Advent Garden

Hello Hywel ..
lovely photos ...
especially that heather photo ...
one of your best-ever pics ;o)
I hope your tooth ache has gone.

Advent is a very special season, Hywel, and one of my favourites. Your plants look lovely - holly, ivy and berries. Just perfect!

Lovely pictures Hywel. I love to see all the shrubs with their winter berries on. I also love your new plant.

It is perfect Hywel. I love that your Plectranthus ciliatus is flowering for you. It does have lovely pea like flowering stems. Thank you for sharing your photos and your hopes of renewal as the seasons move on.

Thanks Hywel xxx

I like Bella's photo too. very artistic. :0)

Lovely Christmassy photos, and well done with the plant that doesn't flower! Rowan says to tell Bella she does very well at being a typical pussycat.

Perfect images to start the festive season Hywel. Quite nice that your Plectranthus has flowered for you. It must like that spot. I have that Euonymus - it's a very pretty one. There is also a green and cream one - I picked it up in B&Q last winter for 50p!

Hywel-I just love your plants with those gorgeous berries!! I will definately need to get some of those to brighten up my garden. Lovely, thank you for sharing them with us.

What a wonderful collection , Hwyel .
Lots happening in your neck of the woods !
Advent is a lovely season ; all about preparation .

Brilliant Hywel I like that Plectranthus Roy.

love the photos.... :-)

Thank you all for your comments :o)

TT & Pam - I'm pleased you like that particular photo. It took a lot of skill on Bella's part, to get her tail in exactly the right position ! ;o))) lol

TT - Yes thank you, my tooth is better now. I had a filling :o)

Steragram - Bella is happy to have that compliment from Rowan ... thank you :o)

Scottish - 50p ! That was a bargain :o)

Thank you all :o))

Lovely blog for Advent to cheer us Hywel super colour in your plants, well done Bella the Heather looks lovely through the mist of your tail fur! :o)

Lovely blog Hywel as usual. Love the Plectranthus, this is a new one on me, the leaves are a lovely colour :-))

Lovely Hywel... great pics....

Thank you all for reading my blog, and your comments :o)

Beautiful pictures Hywel and fancy proving the garden centre wrong and getting your Plectranthus to flower. They obviously dont know about your reputation and your green fingers :):)

Hi hywel I love the blue flower very nice :0)

Thank you both :o)

Some lovely winter colour in your garden Hywel, our Plectranthus flowered also, it was the hot summer apparently, they are right at the GC they hardly ever flower, and usually bought for their attractive leaves.....have you taken cuttings for next year?

Thank you Dottydaisy :o) I haven't taken cuttings yet. I will do soon ...

lovely festive colours Hywel. do you take the sedums inside for the winter?

I put the small ones in shelter but the one in the big stone pot stays where it is ...

Wonderful winter pictures Hywel, so much colour, I love to see the bright berries at this time of year and the colour on your sedums is beautiful.

Lovely to see so much colour at this time of the season! You did well to get your Plectranthus to flower! :-)) Do you know if it has a common name?

Thank you both :o)

I don't think it's got a common name Balcony. I do know however, that Plectranthus verticillatus is known as Sweedish Ivy.
I used to grow it and it flowered every year, although they were small and insignificant.
This species is different.

I really like your blog. To me, nothings says Christmas like red holly berries. They are wonderful in floral displays and centerpieces. Red berries in general are so beautiful.

Also, I'm looking for a low growing colorful ground cover and was very inspired by the Sedum spathulifolium. I wonder if that's my answer. Is it red like that all year? Does it flower?

Hi Bathgate ... thanks for your comment.
S. spathulifolium will grow in a rockery with well drained soil, or in a tub. Mine is in a tub, and it's quite hardy here. We sometimes get temperatures down to a few degrees below zero for a night or two in the winter, but it doesn't seem to be bothered by that.

If you get one, make sure it is Sedum spathulifolium 'purpureum'. It is a nice colour all year round, but will go paler in shade. The colour seems to intensify in cold weather too.
The other one - S. spathulifolium - is a silvery grey colour. Very pretty but it remains that colour all the time.

They do flower. They get little heads of starry yellow flowers in the summer, that contrast nicely with the foliage.

They are small plants, suitable for a tub or rockery really. I hope you can find one :o)

Thanks for your comment, very helpful. I thought the Sedum spathulifolium 'purpureum' would look nice around my Euonymus - Silver King, see pic,

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/282899-euonymus-silver-king-winter-interest/member/bathgate

It's in a hot dry sunny location, perfect for sedums. Aren't they relatively low maintenance plants? I want it to completely cover the ground around my three euonymus bushes which aren't very big at all.

It would look nice with that shrub :o)
Yes they are low maintenance.

thanks

How lovely to have so much colour still, I do like to see all the red berries glowing at this time of the year and you have some smashers there Hywel, do like your new Euonymus, might have to treat myself, lol.....

Thank you :o) I hope you can get the Euonymus. It is very pretty.

A lovely thought to put together a blog for Advent and what beautiful photos you found for it. I really like the 'dentist's plant' and the bright red berries with the ivy too.

Thank you :o)

Hello Hywel ... I'm playing 'catch-up' as usual ... nothing new there then! Fabulous red berries on your shrubs ... you brought back a childhood memory for me when I saw the Solanum capsicastrum plant ... my dear old Nan had one and when I visited once I decided to pull a berry off and roll it around my palm ... bad decision as my palm became very swollen and itchy! I blame it on being young and foolish at the time ... :o)

Thank you Shirley. I get behind with viewing too ... not enough time lol
I'm sorry to hear the berry didn't agree with you. Keep away from them ...

I shall Hywel ... :o)