New Year’s Day

Published on by Catherine

Six on Saturday

New Year’s Day found me in the greenhouse potting on Erysimums, or wallflowers as otherwise known, that I bought last October as ‘jumbo’ seedlings. They’ve been sitting outside in 10cm pots since then, but by December, their roots were poking through the bottoms. I still hadn’t found a spot for them in the garden, so repotting them was at the top of my to-do list for the new year.

There are four plants each of ‘Fire King, ‘Ruby Gem’ and ‘Vulcan’. It didn’t take too long and I was pleased with my New Year’s Day achievement. With plenty of added drainage in the pots, they were shifted back outside before they got too comfy in the dry greenhouse.

Erysimum ‘Fire King’ gets a welcome touch of sunshine
Wallflowers now in larger pots

After lunch, I took the camera out and photographed some new shoots, including this pot of Muscari ‘Mountain Lady’ which was abandoned after flowering last year. I’m surprised it’s coped with abandonment considering it was unlikely that it had any water during the heat spell early last summer while we were away. I’ll add some fresh compost to it and hope that it flowers.

Muscari ‘Mountain Lady’

Narcissus ‘Tete Boucle’ is also putting in an appearance, ahead of any other varieties. These bulbs were also tucked away in an almost forgotten spot in the garden at the end of flowering last year. I should be more diligent!

Also abandoned was this Narcissus ‘Tete Boucle’

This Hydrangea has many stems sporting new growth. Is that normal for this time of the year? I can’t say I’ve noticed it in previous years.

New Hydrangea growth

Preparing for Spring. The Choisya ternata prepares to put on its usual highly perfumed show of flowers. The leaves also have an aromatic fragrance, though to be truthful, I haven’t ever been aware of any fragrance from them.

Choisya ternata
Getting ready to reveal its perfumed blooms

Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’ and E. Miner’s Merlot are purple-leaf versions of the Wood Spurge. Both were introduced to the garden last autumn and even without the lime green flowers that will arrive in late spring, they’re eye-catching. I hope they’ll look good among the potted tulips because that’s their intended role in the garden!

Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’
Euphorbia ‘Miner’s Merlot’ – fabulous foliage

The new shoots around the garden lifted my spirits after such a horribly long period of wind and heavy rain and that feeling has stayed with me all week. Who can argue that working in a garden doesn’t elevate a person’s mood! I’m delighted to report that here, the weather’s taken a turn for the better and Wednesday through Friday was dry & pleasant with spells of sunshine (I sound like a weather forecaster) and good enough for me and my husband to take our grandchildren to the beach and play park on Thursday afternoon then on a Bug Hunt at our area’s small nature reserve yesterday. They found only a snail – but had great fun. The forecast for the coming week is colder but looks hopeful with loads of sunshine and low winds! That’s enough to keep me smiling!

Big thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations for hosting Six on Saturday. If you want to find out more or join in, pop over to Jim’s blog!

Happy weekend to you all! 

Catherine 😊

29 thoughts on “New Year’s Day”

    1. Thanks for that info on the Hydrangea, Graeme. We had a heavy frost last night and if I get my paths cleared of black ice (slippy stuff!!) I can check the buds out tomorrow.

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  8. Is it surprising that the choisya leaves are not fragrant to you? It’s the same scent as the flowers, but you have to crush the leaves or cut them with shears to smell it. Love the Euphorbia ‘Miner’s Merlot’ colors !

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    1. I didn’t know that about the Choisya leaves, Fred! That’s another thing to check out tomorrow after my husband clears the paths of ice! The Euphorbia was bought on the strength of its colour – I love it too.

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  9. Beautiful photos as usual. Your blog is such a delight. I know what you mean about all the rain and wind, just seeing the sun today cheered me up no end and I was happy to pop out into the garden for a few minutes to see what was going on. All the spring bulbs are popping up so I can’t wait to see them all flower (hopefully). And I must look for ‘Miner’s Merlot.’ I do like a drop of red!

    Don’t you go slipping on those icy paths Catherine!

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    1. Thank you, Jude. Happy to hear that you’ve had sunshine too – I hope you get more good days to pull you out into the garden – or onto one of those lovely walks you have nearby.

      Thanks for the icy paths warning! Although it was 3 years ago, that slip still lives with me. I’ve resigned myself to staying indoors until we get some more salt (hopefully tomorrow) for the paths.

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  10. Oh, very nice with the Wallflowers and the Euphorbia! And the spring bulb plants are looking very happy and healthy and ready to bolt soon, too. I must wait a few weeks for that in my Midwestern U.S. garden. We haven’t had much snow, though, so I’ve been able to see their new growth coming under the leaf mulch. The new year’s growing season has begun!

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    1. Isn’t it strange how excited we all get when little shoots start to push through the soil? A few of my non-gardening friends think I’m slightly eccentric when I start to ramble on about new growth in the garden . Oh, they have no idea what they’re missing! 😁 I expect you’ll get some snow before too long, Beth. (Is that a good thing?) In the meantime keep watching for those bulbs!

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  11. So many new shoots with the promise of lots more flowers, how wonderful. Doesn’t the sunshine make a difference, we haven’t seen much of it lately. Take care on your ice!

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    1. Long may the sunshine continue for us all, Pauline. I’m currently staying indoors until we get some more salt for the path. They’re small paths, but treacherous right now.

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    1. We’ve had too many weeks of watching the rain battering off our windows. I hope the remainder of January is going to be an improvement. I hope you’ve not been hit with floods or snow where you are.

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  13. Very uplifting to see those new shoots Catherine! And I love those Euphorbias and can’t wait to see new growth on mine. We have a bit of a wait here though, so especially nice to see yours. 😃

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    1. I have Euphorbia seedlings popping up all over the borders (not from the two featured here). Pulling them out will be a project to be tackled in the next few weeks. I hope your Euphorbias start to grow before too long.

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