...will echo a thousand miles"
Chinese proverb
After several weeks of grey skies and rain it was a delight to see the sunshine during this last week. The first daffodil to flower in the garden this year was on January 12th. It was a complete surprise then to see that the daffodils had flowered again and many were in full bloom on December 19th. This is almost a month early from the usual date. Also in flower were the Pulmonarias. We can only hope that when the bees awaken in the Spring there will be some flowers for them to visit on their first forage trips.
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| December daffodils |
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| Corsican Hellabore in flower |
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| A lone Nasturtium flower! |
The warmth had stirred a large Buff-tailed Bumblebee queen and the biggest surprise was a Painted lady butterfly which darted amongst the remaining flowers and settled in the sunshine on the picket fence by the pond for a quick 'grabshot' to record the event.
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| Queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee enjoying the December sun |
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| Painted lady butterfly doing the same! |
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Not much gardening can be done until the ground dries after the days of rain. In the greenhouse the Sweet pea plants are doing well and have been stopped to promote plenty of side shoots
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| Sweet Pea plants |
In the Jurassic Garden the plants and ferns are still growing and looking healthy. The chain ferns are producing many new fronds and the banana plants still producing new leaves. The planting is slowly maturing and by next summer it is hoped that the Jurassic garden will start to look good with plenty of impressive plants. A Ginkgo bilboa tree has to be sourced early in the new year. This is one of the oldest members of the tree family and a place has been kept clear for it. The pictures below are from the internet. It is an amazing, if not slow growing, tree!
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| Ginkgo leaves in the Spring |
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| The same leaves in the Autumn |
Some shots of the Jurassic garden. The green carpet around the ferns is called ' mind-your-own-business'. It is very invasive but will cover the ground quickly holding the earth together. It must though be kept away from the crown of the ferns.
This blog usually closes with a view of the skies and tradition holds. As the sun sank in the west the clouds were edged with silver.
Finally a very Happy New Year to our readers!
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