Take it from someone who has gardened since being able to move around ie crawl, not even the shortest day, where in the UK I heard that we have 7 hours 49 minutes of light (of course that depends on the latitude), is not a barrier to going into the garden and being in the fresh air where plants or maybe lack of plants catch my eye. For many more plants please visit Father Christmas Jim himself for more gardeners' views of Six on Saturday.
Here are mine:
1. Galanthus plicatus 'Three Ships' was added to the garden in 2023, and I am delighted that it is up for Christmas 2024, named for the Christmas Carol ' I saw Three Ships' by John Morley who found it growing under an ancient cork oak at Henham Park in 1984. Hopefully next December there will be three bulbs flowering and then I shall be able to say I see Three 'Three Ships'.
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| Galanthus plicatus 'Three Ships' |
2. Over on the Amelanchier the Mistletoe continues to grow, but I am yet to find out whether it is female or male. Should it flower next year, I'll be able to tell, for now it is just a curiosity. Well it is a curiosity for me, since it is just at eye level. In many trees in the locality you can see great balls of the stuff, but they are high up in the canopy of the trees.
This grass was given to me by a friend and I have no idea of its name. I like to move the pot around the garden.
4. Two pots of Tropaeolum tricolor with some of my sticks and copper wire structures are trying to catch some winter light. Should freezing temperatures be forecast, they will be moved back to the shed for some protection. Their thin and brittle stems are starting to wind their way up. I do have two matching pots, and at least I ought to use those next year.
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| Tropaeolum tricolor |
5. The golden baubles clipped balls of Lonicera nitida 'Baggensen's Gold in the front garden have been kept neat for the first time by regular clipping, which I came to enjoy more that tackling the long growths. Just keeping them trimmed regularly meant that I could just brush the clippings under them, rather than bag waste to send out with the green bin. As I go round the garden I enjoy remembering which plants I propagated by cutting and these are amongst the ones I grew myself.
6. I clipped ivy from our narrow side alley to make up our Christmas wreath. Now that I have also picked enough to decorate our living room, I can get on with the job of trimming it well back, and it won't be long before the robins start their nesting...as they are already starting their territorial shenanigans in the garden.
If I had but a Holly Bush I would have had the theme for another Christmas Carol! I used to have a great Holly Bush in my previous garden, and maybe it is time I looked out for one here?
I was interested to know how many minutes of daylight I 've have on this winter solstice and indeed we gain a little more further south with 8h08. The potted grass given by your friend looks a lot like a pennisetum but what variety? It's true that the variegated holly in your old garden was really pretty!
ReplyDeleteThat holly was a great asset and was about 4 metres high when we left. Thanks for the pennisetum which I suspected it was, even without a name it is lovely to have in the garden.
DeleteExcellent Christmas theming! And they definitely are baubles. Have a brilliant time, Sis xxx
ReplyDeleteThanks Sis, in the photograph you can see that our friends across the road do indeed hang big baubles from their Amelanchier, several of which got blown off and even though they are plastic got smashed when they hit the road.
DeleteI love the grass with the raindrops - definitely a thing of beauty.
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