Two more flowering plants are noticeable in January, gorse and mahonia, which are extremely yellow and shine forth wonderfully out of the gloom at this time of year.
These are quite exotic compared to primroses, witch hazel and winter jasmine (and later on don’t forget daffodils, celandines and dandelions).
Yellow is a popular colour because it is attractive to insects in an attempt to entice them to visit and pollinate these flowers, but how many pollinating insects are there around in the beginning of January?
My father always said gorse only flowered in the kissing season, but it seems to me that gorse is always in flower… and we certainly kiss all year round!
Watching nature while walking 