In My Garden

Tags

Ash, birds, blackthorn, catkins, Christmas box, crocus, flying mallards, garden plants, goldfinch, hazel, hazel gall, horse chestnut, ice, iris reticulata, lichen, Mahonia, moon, pond, reflections, silver birch, song thrush, Suffolk, trees, winter-flowering honeysuckle, witch-hazel

This is a post featuring a few of the things I have noticed in our garden recently.  A large part of the garden is exposed to the prevailing south-westerly wind and we find plants here are slower to grow and flower than those in other gardens near us.  I have seen large carpets of Winter Aconites in other peoples gardens but there is no sign of them here at all.   The beds around the house and near the hedge are more sheltered and this is where we see the first signs of spring.

Buds on the Ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior)

I like the Ash’s black, conical buds – they look a little like deer hooves.  So far, we haven’t found any sign of ‘Ash die-back’ in our garden yet.  This is caused by the Hymenoscyphus fraxineus fungus.  East Anglia is badly affected and has lost many of its Ash trees already.

Horse-chestnut sticky buds (Aesculus hippocastanum)

Little red buds on the Blackthorn in the hedge (Prunus spinosa)

While I was photographing these I looked up and found a Barn Owl was flying straight towards me.  I don’t know who was more surprised, the owl or me!  I tried to photograph it before it veered away from me but I couldn’t focus in time.

Lichen in the hedge

 Hazel male catkins (Corylus avellana)

 

Hazel female catkins with their tiny red petals

Hazel bud

 

 

Hazel buds.

I wondered what these were on our hazel trees as I had never noticed them before.  None of my books mentioned buds looking like this so I googled for information and discovered a photograph that looked like mine on ramblingsofanaturalist.blogspot.com.  The author says that these are bud galls made by the mite Phytoptus avellanae.  He also talks about unopened brown catkins which have been attacked by either the mite Phyllocoptes coryli or the Cedidomyid midge Contarinia coryli.   I had also seen distorted brown catkins and had wondered about them too but had been unable to get a clear photo of them.

Reflection of sky and cloud in our big pond

Flying ducks

Our Silver Birch tree (Betula pendula) is also growing its catkins.

Thin ice on the pond. Hail has got frozen onto the ice that was already there.

The icy pond

The Witch-hazel (Hamamelis) is flowering in its large pot next to the front door and on mild days fills the porch with scent.

The Christmas Box (Sarcococca) is also scenting the garden.

Another scented shrub – the Winter-flowering Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima)

This shrub Honeysuckle is a real favourite of mine.  Its small flowers are powerfully scented and it flowers from mid-winter until well into spring hardly stopping except in the harshest of weathers.  It is virtually evergreen and the flowers are followed by bright red heart-shaped berries loved by Blackbirds.

The Mahonia (Mahonia x media ‘Charity’) with its Lily-of-the-Valley scent has been flowering since the end of October.

The first of my miniature Iris Reticulata bloomed today

A tiny crocus has appeared in the rough grass under one of the crabapple trees.

I found some more – paler ones this time. I hope the birds don’t rip them up and the mole doesn’t dig them up.

 

 

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

Finally, here is the setting full moon seen on the morning of 4th February.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January’s End

Tags

art work, catkins, ice, January, reflections, signs of spring, snow, sunrise, sunset

The last day of the first month of the year.  There are plenty of signs of spring about.

Snowdrops in the garden

Hazel catkins

 

Gorse at Minsmere. Though gorse is in flower through most of the year!

 

 

But there were signs of spring about in the autumn too.

Cowslip in the garden at the end of August.  We had a strange summer!

 

We have had rain and hail and sleet and even snow this month.  High winds, fog, thunder and lightening and even some sunshine!

Snowfall on Thursday afternoon.

It was quite heavy while it lasted!

 

The snow hasn’t lingered.  By lunchtime on Friday it had all gone again.  Despite the frosts, the ground is still fairly warm; especially the roads and paths.  We had a wet year last year and a very mild autumn and early winter.  The grass continues to grow and grow and we have no opportunity for cutting it.  The garden is very, very untidy.  The best days for gardening are the days we cannot get out there.  Such is life!

We have had some glorious sunsets.

A fiery furnace!

Reflected glory!

We have had some exceptional sunrises too.

I admired the colour scheme here.

When I have been able to get outside there has been plenty to see, though the light has not often been good enough for photography.

Reflections (and the remnants of the ice) on the big pond

The whorl of a new thistle.

Reflection of the moon and trees in the corner pond.

I woke to snow fall this morning and we got a dusting that settled everywhere as the frost had been hard last night.  The ponds were all covered in ice and snow.  By the time Elinor came downstairs (at midday!) it had all (except the pond ice) gone.  It is snowing again now as I type this.

Elinor has not had a very good week as she has been very anxious again.  She was unable to go into college on Tuesday and Friday.  She has produced some good art work though.

Richard is in Manchester this weekend visiting his mother in her nursing home and staying with his brother.  He took his brother a gift of a barrel of local Adnam’s beer which last night, so I heard, was being left to settle in my brother-in-law’s cellar.  I doubt whether it will be left to settle long!

I must now go outside quickly to top up the bird-feeders before it gets dark.  The snow has changed to sleet unfortunately.  I dislike sleet very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Garden

Tags

birds, catkins, Christmas Box.Winter Honeysuckle, Garrya, insects, Mahonia, Mild winter, rodents, spring bulbs, Viburnum, willow

The mild (so far) winter has meant that we have not, as yet, lost any of our plants. We did lose a lovely willow tree during the St. Jude’s gale but that was before winter began. Last winter was so long and harsh that all our plants suffered and I lost a number of favourites including a Garrya – a tassel bush – which had been growing so beautifully. I intend to replace it some time but I will have to think very carefully where I should put it to protect it from the prevailing south-westerly wind and also from frost. My Mahonia and Viburnum bodnantense have been flowering continuously since November and I have enjoyed their lovely scent. Last winter they had only just come in to flower when the first of the hard frost and snow came and the flowers turned black. Also in flower are the Christmas Box and Winter Honeysuckle; the Witch-hazel, in a large tub by the front door, is beginning to come into flower too. Catkins are forming on the two hazel trees near the big pond. We never get any of the nuts as the squirrels are quicker than we are in picking them. Snowdrops and miniature iris will soon be in flower and the leaves of daffodils, hyacinths and grape hyacinths are coming up. I have crocus and snowdrops in tubs and when they have flowered I intend putting them with other bulbs already under the large crabapple at the front of the house.
The mild weather has also enabled a lot of insects to survive. As usual, a large group of ladybirds has gathered to hibernate in the corner of our bedroom window frame. I presume it is pheramones which draw them back there year after year. While emptying some kitchen waste into one of the compost bins a couple of days ago I was engulfed in a large cloud of whitefly. I have left the lid off the bin to encourage them to fly away, or the frost or birds to get them. Voles are also trying to set up home in the compost bins and my husband found a mouse or vole nest made in one of his gardening trainers in the garage. We always have a wreath hanging on our front door at Christmas and this Christmas was no exception. However, we found after a couple of days that we needed to move it away from the front door as bluebottles had decided to live in the wreath and whenever we opened the front door the house became full of flies. Today I had to bury two greenfinches. One beautiful male flew into our kitchen window and died immediately – I found the other bird, a female, under the ground feeder. I have no idea why or how she died. It was very frosty this morning and the day was so lovely with hazy sunshine. I had to go to Norwich hospital for the second time this week with my mother. Tuesday’s journey was made difficult by fog but the hoar frost had iced the trees and hedges and all looked magical. Today’s journey was made in sunshine and was only marred by the large amount of tractors pulling slurry tankers and muck spreaders we encountered. I am now listening to rain against the window.