January 18th ... promising signs in the garden.

I see you have lots going on in your garden, Shirley! A few buds & one or two open flowers can lift the spirits of anyone at this time of the year! 👍😀

Nice to see Shirley , January is gloomy even when sunny for me . However garden needs to sleep too. Your garden looking well though, we generally lose a few thigs each year but more space for upcoming . I Wish I lived near Beach

Julia, despite the sun shining, that thick ice from the bird bath is just the same today.

David, that is so very true!

Paul, I never take it for granted living on the coast. I learnt to swim in the sea at our local beach ... these days I wouldn't go near the water ... too many reports of dirty water.

You have a lot of new growth there Shirley and now I must go around our gardens to see what is waking up!
It does give us some hope, doesn't it that spring will be here before we know it!
I am not expecting the very mild February though that we had last year.

Lovely to see your garden looking so good in this bad weather Shirley :)

Shirley I bet you were very pleased as you walked around your garden. There are some real signs of spring out there. Lovely buds on your hellebores and pretty clusters of bulbs. It WAS a cold start to the day but then it warmed up quite nicely but is oh so cold again tonight.
Hope you can soon go on your outing.

Spring is certainly coming early to your garden Shirley! You've so many plants making a move, my Hellebore flower buds are not liking these very low temps now..:((
Keep warm and snug and safe..

Lots of positive signs there Shirley! Your hellebores are looking fabulous! I cannot see any buds on mine! Lovely colours. Enjoy their opening display :)

Hi Shirley, gosh didn't it change suddenly since my last blog, I'm not surprised you didn't go to the garden centre, I wouldn't have gone either, we've had a full week of very hard frost here but no snow, even though its bitterly cold I still prefer it to all those wet days, I can breathe better now, we'll soon be out there again or in our g'houses starting all over again, busy happy days are coming and already its lighter longer, I always feel better when that happens....I enjoyed seeing the colour returning to your garden Shirley, it seems to be about at the same stage as mine, the drop in temp might have stopped us but it hasn't stopped our garden plants, sadly in the g'house I have lost all my pelargoniums, geraniums and other cuttings that I was growing but like you I can do more....Take care now..xx

It's a shame Lincs that you lost all your Geranium & Pelargonium cuttings! 😪 I also lost most of mine but fortunately I have a few still alive in the mini-greenhouse on the balcony as well as some plants growing on the windowsills of the kitchen & bedroom!

Spring is coming! That's what the gardens seem to be saying! I have some Crocuses in pots on top of the balcony railings which I expect to see flowering in a few weeks time. The Daffodils in the troughs on the balc0ong railings are growing & the other pots on the balcony floor with Daffodils & hyacinths are also showing above soil!

Rose, yesterday evening I felt it was much lighter at 5pm than a couple of days earlier, or was that me just being optimistic!

Thanks Hywel, it's been a milder day today, blue sky and sunshine but still too chilly for gardening.

Chris, we need to get a move on 'cos that garden bird feeding station offer runs out soon!

Janey, I hope your Hellebores get a move on for you! It was nice enough to g to a farmers market in Arundel today ... hooray!

A jh, thank you for commenting on this blog. Nice to see you on GoY again!

Sue, this flippin' weather has caused so many traffic problems in this area and to top it all, a burst water main spread water, soon turned to ice, across a busy road. So glad I don't have to be at work any more.

It's good to know your breathing is easier, just exhausting for you when it's hard to breathe.

Yesterday I dropped the little thermometer I keep in the greenhouse, an old one that was my Mums, so I can't even tell how cold it is in there until I get another.

It's disheartening to lose all the cuttings, but hey, we're gardeners, so we'll just keep calm and carry on!

David, I look forward to seeing some photos of your balcony plants soon!

Another lovely blog! Lots of things to see emerging, Shirley. Big juicy hellebore buds too! I love the feature you've made with your glheron and the carex grass...very effective!
Hoping you took care out there on that lovely beach of yours!

Maybe you Shirley! lol
It's still dark at 4.30pm here yet.

Ha, ha, Rose ... wishful thinking on my part!

Kate, that little area was once a pond, but it became too much hard work to keep it looking good so we drained it and planted the grass. The Heron was a gift from son and daughter-in-law a few years ago.

I did wonder, Shirley, it does look like you've reworked the area effectively! Looks really good!

David I'm pleased some of yours are okay, I can't take any indoors as the smell sets off hay fever in my daughter and hubby, strangely my youngest daughter has some that have survived outside, she has them tucked in close against the house between the fence and gazebo, she lives one road away at the back of us and her garden faces the same way as ours, the ones she had taken into her shed/greenhouse at the bottom of the garden all died as well.....

Shirley that is my attitude as well, I refuse to let it get me down....

Thanks Kate ... with hindsight the pond was always going to be in the wrong place ... :o((

I might venture out at some point today,to see if anything is appearing in my garden,now the snow and ice has finally gone,after a milder night.
Your plants are so much further on down South,but I guess we will catch up soon,hopefully !
So on a positive note,it's something to look forward to ,eventually. :o)

Sandra, I wrapped up warm and went out for an hour, currently de-frosting myself as it's so very cold out there! It was a real treat to wake up and see green grass, rather than frosty white, but it's definitely not warm enough to be out for long. The Sedums look really tatty though as they have withered in the frosts ... if we get above 7 or 8 degrees soon I shall get out there and chop their heads off!