The Blooming Garden

Tomorrow is the shortest day and probably the dreariest day of the year in the garden. There may be a few withered summer blooms grimly hanging on, but frankly they might as well give up the battle, they are certainly not worth featuring.

But I do have three little plants of Anemone coronaria which I found in the greenhouse and popped in a pot by the door. I think they look nice with the spiky leaves of Cordyline ‘Pink Passion’.

And my front garden which is devoted to winter interest is beginning to look good.

There are plenty of snowdrops and hellebores in bloom. One hellebore is still waiting to be planted, I am waiting to make sure I don’t plonk it on top of emerging bulbs. This next hellebore was planted a couple of years ago. I can’t remember its name but I think it must have some Helleborus niger in its make up as it has been in flower for ages and the Christmas rose is always the first hellebore to bloom.

Cyclamen coum is always a welcome sight. This one is a bit pale in colour.

I like this next darker pink cyclamen which has the added interest of silvery leaves. Well actually, some are silver and some are variegated. My little Narcissus ‘Cedric Morris’ is still happily blooming away and I now have two more blooms. But that is not for today as I have already waxed lyrical about this adorable little daffodil in previous posts.

December is the month that I enjoy spending time in the conservatory, so let’s go inside.

In winter it is a bit overcrowded with my succulents which multiply at an alarming rate. I seem to have nearly 100 now and I am not quite sure how that happened. But it is flowers that I crave at the moment; colour and scent. I have a succession of hippeastrums and hyacinths so there are always some in bloom. My current favourite hippeastrum is a white one called ‘Arctic White’. I like the ones here because they each have three stems.

The hippeastrums are sitting on the table where we always have breakfast with the little rose in a pot which I bought at the market and a blue hyacinth.

I grow Albuca spiralis ‘Frizzle Sizzle’ for its crazy corkscrew leaves. It has pretty yellow bellshape flowers which smell faintly of vanilla and I am surprised to have a bloom in December. It is supposed to be summer dormant but it just keeps going all year round. It blooms now and then when it feels like it.

Here are its crazy leaves.

Scent in the conservatory is essential in winter. The hyacinths are lovely but my favourite scent is Jasminum polyanthum. The chemical compound indole is what gives it the fragrance. It is strange that the same compound makes Paperwhite narcissus smell so rank to me.

So there are my Christmas Six on Saturday. Thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations who has beautiful plants to share all year round and encourages us produce something lovely each week.

When messing about in the muddy garden loses its appeal we go for a walk. But when you live in the country, going for walks is a muddy business round here, where all the footpaths go through or round fields. So the Pianist and I choose a different village each day for our winter walks. It is fun at this time of the year to admire Christmas decorations and in late afternoons you can nosily peer in windows.

Some decorations are pretty, some are tasteful, some are gaudy and some are just weirdly eccentric. Our favourite weird decorations are in the village of Tostock.

Each year the village green sports yet more crochet decorations. It started with a Christmas tree.

Then came a toy soldier and finally a gingerbread house too.

The gingerbread house is very elaborate.

There is a box for children to post letters to Santa. Naturally it is decorated with crochet.

There is also a giant Santa’s hat caught up in a tree. Maybe next year there will be a giant crochet Santa to go with it.

This is a large village green so in future years we might well have a whole crochet village here, with crochet shops and crochet people. And there is another village green with a pond, so I am sure that too can be fully crocheted in years to come.We were intrigued by all this crochet and wondered if there is just one crazy, out-of-control crochet fiend in the village. But when we asked, we found that this is a village of crochet mad people. The mania has spread and presumably if you stand still long enough you will find yourself crochetified, if there is such a word. I don’t know whether they all get together to crochet or whether everyone sits at home, crocheting alone. Whichever it is, I think they need to get out more. The lovely town of Bury St. Edmunds is only about 8 miles away, with restaurants, a cinema and a lovely eighteenth century theatre.

Of course the post box sports a crochet topper next to the old, iconic, red phone box. It is good that these redundant phone boxes remain in many villages, either as a mini library or to house a defibrillator.

I wonder where this idea of making crochet hats for post boxes started. It seemed to start during Covid lockdowns when people had too much time on their hands. It quickly spread round the country and now nowhere seems to have a post box without its woollen whimsy. I would like to know whether this is a particularly British eccentricity or if it has spread to other countries.

Making crochet lids with crochet scenes and crochet figures for post boxes might sound harmless enough but it can cause strife and animosity. A couple of years ago, someone I know in another village, (not Tostock, the village must remain nameless, I don’t want to cause yet more trouble) was worried that the crochet figures on the post box near her house were suffering from a long period of wet weather so she took them home to dry them off. The person who created them was furious and accused her of stealing them. A fierce row led to a vendetta which still goes on today. All over a bit of crochet. But that’s village life for you. Other places have murder and mayhem with stabbings and shootings, we have rows over crochet.

In case one of the Tostock crocheters comes across this post and thinks I am making fun of their work. I am sorry, I don’t want to offend anyone. Ok, I am making fun of it a bit. But I am in awe of the work and dedication involved in all this. And the mountains of wool. And who am I to mock any sort of obsessive behaviour when I have been totally garden obsessed for all my adult life?

And there is more to Tostock than just crochet, it has some pretty old cottages.

And a beautiful fourteenth century church.

As in many ancient churches in Suffolk, William Dowsing came along in 1644 and smashed up most of the Catholic imagery and then the Victorians got busy with their restoration work. But there is still a beautiful ancient font which has a Green Man peering out from one of the panels. I wonder why you find this pagan imagery in so many ancient churches.

Next time I will take you on a stroll round Lavenham which is one of the prettiest villages in Suffolk, if not the whole country. It is a village of beautiful medieval houses and if you are a Harry Potter fan you might recognise one of them. And there will be absolutely no crochet. If I see any I will avert my eyes.

December is a gloomy month in the garden. We have had frost, we have had lots of rain, and all is dank and drippy. We are getting colour starved.

I’m not ready for Christmasy red yet. I am in the mood for pink, lots of pink. I am starting with a monster hellebore. Many years ago I visited Elizabeth Strangman at her wonderful Washfield nursery in Kent. She was in the vanguard of hellebore breeding and produced some beautiful doubles which were a novelty then. But now, every year there are more amazing hellebores in mouth-watering colours. The one I am showing you today has single flowers, but they are enormous. I don’t want Frankenstein, bigger and bigger hybrids for summer-blooming plants. But in winter when we are starved of colour, then bring it on. This new hybrid is a cross between the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger and Helleborus x hybridus. For a long time it was thought that such a cross wasn’t possible. The resulting plants have huge flowers, bloom early and go on for ages. This one is called ‘Grand Red’, it doesn’t look very red now but apparently the colour deepens as it matures. It stands tall and the huge faces gaze majestically over my winter garden. No coy hanging of heads for this beauty.

I bought my Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis rosea’ last year and as there was no room left in my winter garden I planted it in the gravel drive. It is such a pretty shape and now that it has lost its leaves the delicate flowers stand out beautifully. I wouldn’t be without this winter- flowering cherry, it blooms from November into March with just the time off now and again if we get a really frosty spell.

In the conservatory, there is plenty to enjoy. I am loving the pink and white flowers of Euphorbia milii ‘Queen Charlotte’ at the moment. This pretty hybrid comes from Denmark. It is sitting on the table where we have our breakfast, so we have to remember not to absentmindedly chew on the leaves or rub our eyes on it as the sap is toxic. I believe the common name for this beauty which comes from Madagascar, is Crown of Thorns. But I have no truck with common names.

Also in the conservatory, the mandevilla which has been blooming all summer in a pot outside, is still going strong with lovely pink trumpets. I am never quite sure what the difference is between a mandevilla and a dipladenia, they seem so similar to me. But I have looked it up and apparently dipladenia has a more shrub-like form and mandevilla is more vine-like. I believe that this plant has poisonous latex too as it belongs to the Apocynaceae family, but I don’t think anyone is going to be grazing on it.

Having announced that I am sticking with pink for this post, I am having difficulties finding another two pink blooms. I could show you my pot of pink hyacinths but although they are very pretty, they are not very exciting. I have searched the garden and found only tatty roses and a few half withered summer blooms. So, I have picked two plants that although they are not pink, they are delighting me at the moment. First, we have another early flowering snowdrop which is usually in bloom for Christmas. It is a semi double snowdrop from Ireland called Galanthus ‘Farringdon Double’. I’m sure all my galanthophile friends will have this one.

And to finish I will show you my adorable little Narcissus ‘Cedric Morris’. I showed this picture and talked about it at the zoom-meeting organised by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden last week. It was introduced by Beth Chatto, but the nursery no longer stocks it and so it is difficult to get hold of and very expensive. Still, it is worth looking out for as it is usually in bloom for Christmas. This year it excelled itself by appearing in late November, And I now have three more buds waiting to open. This little daffodil is perfectly hardy. Its flowers are sterile and do not produce seed and that is why the flowers bloom for so long. Although it does not set seed, the bulbs clump up nicely. Unfortunately, sometimes it will disappear completely and this is because the narcissus fly has sniffed it out and they are particularly fond of this little treasure. For this reason I am deaf to entreaties to part with just one bulb because digging it up releases the smell.

So there we have my early December Six on Saturday. They were supposed to be all pink but at this this time of year we have to be grateful for what we can find. Thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations who encourages us to find six plants to share even in the depths of winter. This week I am particularly jealous of his Fuchsia microphylla which is a mass of pink flowers and his gorgeous pink camellia.

It is ages since I wrote anything here or joined in with the blogging world. We came back from France late in October to find lovely mild weather and a very overgrown, weedy garden. There was plenty of colour and my greenhouse was full of gorgeous nerines. I could go on about these beauties all day but I won’t as today I want to concentrate on the front garden. I have a lovely nerine collection though and several pots of seedlings, which should bloom in the next year or so, which will be exciting.

Thanks to my conscientious waterers, Paul and Julie, everything in the garden was thriving when I got back. Since then, I have been so busy taming the chaos and catching up with friends that I have had no time to write any posts.

Today I want to write about my front garden which is devoted to winter colour. At the moment it is the chrysanthemums which give a carnival feel. I had loads of different ones in my old garden and I took cuttings of all of them. Unfortunately not all of them took but the ones I have make a good show all along the hedge where they thrive despite their inhospitable position. In fact several of them have seeded about which never happened in my previous garden.

The pink chrysanthemum in the foreground is ‘Mavis Smith’, it is a strong grower and has lovely quill-like petals. I love ‘Jolie Rose’ too for its pink and white flowers.

I wouldn’t be without ‘Suffolk Pink’ which is a reliable stalwart.

For an even darker pink, ‘Cousin Joan’ is a winner.

‘Clara Curtis’ is an older variety which dates from 1929. It is not so vibrant as it is a soft pink. It may not be so exciting but it is always reliable.

Maybe all these pinks are not autumnal enough for you. Perhaps ‘Chrysanthemum ‘Apricot Greenheart’ is more seasonal. I have it growing through Salix Nancy Saunders’.

A new one last year is delighting me just now as it is an unusual shape and looks just like a firework. It is called Chrysanthemum ‘Burnt Orange’.

But my all time favourite is the gorgeous ‘Chelsea Physic Garden’. I think it looks great growing in front of the lovely brown bark of the tree Prunus serrula.

I wanted to plant some chrysanthemums in my French garden. Our nearest nursery grows their own bedding plants in spring. I was amazed and delighted when I went in October to see the huge greenhouse filled with hundreds of beautiful chrysanthemums. I asked the owner if they were hardy for the garden or more reliable in the greenhouse. He looked surprised by the question and said they were for neither garden or greenhouse; they were for the cemetery. He sells them for people to put on graves for All Saints Night and couldn’t imagine anyone planting chrysanthemums in the garden. So I didn’t buy any, I don’t want people to think I have bodies buried in the garden. But I think it is a dreadful waste growing these beautiful plants just for dead people.

When I got back from France in late October, two snowdrops were in bloom. Galanthus ‘Remember, Remember’ is usually in bloom for Bonfire Night. But Galanthus ‘Santa Claus’ should be waiting for Christmas. They have both been and gone now. And I can’t tell which is which. I usually know because one blooms in November and one in December. But if they both appear in October, then I am baffled.

Several hellebores have appeared rather earlier than expected. Helleborus niger is usually earlier but Helleborus orientalis hybrids don’t normally bloom in November.

I bought Clematis ‘Freckles’ last year and I am rather disappointed that now it is blooming, although it is a pretty colour, it hasn’t actually got any freckles at all.

Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis Rosea’ blooms on and off all winter and it is good to see it has already got going.

Saxifraga ‘Dancing Pixies’ was an impulse buy recently and I am glad I succumbed because it is a real charmer.

Here are a few views of the winter garden. My beloved Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ in the first picture is pushing up so many shoots that I am going to have a thicket of gorgeous scented flowers eventually.

I don’t know where the euphorbia came from, I don’t remember planting it. But I did plant the lovely dark Euphorbia x martini ‘Miner’s Merlot’.

Acer griseum is only two years old but it is coming on nicely.

Acer senkaki has lovely yellow leaves in autumn but when these fall off you get to enjoy the red stems all winter.

I will finish with my little iris which is blooming again in the gravel. It first bloomed in July this year. It was in a pot in my greenhouse with no label. I have asked so many horticulturalists now and nobody has any idea what it can be. It was surprising to find it flowering in July and even more to see it happily in bloom in late November.

So now I am back I am going to resolve to keep up with my blog better and to see what everyone else has been up to in their gardens. Wet November days are perfect for catching up with blogs.

This sport has appeared on my rose ‘Albrighton Rambler’. It is a David Austin rose named after the village where the rose nursery is situated. Not only has my little rose got an eccentric whirligig flower but the leaves are a paler green. I have never seen a rose quite like this. It doesn’t look anything like its parent.

The flowers on this little plant first appeared in early July, now here it is blooming again. I asked fellow bloggers for help identifying it. Nobody knew what it is although the general opinion is that it is a kind of iris. Somebody suggested Iris humilis as the closest match. That is a rare iris from Russia. I don’t know how a rare Russian iris could turn up in a pot in my greenhouse. But whatever it is and wherever it comes from I love it.