In a Vase on Monday - Snowdrops and Magnolia Seedheads

Once again, snowdrops feature and I wonder how many there will be either from bloggers like me or Cathy herself who tirelessly puts up her post for us to link in with.

This week's little posy is an assembly of two types of snowdrops:  some of the neat double snowdrop  Galanthus Mrs Beatrix Stanley and large single elwesii.  It is Anna that I thank for the lovely double snowdrop, received as two bulbs back in 2019. The foliage I have used before several times. The vase is just one of my very small hexagonal jam jars.

At their base are the seed pods of Magnolia Grandiflora. Last week, I sauntered into the Bishop's Palace Gardens in Wells for two reasons.  One was to take a little gift and a bookmark that I made for James the Head Gardener, and the second reason is that I wanted to take pictures of the Golden Weeping Willow which will feature on my Tuesday Tree Appreciation post tomorrow.  

When I was returning through the arched doorway through a wall, a lady asked me if I knew what the large tree was growing against the Palace, so we walked together and she pointed out the Magnolia Grandiflora.  I confirmed the name with a gardener nearby and also asked if I may pick up and take away a few of the seed heads which were lying on the path, and she smiled: I was just about to rake them up and they would end up on the bonfire.

Six on Saturday - Winter Magic

After two storms within seven days, we are now having a few sunny pleasant winter days, which are working its Winter Magic in the garden.  I can see all sorts of spring specials breaking through the top of the soil, and each day I feel this magic working on me too. No doubt Jim will be sharing the Winter Magic in his garden, that is where if you wish to post about Six Things in your garden on Saturday, you are welcome to join, or just to have an idea what we have of interest in our gardens.

1. Eranthis hyemalis 'Winterzaube' 'Winter Magic'(winter magic) is a named form of the Winter Aconite and is usually in flower before the bulk of the snowdrops. 

I really ought to have bought three or four, but I got the last one! It is a sterile, golden flowered aconite and this early form was discovered in about 1980 near Erfurt, Germany. Maybe it had been moved to a polytunnel to bring out the flowers ready to sell at the HPS Somerset I attended last Saturday.  Hopefully Chris will bring more to the Shepton Mallett Snowdrop Festival in a few weeks' time.

Usually the weather means I don't drive down for the January HPS Somerset meeting but when I read that we were to hear Mickey Little speak, I was delighted that I was well enough and the weather had turned mild, and we were between storms. Mickey trained at Cannington, was a nurseryman at Kelways and Head Gardener at Castle Drogo, Hestercombe and Achamore before joining Avon Bulbs as a propagator. His knowledge of snowdrops is extensive and he has been involved in propagating new cultivars of Galanthus over the years. I was also very sorry to hear that this is the last year for Avon Bulbs as the owner Chris Ireland-Jones is retiring at the end of the year. 

2.  I also bought three snowdrops Galanthus Robin Hood and Galanthus S Arnott, which I already have but just planted a couple of years back, and a new one to the garden Galanthus 'Reverend Hailstone'. It was in peek condition when I brought it home, six days  later it needed to have the main flower cut off.

The flowers of this large hybrid are long with the outer segments double the length of inner segments, which have  pale green inverted ‘V ‘. I have read that it is an early season snowdrop up to 30cm high, so it will go somewhere at the back of the border. It was discovered at Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire and named after former rector of local church .30cm

3. One of the slides Mickey showed was one where snow had covered the nursery and  I could see their ranks of Tropaeolum tricolor covered with snow.  As soon as I got home last weekend, out went the pot from the conservatory where it  is looking perfectly happy.  I gather if temperatures fall below -5C then they will need some protection.

Tropaeolum tricolor from the Avon Bulbs

4. Remembering and being able to easily identify my own snowdrops without referring to the labels, is not something I can do without revision and application each spring.  I picked three different blooms, have put them in a small vase in the kitchen, have made a sketch of the different inners and keep on looking at them.  Even Mr S is getting in on the act!

5. Despite planting the garlic on 1st October last year, and the relatively warm autumn, they were so slow to sprout, that I wondered whether they had rotted in the soil.  I'm pleased to say that was not the case: from seeing the shoots early December, this is how they are looking now with their criss cross of sticks to deter the neighbouring cats from scratching up the soil and leaving you know what behind!

6. The morning sun catches the Carex comans 'Bronze Form' nicely, and around it the small cyclamen coum are just starting to flower. 

Last Sunday I went out dig up some of the dreaded Spanish bluebells which appear to be taking over the border by the drive.  Yes I got a couple of buckets up, but hurt my foot on the top of the spade.  I wasn't wearing boots but my garden crocs. What a silly thing to do! The H&S in my own head reminded me that I should consider all aspects of a job before starting!

Tree Appreciation Tuesday - Spared Oak

During the winter when the ground is saturated, a walk along made up paths are in order, and we have used the path leading from Wells Sports Centre towards Haybridge.  Now a new housing estate has been built, further paths were built through some fields making a short circular walk a possibility. 

Oak trees are fairly common in this area, both in the open in fields, and in mixed woodland, and there are a number of these scattered along old hedgerows.  In this area these seem to be about the same age, with extensive branching. This one caught my attention on a number of walks, and I am so pleased they were no felled at the time the space was laid out.

I like the way the bark on the main trunk has been closing up around an old side branch that has been decaying for a long time.  It was too muddy to walk around the tree to see if there are signs of the tree having completely covered over areas leaving gnarled patches along the main trunk.

This is another similar oak less than 100 metres away, but here covered with ivy and no doubt offering shelter to birds at night, during storms, or providing ideal nesting opportunities.

 

In a Vase on Monday - Winter cold grips not the nodding snowdrops

I'm joining in with Cathy for my first Vase this Year! 

What is not to love but the sight of snowdrops on a cold sunny day?  With a selection of silver grey stems of other foliage here are a few precious stems of Galanthus Geoffrey Owen. This is a beautiful snowdrop with double the usual three outer petals, all six with the same proportions giving the drops their unique fulsome look. Leaves with a silvery or greyish tone complement the blooms which is why I have a couple of stems each of Hebe Topiara, and Pittosporum Garnettii.  Since all my 'Terracotta Army' figurines are overwintering on the corner of the table in the conservatory, I left them all in situ for perhaps a first view of them all together.   

As I was picking the drops just after lunch from the garden today, I couldn't detect any scent, but now they are opening in their little vase, which I have moved to my desk, I can smell a delicate almondy scent from the beautiful Galanthus Geoffrey Owen.  Usually described as a mid season flowering snowdrop, perhaps because of its situation or perhaps also on account of the very mild period until recently, this has been an early flowerer this year. They will no doubt bend as the freeze as observed by William Wordsworth in his poem, but will recover easily as temperatures rise above freezing during the day.

Galanthus Geoffrey Owen with its unique six outers 

I had not realised that William Wordsworth had written a poem about snowdrops until just recently: 

William Wordsworth 

TO A SNOWDROP

Lone Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they
But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,
Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay
The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend
Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May
Shall soon behold this border thickly set
With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing
On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers;
Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,
Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring,

And pensive monitor of fleeting years! 

I was delighted to hear from my friend Kay, and having read the poem she sent me, which was Little Ladies by Laurence Alma-Tadema, decided to look up other poems which lead me to the one by William Wordsworth. 

Snowdrops

by Laurence Alma-Tadema

Little ladies, white and green,
With your spears about you,
Will you tell us where you've been
Since we lived without you?

You are sweet, and fresh, and clean,
With your pearly faces;
In the dark earth where you've been
There are wondrous places:

Yet you come again, serene,
When the leaves are hidden;
Bringing joy from where you've been
You return unbidden—

Little ladies, white and green,
Are you glad to cheer us?
Hunger not for where you've been,
Stay till Spring be near us!

Six on Saturday - My first in 2024

 The soggy, damp, dismal, dark, depressing weather we experienced during December seems to be temporarily replaced with more seasonal weather. A few bright skies and actually being able to view sunrise at around 8:15ish this week, has done me and the garden a world of good.  Having had a bad dose of some virus, being able to view the garden from the conservatory has been a boost as I recovered.  I also enjoyed reading everyone else's posts on SOS, and it was lovely to receive a nice card from my SOS sister on a plant based theme of course!

The ground is still not suitable to work with, but a few leaves have been picked off the gravel area.

Jim with his large garden compared to mine is our 'anchor man', and it is there that I am linking this post, if you go there, there will be others linking in, and you may well be entertained by reading some of the posts.

1. I've looked around my small back garden and found a few things which caught my eye this week, and willing to share.  Since before Christmas with the mild weather some of the earlier snowdrops have been tempted out, sadly a few clumps have been nibbled 'petal-less' by itinerant marauders.  These two seem to have escaped so far, and now the cold weather has arrived, hopefully they will stand for longer.  

Galanthus Fieldgate Prelude: An early flowering snowdrop with inner markings that fade up towards the long bottle green ovary.

2. This group of Galanthus Godfrey Owen here opening up in the sun, is thriving. The clump was divided, the second half placed in a more shaded part is a poor sight.  Since this is one of the first varieties  up early in the year, the second clump will be repositioned not far away, in a better spot.  Even Mr S noticed the difference in this snowdrop. The inner three perianth segments have similar sizing and length to the three outer perianths and are pure white, giving the blooms a more fulsome look of six perianths or as I explained to Mr S 'petals'. 

What I am finding with the early snowdrops, is that the clumps on 'higher ground' and those that the catch the sun are less prone to being nibbled,  which is an excuse to do some moving, and also not getting too excited about adding different varieties to the garden. 

3. The low sun has also been catching the Cornus, making it live up to its name 'Mid Winter Fire'. Yes there are two Cornus here, one bought at the gardening club under a different name, and the other one bought from a nursery.

4. In the winter there is nothing quite like fresh herbs to pep up dishes, and several parsley plants  grown from seed have done well. Having sown the seed and succeeded I shall be doing this again in a couple of months time, as these plants will probably go to seed at the start of summer.

5.  I noticed last week that Pseudowinteras were having their turn, not to be outdone, here is a lovely 'Red Leopard', which I moved from its shady summer position to one which gets better light.  I shall continue to grow it in a large pot so that it can be moved as the seasons change.  One year the leaves got scorched badly by the strong sun. In the summer its red spots are more prominent, a little like my own freckles I would suppose. This plant was first bought in 2016, and am only now starting to use it in cooking and am enjoying its spicy peppery influence in winter casseroles and soups.

6. Now it is obvious that the slightly etiolated growth first appearing towards the end of November is a flower spike.  This is the first time I have had Aeonium Velour come into flower.  To be fair, I had always broken up the plant before it had reached this size, but had not got round to it in the autumn.  

The lack of sun over the last few months has caused the usual lovely maroon colouring to replaced with green,.  Once it has flowered, I'll be breaking off a couple of the rosettes to start new plants, and if there is room in the front garden, the rest of the plant will spend its last season planted straight into the garden.

There always comes a time when, as plants mature or grow too large for its space, there is the wrench of having to 'despatch' them, and for favoured plants there is the process of 'regeneration' by this I mean taking cuttings or stolons and planting back up in new soil, ready to go for another few years of enjoyment and then process starts all over again.