December’s decorations are usually green and red, and the poinsettia is no exception.
These poor plants have been fooled into thinking it’s a different time of year, as they respond to light and heat.
Even though I don’t get any for my house, I enjoy looking at them for sale in garden centres and markets.
Autumn doesn’t signal the end of flowers, some plants come into their own at this time of year.
One of them is the ivy, which is starting to produce intricately beautiful flower buds.
And alongside the nettle is still flowering away, not to be outclassed in fine green flora.
We focus so much on flowers when spring starts to happen, we forget one important colour that is the mainstay of new growth.
It requires you to adjust the way you look at nature, and concentrate on the background colour that supports and highlights flowers.
Dog mercury in flower, lords and ladies leaves, flower-less bluebell shards, wild carrot fronds, fresh young nettles and an exploding elderberry!
Wakehurst Place provides many wonderful plants to explore and discover.
I think the first two pictures are the flowers of the strawberry tree. We have one in our garden, but there are practically no flowers on it yet.
The third picture confuses me, as it’s neither willow or witch hazel. I particularly like these little furry yellow stars on bare twigs. Does anybody have any idea what it is?
Colour is most welcome after a long and drawn out winter like we’ve just had, and can look its best in a bit of sunshine.
These new growth stems from the dogwood and willow glow in the sunlight, and be picked out from quite a long distance.
These leaves with their red veins caught my eye. Sometimes the foliage of a plant is more interesting that its flower, and is grown purely for that purpose.
My father’s garden manages to have a lot more growing in it, in spite of the cold weather.
It is in Brighton on the south coast of Sussex, and has lots of tall trees to provide protection, so it’s not surprising some things are flourishing.
He is particularly proud of his camellias, as he has a very chalky, alkaline soil, so has to grow them in pots. This is the same for his rhododendrons (which weren’t out yet).
It’s always worth having a poke around to see what’s happening, as there’s always a nice surprise waiting to be discovered, just like these hyacinths, periwinkles and forget me nots.
I had such fun photographing hellebores in my parents’ garden today!
This morning it was raining, miserable, damp and depressing.
But what caught my eye was the raindrops glistening on the tiny icicles formed from the tip of the red robin bush leaves.
There were lots of these little diamond like jewels catching the morning light all over the plants in my front garden, enough to brighten my day.
One plant has been continuously flowering since I began this blog on New Year’s Day, and probably way before that.
Our elephants’ ears, the most common form of bergenia, provide a cheery splash of pink in the middle of our garden, and also in my neighbours’ gardens too!
In spite of its name, which refers to its leaves, it’s the flower we notice more, especially in dreary, dank days.
Watching nature while walking 