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We went out as we felt it was too gloomy to stay indoors!

:) x

Julia, we had done the grocery shopping, paid and were on our way to the lifts when the bulbs display stand caught my eye! £20 for this lot seemed too good to miss ... :o))

Oh Shirley those GC owners should be more careful with their display shelves!!!HaHa...Great selection you have there !

Summer brights collection:

15 Liatris Spicata 10 Freesia Single Yellow
4 Gladiolus grandiflorus Peter Pears 1 Dahlia Mignon Pink

Cut flower collecton:

10 Anemone coronaria Sylphide
1 Dahlia decorative Wittem
5 Gladiolus grandiflorus Passos
14 Ranunculus asiaticus Orange

Pink & Purple collection:

18 Liatris spicata 30 Oxalis deppei
10 Freesia single Blue
1 Lilium oriental El Capitan
10 Gladioli grandiflorus Purple Flora
30 Ranunculus asiaticus Pink
1 Phlox paniculataLaura

I hope these plants will encourage pollinators into my garden.

You sound a little more positive too. Only 3 degrees with thick cloud today so it's a 'stay indoors' day for me.

Janey, I am reading Carol Klein, 'Hortobiography' at the moment, very surprising reading of her younger days! I shall say no more.

I keep referring to Rachel de Thame, 'A flower garden for pollinators' as it has so much information on the insects, not just Bees, and the plants they are attracted to.

Your book from Jim sounds wonderful.

these are wonderful flowers. I only have 4 and they are lovely and always bring me joy too.

Crows 🐦‍⬛. 😂

There’s also lots of different species of parrots 🦜.

It’s actually considered a shrub. It can grow pretty tall, though.

The thickest trunk of any palm. Sorry!

Redwoods and Giant Sequoias have absolutely massive trunks.

We dodged another bullet, luckily.

It’s still extremely dry here and expecting more Santa Ana’s next week Monday. Ugh 😩! I don’t think we’ll have any rain in January. Very crazy! After February we don’t usually receive much rain.

Sounds like a good strategy.

Lovely Karen! It's from the same range as my Ice N Roses Early Rose, I bought in October. It's been full of buds and flowers since then. When the thick frosts came it hung it's head as it was frozen in its pot.
With the milder temps, up it came all buds and flowers intact.
Yours looks to be a deeper pink than mine. They really are worth having..

Wow you've done well Shirley, too cold here yet. Sounds like a very good idea, and these plans we make right now get us through the winter days. Are you enjoying your new garden book?
My son Jim sent me a lovely garden book too. It's all photos of paintings of gardens, very interesting and unusual.

Karen their warning chatter is so loud! In spring when Pops is about, off it'll start, but of course the Wren probably has nestlings, Pops is too old now to bother..:)

Keep warm and snug, we'll soon be through January.

Yes Karen, so full of bounce and joy. She had Cushings though, and after a year the treatment wasn't working.
Such characters! And such sidelong looks when they don't get their way, which isn't very often!
Oh Molly, she was a monkey wasn't she. 😏
I remember when we first brought Lottie home, she was so tiny and Poppy and Teddy washed her face. I'm sure she grew up thinking they were her mum and dad!
I was blessed to have her like you were with Molly..x

I am Shirley, thank you. It was her time bless her. She'd been so much fun over the years. I remember when she was quite young, the tree surgeon who had a JR himself, was throwing the ball for her and she caught it every time. Mmm he said clever little b----r isn't she..😁 and she was..

Wow! You have so many! They are all stunning. Mine gave me a lot of joy over Christmas. Now let me see…which do I like best? I think Gervase, especially with Krull!

Oh Janey..I remember when she came to you. Our Molly was the same age when she died of heart failure. They seem to use up their little tickers with all the chasing. JRTs leave us with so many joyful, funny memories. They are such unforgettable little characters. And I agree, it’s horrible at the end when all you do is worry and you know what’s coming. Molly was my nemesis as you know. She had the last laugh as she peed all over me when she passed away. I had to laugh at that, it was so much her way to get one over me right up to the end. I know she is with Grandpa now. He was very fond of her. Sending love x

Hi Shirley! Thank you for asking! I am definitely getting better but my head is still feeling like it’s full of cotton wool! I’ve just come in from the garden, but brrrr!

Yes! Very loud. They are great singers!

Oh Janey, this is very sad news for you. Take comfort in the fact you gave her a loving home for so many years.

Thanks Lindak, they are a source of amusement on the feeders at times!

Now that is exactly what happened here, in fact I thought it had rained overnight but it was simply the heavy mist. Much better today, cloudy but no wind blowing.

Janey, I have managed to do some gardening yesterday and this morning, chilly but no wind blowing. I am removing many Sedums, along with a huge Carex grass, and plan to plant pollinators in their place. My 'Wish-list' grows longer ... :o)

Thank you so much Hywel, yes they're very important and always there for us, no matter what. I couldn't have wished for a more loving companion especially when Ian passed away. Thank you again for your lovely message.

So sorry to hear about Lottie Janey, our pets are an important part of our lives and there's a big void after they leave us. It's good you have happy memories of your little friend.
Deepest sympathy to you x

Thank you Balc. That was an awful loss for you, in one year. No they're always remembered aren't they? We had five dogs in total, Lottie living the longest, and such a close companion..

Hi Janey, sorry to hear about the death of Lottie. I can sympathise with you because in one year we lost 4 of our 5 doggies. Like Lottie we had had them for about 14 years as well. They were all born in our flat in Spain & they came to England when they were 7 years old & died 7 years later.

The house became progressively quieter as they began to pass away. But another 15+ years have passed since their deaths but you never really forget them, do you?

One day all the parks will be on a reclaimed water system. It’s happening slowly.

Thank you so much Ff, you're right she had a long life, well lived. Yes, I've so many photos of her and she's asleep now. It'll take a while to adapt, but I'm not worrying about her now...

So sorry to hear of your loss Janey. I know how much you will miss her, they leave a big hole. However when they have lived to a good age like Lottie, that is a consolation, no- one can ask for more. Cherish your happy memories of her, and all your photos, I’m sure you’ve plenty of those.
Thinking of you.👍

Thank you both, yes she'll always be with me. It's strange, she always seemed to be a puppy dog, probably with being very small. I remember when she was 13 some children asking me why she had such short legs, was it because she had to grow yet? They couldn't believe she was quite a lot older than them..
I miss her very much. Thanks Julia and Sbg for your kind messages..

I clicked 'like' as I know what a lovely dog Lottie was. She was a very old lady at 14+.
I enjoyed reading about her antics over the years. You will miss her.

That it sad at anytime of the year Janey but especially at Xmas...Will take a long time to get over after 14 years .So sorryx

It's been the same here Shirley and Balc, then today the thickest frost again BUT we are in the third week of January...yay! The crocus are already poking through..😁

Sorry for the late replies.
Balc, they are so gentle aren't they and nicely marked with their black collars. Yes you know when they're around, coo cooking, lovely birds..☺️

That's exciting Karen, don't they have a really loud chatter! There's one that lives right down the garden here and I spring I can sometimes see it and definitely hear it!

I do not know how far south the fly for winter.
What is tho most common bird is San Diego, Delonix?

Thank you

I haven't been out on the balcony because we had a very damp day. Though the mist couldn’t be seen everything was wetter than if it had rained!

Looks like an interesting tree, Andy!

Even the California Redwoods??? They cut a road through one many, many years ago!

Lovely that you get the Goldfinches visiting Shirley.

Lindak, great photo.

Rose, they're down here in my garden! We daily see Goldfinches, Tits of many varieties, Pigeons, Collared Doves and sometimes a Robin. I'm sure it's the Sunflower hearts that attracts them to the feeders. Luckily the Pigeons are too big and clumsy for the feeders ... :o)

Hi Kate, I've only just come across your blog this evening. Sorry to hear about your colleague's passing away & the others that are retiring. Hope you were able to find some time to enjoy a couple of days rest around Christmas. If yoga & zumba help you to relax then go for them. It's important, for you & your patients, that you look after yourself as well. What would they do if you fell ill because of stress?

A little gardening also helps to reduce stress so don't leave it, even if you can't do all that you would like to do.

Looking forward to your occasional visits. :)