The Garden Community for Garden Lovers

A Cold Day In February.

louise1

By louise1

22 comments


It’s been a nice sunny afternoon so i decided to take the camera outside to show you how things are looking in my front garden.
It all looks quite drab really and the winter light levels don’t do much for the plants or the camera settings and …… the temperature is only 6 degrees :-(

I thought i’d show some of the plants flowering now and some which are looking at their worst …. they were fantastic through the year and in these cold months they get to take a bit of a rest …. i still like to look at them though !!!

Primula sibthorpii

Euphorbia ‘rubra’

Daphne odora Aureomarginata ready to burst open !

Crocus ‘Gypsy Girl’ …. got a few clumps of these.

Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ …. flowers all year !

All the numerous Alstromerias around the garden are coping with the temperatures admirably !

Chrysanthemum ‘Peterkin’ was sprouting new growth very soon after the flowers died back.

This is Verbena ‘Claret’, it flowered non stop until late autum and the foliage just stays put until flowering restarts !

Dianthus ‘Rose Joy’ provides a lovely grey-blue in the borders !

Heucherella …. this isn’t affected by the dreaded caterpillars that love my garden so much.

Euonymus ‘Blondy’

Various Penstemons are keeping their foliage too.

Sophora

Euphorbia ‘Mellifera’ putting up with the cold.

The Metrosiderous isn’t too chuffed either.

Scabiosa ‘Barocca’ was amazing in the summer, flowering until late autumn and its foliage caarries on !

Scabiosa ‘Vivid Violet’ has loads of foliage too.

Centaurea has loads of foliage and seems to be liked by the b****y caterpillars.

Pittosporum ‘Wendel Channon’ …. for TT, she asked me to show her a picture of this hedge a while ago.

2 Phormium ‘Bronze Baby’ and P. ‘Surfer’ inbetween them.

Thuja ‘Rheingold’

More blog posts by louise1

Previous post: My Favourite Nurseries Via The Internet

Next post: My Song Thrush !



Comments

 

You have some super plants Louise. The Euphorbia ‘rubra’ is very nice. I set some Crocus Ruby Giant in the Autumn after reading your blog around that time, not up yet though.

9 Feb, 2010

 

Lovely photos, gorgeous Heucherella.

9 Feb, 2010

 

Shows what good selection can do for year round interest. Your garden looks great, Louise - I particularly love the Euphorbia Rubra - and the Heucherella - and the Oh, I could go on and on - and I bet you're looking forward to the perfume from the Daphne.

9 Feb, 2010

 

Your plants do you justice Louise1.
They have come through even though we have had some terrible weather
still looking pretty good!!

I love your choice of plants, especially "Daphne" one of my favourite
Shrubs and Euphorbia "rubra" its outstanding!!

Thank you for Showing them to us, what a Treat!!

9 Feb, 2010

 

My Scabious 'Barocca' looks OK, as well. That's good, isn't it - we both liked that one. I hope your E, mellifera perks up again!

9 Feb, 2010

 

Yes indeed....what a treat.......That daphne is lovely and the euphorbia is a gorgeous colour.....xx

9 Feb, 2010

 

Lovely piccies, how old is the Daphne?

9 Feb, 2010

 

Lovely photos Louise, your poor Centaurea looking very sad, is it caterpillars? I thought it might be vine weevil.

9 Feb, 2010

 

Thanks everyone :-)

Dawn, the Ruby Giants are 'up' but the flower buds aren't showing yet, looks like they'll be a couple more weeks !

It's caterpillars Db, they rampage through the front and back gardens unfortunately. (they attack shrubs aswell as perennials)
GoY member Vicky identified it as caterpillar damage from the pictures of my Heuchera that i posted - her being a bit of a Heuchera expert 'n' all ;-)

Val, that Daphne has been there for about 3 years, it's about 18" high and the same wide ....... it's quite a slow grower :-(

10 Feb, 2010

 

Fascinating photos...and thanks for the Pittosporum pic...
encouraging to see how well the Penstemons are surviving..

10 Feb, 2010

 

Louise you have so many lovely plants that have come through all the bad weather really well, I have the Euphorbia Ruba and the Daphne Adora Both looking well but my Daphne is three years old and has never flowered yet. I also have Eunomynus , Pittospernum and, Phorminum and Yucca which have been badly hit and although I think they will recover they are looking very sorry for themselves, just hope we dont anymore severe weather!

10 Feb, 2010

 

lots of lovely plants louise and wont be long till they start to look good again, cant wait can you... :o))

10 Feb, 2010

mad
Mad
 

Plenty of things worth photographing Louise, and very little frost or cold damage. I think things here (Norfolk) have had a worse hammering than in Somerset by the look of your garden.
You do have some lovely and interesting plants. Lovely photos.

10 Feb, 2010

 

You have lots in your garden all doing well, may only be 6 where you are but its only 4 up in Blackpool.

10 Feb, 2010

 

TT, those Pittosporums (Wendel Channon) are doing really well, they seemed to grow about a foot in a year so this hedge that i've planted is coming along nicely :-)
And as for the Penstemons, they don't seem to be very affected by the winter at all :-)))))

Pansy, it's queer about your Daphne isn't it ? I wonder what the difference in growing conditions are ..... ?
Mine's in thin, poor, alkaline soil, in a south facing position.

San, i can't wait !!!

Mad, i think you get colder weather than here, don't you ? :-(
I was quite surprised at how well everything's come through this winter ..... i wouldn't have thought a lot of them could have survived but i put it down to the well drained soil ..... no wet feet to get rotted !

Clarice, it's 6 here today too but oh boy it feelsd SO much colder, must be a windchill factor making the difference :-((((((
(the birds have eaten loads today ..... just refilled the feeders for the 2nd time today ..... must be turning colder)

10 Feb, 2010

 

Your plants have done very well to come through this most severe winter, perhaps you are more sheltered than we are, I was surprised to see the Euphorbia mellifera, as it is a very tender plant.You do have a very good selection Louise.

14 Feb, 2010

 

Thanks Dd :-)

Yes, it is a sheltered part of the region 'and' the garden's fairly sheltered too.

That Euphorbia is gorgeous, i love it !!!
I have 2 either side of the front path.
Some of the older leaves look limp and floppy, but the rest are fine and the plants themselves are perfectly okay.
They are shooting up new stems everywhere which are unaffected too so i think they'll see through this winter okay, that'll be 2 cold winters, for this region, they've seen now :-/

15 Feb, 2010

 

Louise...your garden plants have held up quite amazingly through this long harsh winter.Lots of signs of spring too !

18 Feb, 2010

 

Bb, i'm quite surprised at how well some of them have fared, and yes, definately lots of spring signs :-)))))))

18 Feb, 2010

 

We have had a lot of damage but dont intend to prune just yet as hard frosts and bad weather still in the offing !

18 Feb, 2010

 

I've only really snipped here and there, i'm leaving the serious work another month now.

18 Feb, 2010

 

We too !

18 Feb, 2010

Add a comment

Featured on

Recent posts by louise1

Members who like this blog

  • Gardening with friends since
    14 Oct, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    10 Nov, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    25 Jan, 2010

  • Gardening with friends since
    9 Aug, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    26 Jun, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    22 Oct, 2008

  • uma
    Uma

    Gardening with friends since
    28 Oct, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    29 Aug, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    25 Jun, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    16 Feb, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    14 Aug, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    25 Aug, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    1 Apr, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    26 Apr, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    29 Mar, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    3 Nov, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    27 Oct, 2009

  • Gardening with friends since
    27 Sep, 2008

  • Gardening with friends since
    4 Apr, 2008