Tag: Hellebores

Spring Gems and Woes

Published on by Catherine36 Comments

This year hasn’t been as successful for my spring bulbs as I had hoped.

Several small pots were knocked over, and the contents spilled out. A couple of others had the gravel topping and compost scooped out. I don’t think that’s the type of damage I can accuse the slugs and snails of carrying out.

The main suspect is the same grey squirrel that has eaten my rhododendron buds for the second year. This garden is possibly the best restaurant for local wildlife in our neighbourhood. But if I see that grey squirrel, I won’t be responsible for what I might be tempted to do.

But there’s another problem – not all bulbs planted in pots have appeared. In some cases, 50% are missing. The tops of the pots are undisturbed, and I’m left wondering if something else has been at work that has entered from beneath the pot. Perhaps covering the pots’ drainage holes with mesh might help? However, let’s get on with this week’s Six on Saturday.

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Winter into Spring

Published on by Catherine35 Comments

Six on Saturday

The transition of winter to spring is beginning and at last, bulbs in my garden are starting to bloom, adding little pops of colour to borders and containers. They’re a welcome sight.

Crocus. These fragile-looking little crocuses were quivering in the wind, but I have to tell you they were hardier than me, and it took a big bowl of hot soup to warm me up when I made it back indoors! Look how well these freshly emerged crocuses have held up against heavy rain and strong winds. Nature is amazing!

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Spring Countdown

Published on by Catherine36 Comments

If you follow the Meteorological calendar, you will only have 20 sleeps until Spring arrives – how exciting is that! But if you prefer the Astronomical calendar, you’ll have longer to wait. Your Spring will start on the 20th of March, mine on the 1st day of March. Come rain, hail or shine – that’s the day my Spring begins. I’m very, very impatient when it comes to leaving winter behind – I’m a meteorological kind of person. 20 sleeps until Spring! Happy days!

Six on Saturday

New Plants. Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Amber Jubilee’. I’m hoping this plant lives up to its glowing description that declares, “in Spring, the leaves will be a rich salmon-orange that mature to green”. There’s a rough idea rattling about in my head about where to place it, but all I hope is that it will add colour where it’s needed in early spring.

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Snowdrops and Hellebores

Published on by Catherine22 Comments

Six on Saturday

When Storm Jocelyn eased off mid-week I was quick to get into the garden to pull two of my garden chairs out of the shrubs (again) and try to capture a few photographs of snowdrops. The winds had eased, but they were still strong and blustery. I almost gave up. However, the forecast stated with great authority that the rain was only taking a few hours off, and we’d still have blustery, wet conditions for quite some time. It seemed like one of those now-or-never moments.

Snowdrops. I took multiple shots of this little clump of snowdrops in the garden, but not too many of them were successful enough to use. Light was at a premium, and achieving a fast enough shutter speed for wind conditions was difficult. Single result below.

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Dear Hellebore, don’t you know this is September?

Published on by Catherine24 Comments

It’s been a mixed week of weather again. We’ve had so much rain, blustery winds, a thunderstorm and just enough sun for everyone to get outdoors for short spells at a time. It’s been busy too. In this county, all schools were closed for three days due to a strike and I’m sure parents, grandparents and carers up and down the country must have been frantically trying to rearrange their week. My husband and I only had to reschedule two days though. Gardening was abandoned, but we still managed to spend time outdoors with the two grandchildren who were delighted to have this unexpected break from school.

I feel that we’re now settling into fairly normal Autumn weather patterns (though I’m seeing a couple of highs of 17C ahead), but in the garden, there is still some confusion among the plants. That of course brings me to the featured plant, the Hellebore.

But before going there, let’s take a look at the rest of this week’s selection for Six on Saturday.

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