Congratulations

My baby sister Jawsy and her partner Scott have had a baby boy called Marshall Rex Cullen on Friday the 16th of December in Auckland, New Zealand.

Pansys And New Years Plans

There are only twelve days until Xmas.The weather outside has turned decidedly wintry, with rain and freezing cold winds.The bleak days have finished off most of the late flowering plants.These Pansy's are due to go into the hanging baskets for Winter colour.These delicate flowers are as tough as old nails.Freezing temperatures and torrential downpours has not dampened their flowering spirit.The cold weather has meant I have been indoors lots cooking and baking.The garden looks green but without much vibrant colour.The decking will be removed in January when we have a new Conservatory built.I will be able to move the dining room table outside closer to the birds.The sunken border will probably be replanted after all the building work has finished.We will have an outdoor plug too for putting more lights outside.
I have had emails about garden projects for next years Olympic Games.Green fingered community leaders will be celebrating the games for local communities.2012 will be a great gardening year.

Waterford Colours

When it is December the gardens flowers have mostly died away.Any colour you can find helps you through the gloomy dark days.In Scotland I bought a lovely waterford crystal vase and have bought some flowers to illuminate the front room.The most brightly coloured Peruvian Lilys with pink,white,and yellow spashes of colour.The light illuminates them.

To accompany the Peruvian Lilys I bought some White Carnations.These smell faintly of cloves and contrast to the Pinks,and reds of the Alstromeria.
Cut flowers can give you winter colour.The wind is blowing outside today.The Mole has been back digging in his favourite holes along the path.
I still have two nights to go before I can get back to gardening.The Xmas Tree will be put up on Monday after a sleep.

Foxglove Friday

Its the second of December already.Only twenty three days to go until Xmas!
Amazingly the Foxglove has put on an extra show of its purple spotty flowers.The Autumn has been quite mild, and the usual freezing temperatures have not arrived yet.
There is little other colour in the garden in December.It is mottled greens and drying seedheads.
I'm back on nights again.The garden looks green and lush after lots of rainfall.
The birds are coming back slowly to feed.

Time And Teasel

I cant believe it is nearly the end of November.The wind and rain have been battering the garden again overnight.Lots of rain has fallen,and the wind has knocked over the bird feeding station.The plastic catcher under the Nijer seed has smashed again.This was the second one that the wind has destroyed!

I have been enjoying the warmth of the indoors and reading my emails.The photo was taken from the backdoor.

The Teasels have finished flowering and now the seed heads are browning away nicely.The birds quite like them to launch themselves onto the bird feeders amongst the Teasel thistles.

The great garden clean up needs to continue.The baskets are waiting to be filled with the winter bedding plants.I will try to do it tomorrow.Short days and colder nights make the warmth and light of indoors quite tempting.Reading gardening books or perusing seed catalogues ready for next year.

I ate my one Scotch Bonnet Chili yesterday raw,sliced onto some cheddar cheese.It was delicious!Next year I will try to grow Jalapenos,and Scotch Bonnet Chili peppers.Again the greenhouse needs the Tomato grow bags clearing away and the years debris cleaned up in preparation for over wintering the tender plants.Cat wants me to move the Dahlias out of the shed into the greenhouse!

We are thinking about a new conservatory,and all I can think about is how much light will flood in,and how much windowsill space there will be for plants!

The December issue of the RHS magazine came talking about Phalaenopsis plants,and gardeners who brought their plants indoors.

I also got a list of next years Flower Shows run by the RHS.There are loads starting with the Spring flowers shows,to Chelsea,to Tatton Park..

Yesterday at Earls Court six colleges came to enter the Young Gardener Of The Year.They will display their sustainable gardens at the Ideal Home Exhibition next March in Earls Court from March 16th to April 1st.

The show Gardens will be five and a half metres by four metres wide, with the theme "Land craft Techniques within an Urban Setting".David Domoney (from Garden E.R) will be on the judging panel.Hundreds of thousands of people will see these budding garden designers!Last year over 250,000 people saw the show.

This was all the students entered into the competition from the six colleges.I hope to go along in March to see what each College has done.

http://www.princes-foundation.org/content/student-design-competition-launch

Even though the year is drawing to a close there is always reminders of the next year.More things to look forward to.

Sunflower And Sparrow

I'm back after a little break from blogging.The cooler days and darker nights seem to make it harder to go into the garden.The summer glorys are over, and now the seedheads are forming.The garden looks more scruffy as it edges into Winter.The birds seemed to have dissapeared for a while.Today I saw Collared Doves,a Robin,and some House Sparrows.These little garden spirits cheer you up on gloomy days.
Between working and sleeping I have not been as active as I would have liked.I need to do the winter baskets and replant the pots and sunken border with the winter bedding plants.The mole has been back damaging our grass again with his digging!
I will be back to regular blogging now to keep people going through the gloomy Autumn days..

November Rain

After a weeks holiday in the Scottish Highlands and one day back at work i finally went back into the garden with a camera.The rain days and early darkness keep you indoors more watching TV.I emptied out all the hanging baskets ready for the winter bedding plants.Cats parents gave us three varieties of plants to grow over the winter.After my nights I will plant up the baskets and the pots around the garden.Violas,Pansy's,and Sweet Williams.I have some Blue Tulips to plant to.The Arthur Bell Rose has managed a late flush of colour.Beautiful lemon yellow with a lovely old rose fragrance.It glows after the rain has fallen.Gertrude Jekyll looked sickly and I did not expect her to re bloom but she has.The pink Roses are amazingly fragrant and the colour glows in the dying autumn garden.She needs training up the supports we bought so the flowers can be supported next year.
When we were away in Scotland Cats Dad and John helped put our bird box up above the backdoor.The birds have all winter to find it and suss it out.I topped up the birds food today.They will start coming into the garden soon with the colder days ahead.

I have lots more tidying to do in the garden.There are spring bulbs already planted so they need clear soil to grow up through the earth.I cleared one Teasel away from the pond area.I snipped some dead flower heads back so you can see the pond outline again.I think I will leave the pond clearing until spring.The frogs should be able to chill in the deep water without freezing.

I will keep going out and clearing the garden debris a bit at a time.When spring comes it will be ready for another growing season.

The mole that visits us seems to have moved away.There have been no more mole hills yet.I saw a small brown mouse the other day running along the fence.

The garden birds and the wildlife like the garden as much as me.I will do more blog posts too now after my little break..