Yes! my back is better. part 1

Im pleased your back is better, what a relief!
You’re really cracking on with your garden, the weather is being so kind. Is that a Fern in the forefront picture 1?

Haha, you don't know why you planted the A. mollis in the first place but its amazing if you only have a few to dig out now!! But the poor thing does certainly have its uses and its so pretty when the leaves get rained on and the flowers are pretty too.
Did your Helmond Pillar start off stay nice and slim? Mine has spread out rather laxly and half blown over in the winds so that will probably join yours on the scrap heap before long.
All your work is definitely paying off - do look after that poor back!

My A mollis has spread like wild fire. I know what you mean about those Berberis thorns, ouch

Yes Stera, it wasn't very pillar like, but I put that down to the fact I had grown it from a berry from 'hellmond Pillar'. the flowers were a pale lemony green and quite small and it never berried.
I guess I thought I'd keep the A, mollis deadheaded. I have a lovely Edwardian brooch of a leaf of A mollis with a pearl on it to simulate a rain drop.

Glad you're back in the garden - just don't overdo it

Glad your back in back...and here comes more snow. Enjoy it while you can. :)

No snow here yet and none forecast for the foreseeable future Paul. Hope you don't get too much.

LOl don't you get any snow at all? I can't be having all the fun.

we regularly do up in the mountain areas of Scotland and Wales and the higher peaks in England but we don't tend to get that much lower down these days Paul. As a child we always had snow Jan/March though not continuously. Easter is most likely to be snowy but with climate changes we either don't get any at all or very sharp snow storms. Britain really isn't geared up for snow so when we do get a good snowfall transport tends to grind to a halt.

As someone once said, "Every year we have snow, and every year we don't expect it"

I lived in Scotland until my late 20s, we always had snow in the 70s when I was young. Very, very rare these days..only seen in the Highlands of Scotland now, where they desperately want it for the sake of the skiing and snow sports.
Here in East Yorkshire like Eileen said, we haven’t had proper, if any snow, for a long time. ( fingers crossed 🤞)
Pleased your back is better, Eileen. Take it easy though.

Yes it is a fern Dawn, but cant remember which one, I do have its name somewhere. There are several ferns in this bed as it is in 50% shade most of the day.

Hi Eileen, glad your back is feeling better, and quite quickly, mine usually takes between 3 and 4 weeks to ease off, but that's due to a combination of arthritis and a herniated lumbar disc, nice to be back in the garden, with the current weather, lets hope it continues, Derek.

Pleased to hear the old back is functioning properly...don’t get carried away though.....you’re doing well with your gardening chores....

Yes the Fern is very different.
I didn’t realise the benefit of evergreen ferns until I got some, I really like them, something to look good through winter

Most of the ferns I have are evergreen and they give some nice winter interest, especially when rimed with frost.

There's nothing like that cool clean Canadian air. Ahh! it wakes the soul.

I'm so glad for you that your back is back to normal again, SBG!

I had an operation for a ruptured lumbar disc in Spain 20 years ago this year in June! I was in a lot of pain due to a trapped nerve in my lumber region for at least 10 years but when the disc ruptured & I had my operation a few weeks later I was much improved - to experience life without pain down my left leg again was like being over the Moon!

I seldom have pain these days but I have to be careful all the same as when I overexert myself on the balcony (or as I did when I had an allotment) my back starts to hurt & can take a week or two to get back to normal.

After the op I have been left with a stiff area in the lumbar region & so find it quite difficult to bend down. Having a balcony means that a lot of the time I don't have to & besides that there is no digging involved! :D

Your brooch sounds delightful Sbg, I love A. Mollis in the rain and planted one too with the intention of dead-heading but they have self seeded everywhere, even in the edges of the drive which actually looks okay. Our H.S. has a sale every May so I think some may wend their way there this year ;-)