Since I arrived home from my visit to Washington I’ve had just one excursion into my soggy garden – almost afraid to find many plants ruined. Instead, the garden was slumbering gently…and displaying a few hopeful signs of plant life yet to come.
Seeing the first shoots of next year’s flowers is always exciting. Iris reticulata ‘Purple Hill’ is a bit early, but it’s reassuring to know the bulbs are alive!
My hellebores are growing fat buds that withstood the strong winds from the weekend, which nearly blew me away along with the garden furniture. Soon, they’ll be fully open, and more than ever before, I’m realising the value of hellebores in the garden this time of year.
Finally, here’s old faithful, the Cotoneaster, with its bright red berries – so beautiful when coated with frost or snow. The birds have stripped the plant in the front garden, and they’re now feasting on this one. I just hope they leave enough for a few icy photos in January.
Since there’s so little to photograph right now, and light & weather conditions aren’t great, I’ll leave you with a little wintery image instead, courtesy of Adobe Stock. What’s not to love about a winter shot of little Robin Redbreast, sitting high on a snow-covered branch, enjoying a flurry of snow.
I know that many of you will be busy right now, making final preparations for December and New Year celebrations, or planning what treasures to plant or sow in your garden for 2025. All that remains is to wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you have a happy holiday with those you love!
Catherine x
Notes From My Garden 
Thank you Catherine, and the same wishes to you – a very Merry Christmas with loved ones and a fabulous new gardening year ahead. 🤗
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Thank you, Cathy! Merry Christmas! x
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How lovely to see a post from you! Have yourself a very merry Christmas and a lovely year of gardening to come. Hopefully with more sun and less S&S 😘
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Merry Christmas, Jude! More sun would be wonderful along with fewer slugs and snails. Now that’s a brilliant garden wish for 2025!
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Wishing you a wonderful Christmas. For some reason, the only image I can see right now is the robin. The rest are just blocks of grey. Will have to check again later.
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Hi Laura I hope you’re still not having images missing from the post! I have no answer for that and hope that by now the problem has been resolved. I’ve asked some friends to check and they’re all seeing the images fine.
Best wishes to you for a Merry Christmas!
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I can see all of your lovely images now. Must have been a temporary issue.
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It’s so exciting to see new growth! Hellebore buds here but no open flowers as yet although I do have some snowdrops in flower. Wishing you joy and peace at Christmas Catherine and happy growing in 2025 🎄 xxx
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Hello Anna! I’m suddenly envious of your snowdrops! There’s no sign at all of snowdrops here. I hope that the bulbs haven’t been damaged by the really wet weather this year – which looks as though it’s going to continue through Christmas and into the New Year!
Have a wonderful Christmas and Best Wishes too, for 2025!
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What a nice surprise to see a post from you, I always look forward to your lovely photos. I hope you’ve had a wonderful time in Washington and a restful Christmas.
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Thank you Helen! I had a fabulous time in Washington (and Maryland too!). Christmas was busy, but happy, with visiting family, who left this morning.
Have a wonderful New Year and best wishes for 2025!
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