End of Month Review January 2012

I can't believe it's almost the end of January already.  Where does the time go?  "They" say it's a sign of advancing years.. whoever they are. 

January may have passed at speed but that means we are getting closer to longer days, warmer weather and more gardening. It's a good time to stand back and see what's been happening in the garden this month.

I've done some more cutting back of grasses and spent perennials. We had a lot of wind and the miscanthus has become very tatty and some of it has fallen over. I often leave it until late winter  going into spring before I sort it out. It often is a bit too late as the new grasses are already showing through by that time and it's all to easy to snip them off or stand on them.

Going,

Going,

Gone

It's  been a great time for birds at the feeding table. I've been encouraged by Shirley's blog, Shirl's Gardenwatch to join the RSPB's Garden Watch last weekend.

  The only down side of all these birds perched in the silver birch near the feeders are the droppings that land on the hellebores, snowdrops and foxglove seedlings. It all looks a bit messy. The problem would be partially solved by cutting of the old hellebore leaves which I should have already done (as Dave Marsden, the Anxious Gardener pointed out to me a while back). But it's one of these jobs I haven't got round to yet along with cleaning out the garden shed.

 Not all the hellebores are affected.

And some are better viewed up close.

As are the dainty flowers of cyclamen coum. There were moved into pots last year from under the apple tree in an attempt to get rid of a spreading little weed. Have we been successful? It's still evident in other pots... so watch this space!

 There's also lots of promise in the shape of swelling buds on the camellia,

The Clematis Armandii,

And pots of tulips. This is a zingy orange tulip "Orange Emperor" getting ready for a glorious splash of colour in a few months time.

There's nothing much happening in the vegetable garden at the moment. Most of the borders are now empty apart from some mulched but increasingly sad looking Globe Artichokes. 

The greenhouse is still housing some of the more tender plants. So far I've managed to keep botrytis at bay.It seems to help airing the greenhouse for a short time in the middle of the day, watering very carefully so as not to get water on the leaves and clearing any dead or dying foliage away. Having said that I spy some dead foliage under the echium plant. Oops!

It will soon be time to sow seeds in the heated propagator and cover some of the vegetable  garden with cloches to heat up the soil before planting.
If I sound  motivated and full of "get and go" it's all a front!

And I had no sooner typed this than that nice man on the weather forecast was mentioning winter and Siberia in the same sentence! I had better make sure the bird feeders are well stocked.

You can catch up with lots of other interesting "End of Month Reviews" with Helen at
The Patient Gardener's Weblog.

Here's one I made up earlier....

Top row L to R : Snowflake, Laurel, Fern

Middle Row L to R: Euphorbia, Allium, Snowdrop

Bottom Row L to R: Maidenhair fern, Hydrangea. double Trillium

A study of Snowdrops...

I was in two minds about whether to  call this post "A study of Galanthus nivalis." or "A study of snowdrops..." The photos are all of the common or garden version of the snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) I think. 

The snowdrop has a charm all it's own and for me they are best viewed en masse in drifts under trees. It's the time of year when they take centre stage and rightly so. This photo was taken at NTS House of Dun in Angus yesterday. The gardens  are open between February 1st and March 15th as part of the Snowdrop Festival.

In our garden everything is on a much smaller scale.  Clumps of  snowdrops have been planted under the trees and along the edge of the deck path. 

Whilst I can see the attraction of snowdrops, I'm not a galanthophile. We have never grown more than two varieties (that I know of).  And unless you can compare one with another at close quarters the differences in height or markings might not be readily apparent. You can probably recognise a true collector of snowdrops or Galanthophile by the way they examine the snowdrop flowers and are acquainted with many of the over 500 varieties in the genus.

I think the mania for snowdrops collecting, selecting and hybridising had not abatted in recent years, although other "must have Plants" go out of fashion. Hellebores and hostas come to mind as not being as popular as they once were.

Having said that I did have more than a peek at the  different varieties of Galanthus at Carolyn's Shade Garden blog.  They looked exquisite and I could feel the temptation coming on ... snowdrop catalogues can be very enticing. 

As can the Gardens Illustrated magazine this month which has an article about rare Irish snowdrops with some stunning photography. There is also an interview with the Botanist and expert on snowdrops John Grimshaw.

One of the things that gets him in a lather is planting snowdrops "in the green". Now I for one had always understood that this was the way to do it. I planted a few hundred "in the green" in our Orkney Garden. I hope they are spreading as we speak.

But according to John Grimshaw, it's nonsense to plant them in the green. He is sure it sets them back a year. And besides (here he has a point) what other plants to we dig up in flower and move around? His advice is to dig up the snowdrops when they are dormant in the summer. Something to bear in mind next time I plant snowdrops...

At the moment I will just enjoy pure, simple beauty of the Galanthus nivali. These images were taken in our garden as the snowdrops gently opened in the winter sunshine.

Snowdrops also make lovely presents especially if planted in small terrocotta pots with some moss on the top. I always do a few for friends who might like them.

Seeing Edinburgh in a Green light...

Today I'm going to shout for a small enterprise based in my home city of Edinburgh. It's called "Green Yonder Tours". I first came across them when I was looking for an alternative birthday present for a professional gardening friend. Their vouchers make great presents. 

"Green Yonder Tours" are based in the oldest part of Edinburgh. The Old Town was the original city and encompassed what is now known as the High Street or Royal Mile. This runs from the castle at the top of the old volcanic ridge to the Palace of Holyrood House at the bottom. For those that are interested that is where the Queen stays when she is in Scotland. 


Not only is there the Queen's residence there but my Grandmother used to live of the main street when she was a child. I went to nursery school and primary School there at a place called Moray house.  Little did I know as I walked up and down there on the way to school what fascinating spaces lay behind the old buildings. Maybe I wouldn't have been very interested at that age.

The old street is full of "closes" (passageways between buildings) also known as "vennels"," wynds" or "pends" in Scotland. Peek behind some of the closes and narrow old gardens still lie hidden behind some of the 17th century buildings.

Green Yonder Tours give you the opportunity to explore therm from a green perspective. Being in the oldest part of Edinburgh many of the green spaces in the area have a rich history, combined with a lot of fascinating stories.

Green Yonder Tours also offer a tour looking at the herbal uses for many of our common weeds and other plants. A visit to a wildlife garden and a childrens garden created over a century ago in the Old Town slums are also on the itinerary.

As you may have guessed these tours are on foot. They are each about an hour long and run from May to October. 
Mind what you wear on your feet as the cobbles in the High street can be a bit uneven at times, especially if your balance isn't too good. Some of these gardens are not normally open to the public.


For more information and to book your tour visit GreenYonderTours.com

My friend went on "The Hidden Gardens of the Roya Mile" tour with one of her gardening buddies. Both of them are propfessional gardners and have worked in historic gardens in Edinburgh.


L worked in a garden in the New Town, although she's since moved on from there and C at the Historic Dr Neil's garden . There's another garden that's well worth a look if you're in Edinburgh. You can find out more about Dr Neils' garden here. 

These photos were taken at the  Dr Neils' garden a few years back.

 

Lichen on Macro Monday

Cladonia Lichen photographed in a local wood.

I'm more than a bit upset....

Many of you will have seen this view of our garden. One of the features of this site is the borrowed landscape of large trees in the Church grounds beyond. The area has twenty or so mature sycamore trees around it's boundaries.

I've always appreciated the green backdrop and the part the trees played in bringing wildlife into our garden. Crows nested there every year and the young ones fledged from it's branches. 

But now they are being chopped down...

It began with a tree on the far side near the flats. It had been damaged by recent winds and one of the branches had fallen on a neighbouring garage. After an inspection by the Angus Council Forestry Officer and a tree surgeon many other trees were marked for destruction. Most of them had formed multiple trunks and were considered dangerous. You might well be wondering why we were not told about these "dangerous" trees when several of them overhang our garden. And also why they were not properly maintained over the years.

As we live in a Conservation Area replacing the mature trees over several years might have been less damaging to the immediate environment and to the view. We're hoping the that new trees will be appropriate for the area. I fancy a copper beech or two myself even if I'm not around to appreciate them when they get to maturity.

There is also the question of the tree stumps. They could do one of three things
• leave them alone
• use a stump grinder to get rid of them
• treat them with sodium chlorate (heaven forbid)

 Lets hope they don't go for the third option...
 
So I am very sorry to see these statuesque old trees disappear from our landscape (a selfish opinion I was told) and we'll get an unrestricted view of the flats opposite. Yippee!

We didn't want to see the main tree being taken down bit by bit this afternoon so we took off to a local wood to walk the dog and hug a tree or two.

Crystal constitutional...

There had been a hard frost this morning when we took the dog out for her morning constitutional. There was some watery sunshine and a cold nip in the crisp, still air. It's the sort of day when nature seems to hold it's breath as the frost thickens on twigs and leaves.

If the dog looks as if she's always waiting for us it's because she probably is. Walks have become more and more of an amble as we stop every few minutes to capture an image of the view here or a frosty leaf there.

What that poor animal has to put up with for photography and a blog...

I find frosty, hazy winter days the most interesting to photograph. The countryside on these hushed days aquires an enchanting atmosphere.

If you look closely you can see the tiny crystals that have formed on the leaves and stems.

 They look like they've been dipped in sugar.

The frost highlights the structure of spent seed heads and turns them into jewel-like forms.

Everything has a delicate beauty and a sparkle as it catches the sunlight.

Leaves are outlined in glittering crystal....

The grass in the park is crunchy with frost and a misty haze hangs over the shrubs. It's definitely a "wrap-up-warm day" with layers of clothes and hats and gloves.

After several attempts to take photographs with my gloves on (and hitting the wrong button) I put them away and braved cold fingers.

I can never understand why some folk don't wear hats. Imagine all that heat they're losing through their heads....

Frost forms it's own patterns with a helping paw or two..

Hamamelis for winter colour

At this time of year colour in the garden is at a premium, apart from evergreens and berries there are very few plants that offer much colour at this time of year.

The Hamamelis or Witch Hazel is one such.

We  came across a fine range of Hamamelis today at the local garden centre. 

The name Hamamelis  is greek for "together with fruit" and is thought to refer to the fact that the flowers, fruit and leaf bufs are all pesent on the plant at the same time in late winter.  Commonly known as Witch Hazel, although it is not related to the Hazel tree.

The Hamamelis flowers for several weeks in December through to February. It produces an abundance of spidery flowers in clusters on bare stems, up to one inch long.

 

Flower colour, particularly in the hybrids can range from pale yellow, through to red and many of them have good scent, slightly sweet and spicy.

Traditionally they were often planted in dappled shade but grow and flower better in the open.

They like a well drained soil to which compost has been added.
Any kind of soil will do except chalk or lime.

We did buy one of these fine winter flowering shrubs a few years back. I had the very spot for it...or so I thought. I should have checked what kind of soil it liked. I managed to plant it in a spot which had the remnants of lime mortar from an old building. The poor plant didn't last long... 

It was an expensive mistake. 
Having said that if you have the right conditions for it Hamamelis is a fine choice for some colour in the Winter garden.

A wee bit of gardening....

I'm not in the habit of tidying up much in the herbaceous part of the garden until the end of winter, leaving it all to the wildlife. But this year I was encouraged to get out there this week by three things...

• some sunshine ( and no wind)

• the sight of far too many perennial weeds ( do they never have a winter break?)

• Hillwards who put me too shame with her enthusiasm

So the shed was duly opened (did I really leave it in such a state?) and a wheelbarrow loaded up with all these tools and gloves and radio and everything else I think I might need...

Then I spent an idyllic couple of hours pottering about, clearing the border of rubbish and cutting back spent perennials. Usually I leave verbena bonariensis and the like for the birds to eat the seeds. This year the plants were bare of seeds and battered almost to the ground by the recent winds. After removing the weeds I leave leaves and other plant debris to mulch the border.

Many of the plants are already in bud with the milder weather.  A very pretty pale creamy yellow daffodil (unnamed) that I was given by a friend in Orkney is just starting to show. It would have been better if I hadn't stood on one clump.

"I know they are round here somewhere..." as I lifted my foot to find the slightly squashed leaves underneath. Never mind they will bounce back. They did last year when I did exactly the same thing...

The Crambe cordifolia has also got plump purple buds full of promise for later in the year. I have several plants and need to divide one to give to some fellow gardeners in Montrose. I'm sure they think I've forgotten.

 This is how the crambe cordifolia, a member of the cabbage family looks when its in flower. It's a very showy plant with clouds of white frothy blooms that gives and airiness and lightness to the borders.

I've also promised seeds to people that I saved from the opium poppies last year. The very dark, velvety multi petaled bloom was the one most commented on by visitors. I never told them at the time that it was a mistake. I try to grow with wildlife in mind and bees are known to prefer single blooms. Perhaps they find all these petals a bit confusing.

 So that's the first border done, more or less. A bit of mulching later on if there's enough compost
And there is one other small job to do. Can you spot it? I've left the plant label on the Hygrangea petiolaris. It's been there at least two years so why haven't I removed the label? Good question. ..

 The weather is due to turn cold and frosty in the next few days, so clearing any more of the borders will have to be put on hold. Oh well. time for another cup of tea...