Mid-Winter Flowers

Left to right: Galanthus ‘Robin Hood’, G. ‘Mrs. Thompson’, Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus  ‘Firefly’, G. Plicatus ‘Wendy’s Gold’

Snowdrop Flowers

First Snowdrops of 2012 – all flowering in the first week of the year, clockwise from top-left:

Mrs. Thompson
Atkinsii
Elwesii (Early Form)
Reginae Olgae subsp. Vernalis
Lapwing

I know it’s been a mild Autumn/Winter…

…but a Foxglove flowering, in early December just isn’t right!

Strawberry ‘Mara des Bois’ still fruiting (ish)

November has been mild so far, with only one night of frost. One of my ‘Mara des Bois’ Strawberry plants is still trying to produce fruit: most will never ripen, but picked a couple today, which, granted, weren’t as nice as they would have been in June, but still a welcome reminder of just how good this variety is.

Enjoying some late Autumn sunshine

Saw this little fella whilst out walking yesterday. May be mid-November, and hence very nearly Winter, but must have been about 17-18 degrees in the early afternoon. Hope he found somewhere warm to sleep tonight, looks like we may have a touch of frost…

First frost…

Well, it’s been a lovely, warm, sunny day with a beautiful, blue, clear sky. But we’re now into November, so when you have a day like this it can only mean one thing at night: frost.

Barely 10pm and already the car is frozen, the grass is beginning to crunch underfoot. Winter is on the way…

Yet more bulbs planted…

(More or less) The last of the spring bulbs were planted out today. All out in either 9cm or 11cm pots for now, as I’ve yet to find time to start digging out the borders. Very much looking forward to seeing Allium ‘Spider’ flowering, as it’s a cross between two of my favorite forms A. Schubertii and A. Atropurpureum. Narcissus ‘Xit’ also planted out; I’ve only one flowering size bulb this year, but as it reminds me of an albino form of N. ‘Pheasant’s Eye’, it’s definitely at the top of my flowers to look out for in April.