Buds are a Bursting !

This week - a trip out to Attingham Park and the walled garden - scrutinising the updated boards for January - and looking at the tidy garden beginning to wake up.- the picture above shows the parsley beds and the bell cloches cover the rhubarb crowns




Click on to read in detail -







My large pot on the decking planted up with spring flowers is doing fine - violas and bulbs - not sure what so it will be a surprise later on




Seed catalogues are popping through the letter box with endless decisions to be made . for choice of vegetables and seeds to grow for 2012.

Tour around the garden - showed that the Witch Hazel is about to bloom, this will be its first year in the garden. Red Currant and White Magnolia are in bud - but I can't find my yellow Winter Jasmine - the Japonica is starting to flower with the promise of more buds - see pic above.



On the kitchen window sill, cuttings are doing well and streptocarpus have rooted well - see the roots in the brandy glass = purely water I must add! they will be potted up soon and kept in a warm place to get established.

General tidy up of houseplants this week - but I must say there is definitely a feel of Spring in the air

New Year Garden Round Up

A New Year Resolution for 2012 - was to attempt to keep a weekly update of gardening stuff - ie plants flowering in the garden - jobs done - jobs not done - success and failure -mainly because I tried to get this blog up and running last year but failed dismally - and also that my 9 year old grandson has given me a RHS Allotment Journal for Xmas - where there are blank pages for entries on a weekly basis - now A will be watching closely to see that I am making full use of this book - last year he bought me a very nice flower vase.

So here we go ....

A tour of the garden .. and lots of summer plants are still flowering due to the mild winter so far - strands of blue lobelia - pot marigolds - the erigion rock plant - to name but a few - and the bulbs are beginning to push through - including a small snowdrop flowering in a trough.

My header pic is of the Camellia Japonica - it is flowering well and is holding its own amongst the variegated holly.

A quick look in my green house - shock horror - signs of mould and decay on my scented jasmine - and lo and behold a small green caterpillar - who I must say was hastily removed outside - I tidied up the plant and now I will keep a watchful eye - it may mean making more room in the conservatory for this plant - now the Xmas tree is down.
Peering closer it seems a Streptocarpus has had a bad attack of mealy bug - so another casualty otherwise everything else seems ok.

Planted up some Amaryllis bulbs - Xmas presents - I love them - so does all my family - so this is a well favoured gift by all.

B has been busy in his greenhouse - but I do have some stuff in there as well - reason being it is bigger than mine my green house and I am afraid there is a bit of an overspill.

B has planted a few pack trays with Shallots - varieties called Golden Gourmet and a French Banana Shallot (mild flavour - pink flesh) they are not in the propagator just on the bench - also B has sown all the year round lettuce - they are on the bench and Ailsa Craig onions are in the propagator but with no heat .

Just for the record - B has had a disaster in the Allotment - the garlic just coming through has been lessened -due to enthusiastic winter digging.