Winter Interest in my garden - part 1 - Coloured leaves.

That was all rather awe inspiring! I planted up an area of my garden a few years ago so that the new leaves would all come through red - they did and they clashed! but yours look like they will be lovely together.

That is a great blog love the different textures as well as the depth of colour.

How could anyone fall asleep through one of your blogs Spritz? Your garden never ceases to amaze me just how varied and delightful it is in all the seasons!

Always enjoy a trip around your garden Spritz.......

Your garden looks great and very interesting, I love it! Thank you for sharing!

Oh, Spritzhenry, how could fall asleep looking at these pictures?
They are so beautiful and interesting ..
The choice of plants certainly makes it pleasant to walk in your garden even in winter, the colors alternate and catching the eye.
Truly a beautiful work, expect to see more photos.

Thank you all - what lovely comments! :-)

fall asleep? on the contrary they woke me up. they are lovely. cant decide which is my favourite.
looking forward to the next installment.

Lovely blog Spritz..favourites are the beautiful Heucheras ! We could have made a good contribution to your yellow section when our skimmia leaves turned yellow ! Had two feeds of tomato food to restore them to green ! Lol

My ones I potted up out of last year's containers tried that - they got a dose of Sequestrene, Ray! Funny thing - the ones in the soil are perfectly OK...now why should that be?

Dont know Spritz,but ours is near the pond and not potted up.After a couple of feeds recovered their green !

Good. :-)

A real winter treat of colour Spritz...no chance of falling asleep....far too beautiful.
Thoroughly enjoyed it all...you have obviously put a lot of effort into finding colourful plants and it makes me realise how drab our northern gardens can be at this time of year though :<<((

A lovely Blog Spritz that shows the winter foliage in its full glory.The photos of the frost- tinged plants are really superb.

I remember your blogs last year, and I was hoping you'd make another little series for this winter. Thank you :o)

Lovely photos Spritz :-)
When i see these pictures i realise how guilty i am of taking these plants for granted in my own garden :-/

lovely colours barbara, love the heucheras, i have a couple this year to,also i have lamium beacon silver which really stands out, very pretty,and convuvulas is pretty to, have that, but all the plants look lovely, enjoyed the whole blog :o))

Leaf colours are so important in winter when there are less flowers around. We have a few gorgeous ones which do add to the joys of living. I look forward to the next installment.

I spend most of the winter warming my toes in front of the woodburner but this would tempt even me outside for a closer look. Your garden is so well-balanced and full of ideas, Spritz. Smashing!!!

Thanks for doing another this year as i really enjoyed looking at it.

lots of colours in your garden...........love the first pic with the frosted leaves its lovely...........

I like the photo too, Holly - but not the shivering that goes with the frost! Brrrrrr..

Thanks everyone for reading my blog without dozing off! LOL.

I love Heuchera too and have those same varieties in my garden. You always have colour with them despite what the rest of the garden is doing. :o)

Sandra x

Definitely! :-))

Why would we doze off ? It's an interesting blog.
It's easy to say winter is dull and boring but beauty is always there. Sometimes you have to look for it, and you've found it for us :o)

Lovely blog it just goes to show you can have winter colour.I love the heuchera I have some myself.

Thanks, Hywel and Mavis. Watch out for part 2, now! :-)

waiting with baited breath :o))))))

Oooh--errr, Sbg - I hope you're not trying to hold it! You have to breathe, you know! LOL.

gasp gasp ok i will breathe normally :o)

Phew! I don't want you to forget to exhale - could be dangerous, you know!

thats where i'm going wrong then. I remember a teacher saying it was also called expiration and i thought that was like expire, as in die. I was really confused for weeks. i was 8 i think at the time :o( but ok now :o)

I'm glad to hear it! LOL.

What a lovely aray of colour Spritz... and as for purple i thought you had a Pittospurum 'Tom Thumb'? that would defo count for true violet.... really enjoyed this blog, i must get out into my own garden and have a look, i too have planted new winter interest this year... just not had time to appreciate it as yet lol

great blog Spritz, it just shows how much pleasure a winter garden can give (when it stops raining!)

We look forward to the next episode!

I want to come work in your garden Barbara..can I please...I could do what ever you ask. Your garden is so inspiring..year round!

Yes, Cat - there's still lots to do, as long as you have an umbrella! lol.

Thanks, Angie, R'smum and Cat too - there will be more episodes! :-)))

Cat, you can go and work in Spritz's garden but your not moving in next door! I am. Lol

I wish, Ian! :-)))))

Lol :~))

Barbara I took a picture of the North Cascades yesterday..I sent it to GOY for you...it is in my pictures...I have a good rain hat..next time I am over..I will come and see you! You would need a parka if you were here visiting today..it is 26 degrees farenheight, no wind yet thankfully..or it would be around 10!

Ian.. :- P Was my idea first to help Barbara.. lol... and I am trying to get her to come and visit me.

Look at the picture please....Barbara... :)

Still awake! It's not warm enough to fall asleep!
Lovely pics, & cheating's allowed when the plants are so lovely!

Thanks, Marie! Did you see episode 2? That's for people who didn't doze off. LOL.

Cat - I did!!! :-D

Just saw it! Didn't doze off, I had an unexpected visitor! And its not really polite to sit typing & reading blogs when someone's talking to you! :~((
You did what? Doze off? Lol!!

NOOOOO......I looked at her beautiful mountain photo!!!!!

Come to think of it, I could do with a doze, Marie. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

LMAO, Spritz!!

Didn't, though. LOL.

I just woke up an hour ago! I was at work from 3pm yesterday til 10am today, & only had 2 hours' sleep tho! I'm off again in half an hour to take 2 su's to the panto!! Oh yes I am! :~)D~~~~~~

Oh, no you're not! LOL. (Had to say it, didn't I!) Have fun. :-)))))))

It wasnt really a panto! None of the booing or cheering, no audience participation or involvement at all!

What a shame! That's not the same at all, Marie. Oh no it isn't!

Oh no it wasnt!!

:-(((((

The guys loved it tho! One of them wants to see it again!!

Can't have been all bad, then!

For what it was, it was really well done! Funny, & the music was good!
I think the disappointment came because everyone was expecting a traditional panto!! The critics blasted it!!

Well, that's something - who cares what the critics say anyway?

True! As long as the audience like it!! :~))

LOL. That's the way to look at it, Marie! :-)

:~)))

Great variety of winter colours in your garden, Spritz! Loved the plants you chose to show us! That first photo of the frost rimmed leaves looks really fantastic! All the plants on my balcony almost looked that way this morning & will probably look that way tomorrow as we are forecast -3ºC or -4ºC tonight I just hope my Fuchsias can cope with such low temps. The worst part of it is that it has come at the start of winter not like last year when it came near the end, in Feb. The plants were all fully dormant then but after our warm autumn this year they hadn't begun to hibernate.

I have done all I can to help my plants survive but I hadn't anticipated this terrible cold spell before Christmas.

No - you're right! I just hope that it doesn't mean a long, hard winter. It was the long period of very low temperatures that killed so many plants, wasn't it!

This year is especially hard on plants & animals as we had an unusually long, warm autumn so neither plants or animals are as prepared for it as other years. With the proper preparation they can pull through without too much trouble. I wonder if this isn't just another facet of climate warming. We have been warned by climate scientists to expect greater extremes of weather. Perhaps our long, fairly mild, wet winters are coming to an end but who knows what we will end up with?