Showing posts with label crocus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crocus. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A flurry of February flowers

Where has the sunny weather gone again? I don't mind the cold so much, it's the grey dampness that I find can put me off a spot of garden pottering.

So, in order to cheer up proceedings, here's a few shots of some flowers that were taken a week or so ago when the sun was visiting.


Crocuses - unknown variety/cultivar. They've been popping up in my garden since we moved here. These were hiding beneath a pile of leaves at the foot of the strawberry tree. They've found a sunny corner and seem very happy there.



Snowdrops - again, variety unknown. Nestling beneath the Winter Nellis pear tree, slightly too close to the chicken fence for comfort so these were swiftly relocated after I took the photo. My chickens do not distinguish between weeds and lovely naturalised winter flowers... And you can really see my muddy clay soil in this shot. In no time at all it will be covered in wild geraniums (Geranium robertiatum, pratense and mollis).



Nectarine blossom - 'Big Top'. My patio tree is still in its overwintering residence in the greenhouse but is beginning to develop a multitude of delicate pale pink buds. As the sun comes out, the petals begin to slowly unfurl. I won't be moving it out of the greenhouse for a while yet, so I have an old blusher brush at the ready to help along the pollination. I know I really should be doing it with a rabbit's tail tied to a stick to give it the authentic touch...



And lastly, our elegant and unassuming native primrose (with a little cyclamen coum tucked in there). This wasn't taken in my garden but is on a large raised bed fronting a museum in St Albans that I passed by this morning. I have just sown some primrose seeds in a tray, so am hopeful that I shall have some of my own to photograph next year.

What's brightening up your garden this grey February week?

Friday, December 21, 2012

Of cataclysms and croci, destruction and daffodils

So, we have reached the deadline of 21/12/2012 and it seems that the world is still turning. Hey ho, at least I can get this blog post written now. It seemed a bit pointless earlier today to spend what could have been my last hour writing a post if no-one would be around to actually read it.

Anyway, since planting a veritable plethora of bulbs in October and November I'd been checking everyday for signs of life. Absolutely nothing happened in the first few weeks so the checking sort of tailed off until I stopped looking altogether. And then suddenly this morning, I looked out and saw these:




The first two photos are daffodils (Cornish Gold, I think) and the last one is some kind of crocus. I planted 4 varieties but I won't know which this particular one is until it flowers. I could have labelled the pot when I planted them, but that would take a much more organised gardener than me. I usually rely on memory serving me well. Which it very often doesn't. Anyway, I was delighted to see it. Though the delight was slightly overshadowed by the possibility that the world would end before it had chance to flower and  that I'd perish in some epic and dramatic apocalyptic earthquake/flood/fire/brimstone event and would never know what crocus it was. In fact maybe I'd wasted £20 in September by forking out for a load of bulbs without first checking on the timing of end of the world forecasts. That's me all over though – rushing in with no long term plan...

But thankfully, it looks as though the Mayan calendar was just a bit too short, rather than being a prediction of the earth's final day. Happy Friday everyone!