Last blog of the year :o)

42 comments

I thought I’d take a look back at the year I’ve had in my garden, to remind myself how it went ….. because it all seems so very far away now,
and my memory isn’t very good.
(well, hopeless actually !)

It started last February, with the late winter flowering bulbs …

And then later on, I bought this little alpine Saxifrage :-

But try as I might, I have not been able to find what species it is :o(
However, it’s doing well in one of the shelters, and I hope it will give a nice show of flowers again this spring :o)

March and April saw some more flowering alpines and rockery plants
(I didn’t think I had so many)

Here, are just a few of them …

Also in April I had lots of flowers on my Clematis macropetala, which I was pleased with because it hasn’t done very well for a long time :-

And this is a lovely spring flowering shrub – Prunus triloba :-

As spring progressed, the garden started to look more alive than it had been for many months :o)

And in May the perennials started to come into bloom :o))

And the garden became more colourful all the time …

I rearranged some of the slabs, in order to make it easier for me to get in between the plants, to cut them back etc …

But I’m not satisfied with the result, so more work and thought needs to go into it next spring.
(And they’re still waiting to be cleaned lol …)

In the summer there was some lovely weather, and we enjoyed many afternoons and evenings in the warm sunshine :o)

In the last photo you can see I was constructing a simple shelter for my Fuchsias :o)
And they flowered well this summer too …

And so did my cacti …

I enjoyed one afternoon, watching these little insects hovering from one cactus flower to another :o)

It was fascinating to watch them …

Here’s one of my favourite summer flowering shrubs …
It’s a Hibiscus that I brought from my father’s garden several years ago :-

It was plastered with flowers this summer :o)

As the nights started to draw in, my garden was looking rather full :o)

My Clematises seemed to have gone overboard, and grew totally out of control ….

And I had a bumper crop of Blackberries :o)

They are in the freezer until I find enough enthusiasm to make something with them :o(((

I thought my garden had become rather overgrown by autumn,
but maybe it wasn’t that bad really :-

Bella seemed to enjoy it however overgrown it was :o)

Lots of berries provided food for the birds …

Except that not many birds come into my garden, so most of the berries are still there …

Now, at the end of the year, the garden looks a bit bedraggled,
but the cycle is starting again, because the spring bulbs are coming up already :-

And there are flowers on my Jasmine and Viburnums :-

Hare are some last frosty views from 2014 …

I wish you all a happy new year :o)
and here’s to a good gardening season to come for us all.

BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA ! … from Hywel x

30 Dec, 2014
25 likes

Comments

Pamg

Oh I'm longing for spring now Hywel, your beautiful photos show what to look forwards too, a light at the end of a cold dark tunnel

I love your garden Hywel, I'm not one for manicured lawns and straight rows.....yours is a tapestry in every season, thanks for sharing xxx

30 Dec, 2014

Dawnsaunt

Lovely Hywel, enjoyed your blog. I always say how amazed I am at the amount of flowers you have in your garden, love it and Happy New Year to you too and looking forward to seeing your garden in 2015.

30 Dec, 2014

Marjories

Love your garden both Spring & Summer it really is very colourful.
Happy New Year Hywel.
Roll on Spring.
Best wishes
Marjorie

30 Dec, 2014

Jaykaty

Lovely photos of your beautiful garden through the year Hywel, you have such a wonderful variety of plants and they all look so healthy. I love all the bright colours of your cactus flowers.

Happy New Year to you (and Bella) and best wishes for 2015.

30 Dec, 2014

Steragram

Always enjoy your blogs Hywel and this one going through the whole year is lovely. I didn't know that Prunus - on the wish list!
A very happy new Year to all three of you. Has Bella got het winter coat on now? Ro develops a huge ruff in winter and looks like a cross between a powder puff and a small lion!

30 Dec, 2014

Dottydaisy2

Hywel I wish you all a wonderful New Year, and many thanks for all your really lovely blogs, you have some some beautiful flowers, and it is always a delight to read your blogs........CHEERS!!

30 Dec, 2014

Gee19

What a lovely stroll around your garden, all seasons rolled into one and I've kept warm and cosy seeing it all. Thanks, Hywel, your garden looks good in all the seasons. Happy New year :)

30 Dec, 2014

Seaburngirl

you have a wonderful garden Hywel and the views are spectacular. I always admire your plantings. Shame you don't get many birds but your beautiful puss will the reason, she is very good at hiding in the shrubbery. But just look on the bright side you get to appreciate the berries instead.
All the best for 2015 :o)

30 Dec, 2014

Klahanie

Good reflection on the last year in your garden Hywel. Lovely photos. Have a wonderful New year and all the best to all of you in years to come.

30 Dec, 2014

Steragram

Hywel will be please there aren't many birds SBG, he's got a thing about them.

30 Dec, 2014

Rose1949

Hello Hywel ! Happy New Year to you and yours !
I love the calender of your garden ! I hope we get an early spring !

30 Dec, 2014

Janey

Here's wishing you a wonderful year ahead Hywel! You have some stunning plants in your garden, those Clems are beautiful, and the shrub with the red berries, is it a cotoneaster or viburnum? I'd love one like it.

30 Dec, 2014

Lincslass

Thats a smashing reminder of your garden through the year Hywel and it has done you proud, of course with a bit of help from you obviously, lol, I have always been amazed at the amount and selection you grow, everything seems to thrive as seen in your lovely photo's..
Had a chuckle at your comment about cleaning your slabs, I never got around to staining my sheds and fencing either but like a boy scout "I am prepared "as the green stain is already in the shed..
Thankyou for keeping me company through the year and allowing me into your lovely garden,( yes I am still envious of your view) lets hope for many more years to come.

Best Wishes to Beryl and a stroke for the lovely Bella, may 2015 be good to us all..
Happy New Year Hywel XX.

30 Dec, 2014

Paulspatch

So e nice cheerful pictures for this bleak time of year!

30 Dec, 2014

Hywel

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

Steragram yes Bella has a thick mane ... She's like a Norwegian Forest Cat.
The 'thing' about birds is a phobia lol I've had it many years. Don't know why :)

Janey the shrub with red berries is Cotoneaster cornubia. It is really a little standard tree.

30 Dec, 2014

Drc726

Happy New Year Hywel. Only a few weeks now and the garden will start to wake up.

30 Dec, 2014

Neellan

Beautiful round up of a year in your lovely garden Hywel Blwyddyn Newydd Dda to you both x x and =^..^= xx

30 Dec, 2014

Lindak

A very Happy New Year Hywel. This is a lovely reminder of the year and your garden is so full of interest and colour. LOVELY!

31 Dec, 2014

Sandra

Happy new year Hywel...and to all at grows on you..xx

31 Dec, 2014

Terratoonie

Hywel ... Blwyddyn Newydd Dda !!! x x x

31 Dec, 2014

Cinderella

Fabulous photos Hywel, and I think your last layout change has matured very well. Gorgeous pictures of all your lovely flowers. Happy New Year.

31 Dec, 2014

Johnjoe

Happy new year to you Hywel. I sure enjoyed your blog, so many shrubs and flowers that would keep you busy all year round. All your photos were fantastic, my favourite was the one showing the whole garden so full of plants just wonderful. I hope you enjoy 2015 as much as you seem to have enjoyed 2014

31 Dec, 2014

Hywel

Thank you all :)

31 Dec, 2014

Janey

Thanks Hywel.....it is one I've been reading about, such a beauty. I'm thinking of buying two, for the height as I want backdrop behind the greenhouse. Not as a tree though, trained against the wall, so that most of the growth will be in it's height......:)).

31 Dec, 2014

Feverfew

Happy New Year Hywel. Loved your blog. What a lovely lot of different Clematis you have. I bet you're really pleased with the C. macropetala, such a lovely blue & delicate
shaped flowers. Lots of colour all the year round. Thanks for sharing it all with us.

1 Jan, 2015

Davids

Thanks for sharing pics of your plants and lovely garden; most of the plants pictured are my favourites and I love the pics of your garden seen in the context of the hills beyond.

I still have a lot of pruning and tidying to do, and it's lovely to spot primroses and hellebores starting to bloom,
and buds swelling on clematis and flower buds showing colour in the evergreen clematis.

I'm harvesting leeks for stews and soup and my potted chillie plants in the conservatory are still ripening small hot fruits; I picked some earlier to dry and grind for storing. As they are still ripening on the plant I still use them fresh; I shall pick some this evening to use in a king prawn curry.

Best wishes for a good gardening year. David

2 Jan, 2015

Waddy

Happy New Year to you too Hywel. I hope you continue to enjoy your garden in 2015. Your blog has reminded me just what we have to look forward to again this year.

2 Jan, 2015

Hywel

Thank you all :)

I hope you enjoyed your curry David :)

2 Jan, 2015

Kidsgran

Happy New Year Hywel keep your blogs and pictures coming in 2015 ! they are always enjoyable .

3 Jan, 2015

Hywel

Thank you :)

3 Jan, 2015

Bloomer

Oops,I seemed to have missed this Hywel..but I can only echo all the other lovely comments..It has been a delight to browse through,and remind me of just what a lovely garden,and selection of plants and flowers you had,last year..I just know it will be just as beautiful this year too..Happy New Year ..xxx

4 Jan, 2015

Hywel

Thank you Sandra lol better late than never :D
It's such a busy time though, it isn't possible to get round to seeing everything.

4 Jan, 2015

Bloomer

I agree,Hywel,but you don't often slip through the net..given how much time I spend on here :o) xx

5 Jan, 2015

Melchisedec

I'm late too, Hywel. We have had a busy few weeks!

I loved reading your blog - beautiful things to look back on and look forward to.

The tree man has just arrived here. He is taking the contorted willow down by about a third . We get it done every 5 years or so, but just before Christmas a large branch came down so it's getting the chop today. I always feel a bit sad to see it in its shortened state, but it soon shoots away again. I'm having some other bits and pieces tidied up as well and I expect to be inspired by the changes!

I hope the weather stays reasonably kind for you, and wish you and Beryl a very happy New Year.

5 Jan, 2015

Hywel

Thank you ...
I hope your tree grows back better than ever :)

5 Jan, 2015

Melchisedec

Thanks Hywel. I like to think it's feeling relieved - there was a lot of ivy growing up it, and it's now been removed or cut through, so the old tree should be able to breathe better now! ?

5 Jan, 2015

Hywel

That's good :)

5 Jan, 2015