mind the low temperatures. A lot of the flowers that we had last month, which were flowering out of season, have now been burnt by the frost, japanese azalea, quince, mahonia and Choisya ternata. Most of the plants that are flowering at the moment are in the woodland, which does give them a certain amount of protection from the weather. The snowdrops that are in this photo are the wild Galanthus, the doubles are flowering nicely but the singles at the back are only just coming out, not sure why they are so late. It’s not just my garden where this is happening, a friend tells me that her wild singles are only just coming up whereas her doubles have been flowering for a while now.
I wasn’t going to say much about snowdrops, having written 2 posts about them, which I think is enough, however this is Wendy’s Gold which is still one of my favourites, and all the flowers are now open so I thought it deserved to have it’s photo taken. Other colours are now starting to join in with the white that is everywhere, making the woodland a really interesting place to visit each day, to see what else has opened its flowers.
Shining out of the darkness is a wild Celandine, later I will be getting fed up with them and consider them a weed, but at the moment, when there is just one, it is welcome.
The winter aconite, or Eranthis hyemalis is as early as the snowdrops, I think it prefers a more alkaline soil than mine, this is the only one of 3 that I bought that is still surviving. It has been here for a few years now but doesn’t show any sign of increasing, I’m just glad that it is still alive!
This is one of the Hellebores that I bought when we visited R.D. Plants the other week, I think it has beautiful markings.
Another of my new hellebores, will write a post about hellebores next time, so will leave it at two examples for this post.
It always amazes me when Iris reticulata puts up its flowers in such cold weather, this one is Pauline, sorry but I had to have it!
Still flowering in spite of the frost. This started flowering in January when we had a very mild spell, but I thought the frost would have finished it off by now, wrong!!
A Narcissus that is a bit too soon, have never known this one to flower so early before.
Lots of Primroses still flowering, white or the usual yellow. They started flowering very early and don’t seem the least bit bothered by the frosts that we are having.
Cyclamen coum nestling beneath Betula jaquemontii and Cornus alba siberica Westonbirt. They have been flowering for such a long time, here, by the front entrance and also in the woodland at the back.
Seeding gently about in patches of sunshine in the woodland are Crocus tommasinianus. Whenever we have a mild day, these flowers are always buzzing with bumble bees which have been lured out by the sunshine, good source of pollen and nectar.
Just starting to open is Euphorbia robbiae which is starting to spread and explore round about itself, think I will have to keep an eye on this as it may spread too far, but it is excellent for covering the ground in dry shade.
Another Euphorbia, this time Blackbird is almost in flower, nice colour coming from the bracts at the moment, but something is eating my plant, wonder what it can be that can eat it without being burnt by the white milky sap.
Still putting out a few flowers each day is Iris unguicularis, this has been flowering for such a long time now due to the mild weather we had in January, only a few flowers at a time but overall it must have produced a good number.
A little viola in one of the pots by the back door, determined to be noticed!
Hamamelis Arnold Promise is more than happy in the lower temperatures and has a lovely perfume, it always reminds me of Jaffa oranges and tells me it is time to make some marmalade!
That’s it for February, I hope you have enjoyed your wander through the garden, at least the half that has flowering plants in it. I don’t think my link worked last month when I tried to link in with Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, my son will have to give me a refresher course before I try again!
I have fallen love with the markings on your newest Hellebore – it is a real gem.
You have some delightful flowers for this time of year Pauline.
K
Thanks Karen, I love it too !! Anything that flowers at this time of year is doubly precious don’t you think, you have to admire their determination!
Pauline, this is making me very antsy for spring to arrive, sooo my favourite time of year. Still 2 more months before my garden will look like yours, I am sure it is still under a lovely ‘snow’ blanket. Love your new helleborus, hopefully there are still some gorgeous ones to purchase when I finally return to Canada.
Spring is such a lovely season, so full of hope for the year to come. Hope your garden is safely tucked up under its duvet of snow, I know my nephew’s garden just south of Toronto, has had hardly any snow so far, which is a bit worrying. I’m sure there will be lots of lovely hellebores waiting for you when you get home, you will be enjoying yours when mine are all finished!
Hi,
Lovely photos! It’s almost like it’s actually spring!
Today I noticed on my way to work that the council have cut the grass verges on our estate already! Huh, surely that’s way early???
I’m surprised how quickly things have recovered after the snow and low temperatures!
Even the Hellebores look like they might just make some sort of recovery after a week of being bent double.
I think this spell of mild weather is going to come to an end soon Liz, then we will be back to freezing once more! Surely too soon to be cutting verges, here in the countryside wild flowers are left to grow on the verges in the spring and early summer, the council just cuts the grass at road junctions for safety.Hope your hellebores recover fully, they amaze me the way they can stand upright once more after having been collapsed with the frost.
I realize that more is blooming than in a normal winter because of the mild winter temperatures, but you have inspired me to give my Winter Garden some more thought. I really do not have many winter bloomers except the hellebore. Perhaps this year I will give that some more thought!
Winter gardens don’t need to take up much room Sage Butterfly, I think the bulbs look so lovely peeping out from under deciduous bushes or trees. We have a border which we can see from the house, full of wild snowdrops under bushes, if it’s too cold to explore the woodland garden, then this keeps me happy!
Try collecting the eranthis seed—it usually makes a lot—and sprinkling it in a different area where you think it might grow better. It’s almost too happy in my garden.
Thanks Carolyn, I will do that. Up till now I have planted the bulbs in different areas, most of them only appear for a couple of years, never to be seen again, will see if I have better luck with the seed.
Goodness Pauline, what a wealth of flowers you have for this time of year, your woodland in particular sounds magical with all those spring bulbs starting to flower. And I don’t think anyone should apologise for falling for the beauty of another dark coloured iris, their apparent delicacy at this time of year is a particular kind of magic.
Ever since We moved here Janet, and I started planting bulbs in the little woodland strip between us and the road through the village, I love going there each day, just to check on everything and see if anything new has opened up. A few years ago, when we were filmed for the TV programme “Open Gardens” Carol Klein walked through the woodland saying it was such a magical place and I have planted a lot more since then!!!
Dear Pauline, I think woodland plants are my absolute favourites, and yours are quite perfect – and mistressfully photographed! The last one, Hamamelis, is quite new to me, strange and delightful.
Woodland plants are my favourites too Catmint, it was a steep learning curve when we moved here to find that we had a bit of woodland included in with the garden. The Hamamelis or witch hazel is a super small tree, we have a couple of yellow flowered ones, you can also buy red or orange flowered ones, they like a patch in the sunshine to flower well, the leaves turn a lovely golden colour in the autumn.
I’m catching up with my blog reading having been away. For someone like me who likes drifts of snowdrops I’m very taken with “Wendy’s Gold”. It’s very unusual. And more stunning hellebores! And imagine having a flower named after. Janet (Plantaliscious) and I are still waiting…
From just one bulb a few years ago, Wendy’s Gold is increasing nicely Janet, I can certainly recommend it. Have to admit, Iris reticulata Pauline wasn’t named after me, just couldn’t resist buying it when I saw it!!
Hi Pauline! You have a lot of flowers for the season and I can’t have enough pictures of those snowdrops, those clumps are terrific! Wendy’s Gold is very nice! Finally here it rained a little and my snowdrops are flowering now…
Glad you like Wendy’s gold Alberto, it is special isn’t it?! Did you know that one yellow snowdrop bulb has just sold on E.Bay for £725 !!! No it wasn’t me that bought it, I have more sense! So glad that your snowdrops are now flowering, hope to see some photos of them!