in the garden and there was a *very* poor show, compared to most years.
This probably reflects the frosts we've had so far, much earlier than
we normally get them. The not-very-vast number of things in flower
was: Vinca oxyloba, Rosemarinus marenca, Mahonia bealei, Sarcococca
confusa and S. hookeriana, Camella Takanini and C. sasanqua Narumigata,
as well as the Camellia we think is 'Cherub'. The two latter are in
full bloom. There is also Correa backhousiana, Cestrum parquii,
Viburnum tinus, Lonicera purpusii, various Hellebores, Fuchsia
excorticata in bud, Jasminum nudiflorum, and with buds just about ready
to break, the fishtail Camellia Kingyoba-shiro-wabisuke.
And as a bonus (?!) 3 large badger scrapes towards the bottom of the garden!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

Well, I knew it wasn't going to be good, and it wasn't!

Although the paths were clear, last night there was still 2-3 inches
snow lying elsewhere. And last night added about another cm to re-cover
all the paths. The ponds have been frozen ever since the snow started.

The big surprise for me was several wallflowers.

Otherwise, it was the usual suspects:

Winter honeysuckle
Winter jasmine
Viburnum tinus
Viburnum bodnantense
Winter flowering chrry
Hamamelis - red
Hamamelis - yellow
Heather
Hebe - a big tall one with purple flower spikes
Primrose
Polyanthus
Viola
Brompton stock
A rather sad looking rose
An even sadder looking rudbeckia.

In the greenhouse (heated, but dropping to 30deg C regularly since the
cold weather started)

Butterwort
Scented pelargonium
Ordinary pink pelargonium
Jasmine - the indoor pinky white scented one
Linaria
Kleinia articulata
Mammillaria spinossissima
Mammillaria schiediana
--
Kay

On 1 Jan, 13:24, Sacha wrote:
in the garden and there was a *very* poor show, compared to most years.
*This probably reflects the frosts we've had so far, much earlier than
we normally get them. *The not-very-vast number of things in flower
was: Vinca oxyloba, Rosemarinus marenca, Mahonia bealei, Sarcococca
confusa and S. hookeriana, Camella Takanini and C. sasanqua Narumigata,
as well as the Camellia we think is 'Cherub'. *The two latter are in
full bloom. *There is also Correa backhousiana, Cestrum parquii,
Viburnum tinus, Lonicera purpusii, various Hellebores, *Fuchsia
excorticata in bud, Jasminum nudiflorum, and with buds just about ready
to break, the fishtail Camellia Kingyoba-shiro-wabisuke.
And as a bonus (?!) 3 large badger scrapes towards the bottom of the garden!
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

Well just come on from a search and all I and my little helper
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...Years%20flower...
can find are
A few red Hebe flowers, http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...Years%20flower...
A winter flowering heather, http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...Years%20flower...
1 Vinca Major flower http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...Years%20flower...
1 flower on our winter flowering Jasmin,
A lot of flower on an Abutilon in an Old Cold glass house with glass
missing http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...Years%20flower...
and a fuchsia that just has forgoten to fall off
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...Years%20flower...

David Hill

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 13:24:50 +0000, Sacha wrote:

in the garden and there was a *very* poor show, compared to most years.
This probably reflects the frosts we've had so far, much earlier than
we normally get them. The not-very-vast number of things in flower
was: Vinca oxyloba, Rosemarinus marenca, Mahonia bealei, Sarcococca
confusa and S. hookeriana, Camella Takanini and C. sasanqua Narumigata,
as well as the Camellia we think is 'Cherub'. The two latter are in
full bloom. There is also Correa backhousiana, Cestrum parquii,
Viburnum tinus, Lonicera purpusii, various Hellebores, Fuchsia
excorticata in bud, Jasminum nudiflorum, and with buds just about ready
to break, the fishtail Camellia Kingyoba-shiro-wabisuke.
And as a bonus (?!) 3 large badger scrapes towards the bottom of the garden!

I just went out to look. My garden is very small, but there's usually
something. All I can find is the first Schizostylis flower showing
colour. Or maybe it's the last. I had no flowers in the autumn.
Lots of buds on one camellia, but the other one is DEAD; no buds, no
leaves! My friend in Weymouth says she has bumble bees on the flowers
on her lonicera fragrantissima. Mine has no flowers at all.

Pam in Bristol

On 01/01/2010 13:24, Sacha wrote:
in the garden and there was a *very* poor show, compared to most years.
This probably reflects the frosts we've had so far,

Equally thin in SW London. Jasminum Nudiflorum, Coloured Primrose,
Chaenomeles-japonica , Viburnum Farreri, Viburnum Dawn, Iris
unguicularis. Daphne Bhoula and Helleborus Hybrida just showing colour.

Paul

--
CTC Right to Ride Rep. for Richmond upon Thames

Today has been a gloriously sunny day although a heavy frost was about
at 10:00am - give me a break it is New Years Day!

In flower:
Sarcococca confusa
Vinca minor
A small plant that was given to me without a label that looks like a
"harebell" perhaps a rockery campanula carpatica with a blue flower.
Several plants of Nemesia denticulata ‘Confetti’, which I understand
is supposed to be tender, but has done well through the last few
winters.
Viola
Primrose
Two very sad looking flowers on Rose 'Dawn'

In the greenhouse
Pelargoniums
Fushia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt'

Not much, but with the hard frosts we've recently had I'm surprised
what has held on.

There's plenty of promise for the coming months with the hellebores,
bulbs and wall flowers well advanced.

Happy New Year everyone and remember we're already 10 days into
shorter nights!

Steve
Small garden on clay in Bewdley, Worcestershire

In article , Sacha wrote:
in the garden and there was a *very* poor show, compared to most years.

Not as poor as here, but mine isn't really a winter garden. Viburnum
farreri, Chaenomeles x superba "Crimson and Gold" (both VERY tatty)
and some pansies in a pot bought for a party a month or two ago.
Indoors, Ipomoea indica in the conservatory and Phaelenopsis in the
kitchen.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Copied over from David Hill's thread:

The last few days have all but wiped out any lingering flowers on the
geraniums. However there is one small one hanging on under some foliage so
I'm goint to count it :-)
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/z...t/DSC00339.jpg
Three different Hebes, all bluish flowers.
One of them
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/z...t/DSC00341.jpg
A yellow rose which is looking sorry for itself.
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/z...t/DSC00340.jpg
A 'weed' (flower in the wrong place) with yellow dandelion-style flowers.
http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/z...t/DSC00338.jpg

Happy New Year!!!

Too early to draw any conclusions, but I'm getting a distinct
impression here ...

It seems that the 'down south' gardens are doing really quite badly.
Mine's bad, but in terms of numbers of species in flower, I think have
more than anyone except Sacha (and that's a large 'plantsman's' garden).
So, instead of what I was expecting - producing a pathetic list to put
alongside everyone else's long list of exotics - my garden is in fact
holding its own ;-)

... so - is it that this winter is a good deal colder than normal down
south, and therefore things have been hit quite badly? Whereas up here,
it's only marginally colder than normal, and we already plant for this
sort of weather, so we haven't been hit quite so badly?
--
Kay

On 2010-01-01 17:52:39 +0000, K said:

Too early to draw any conclusions, but I'm getting a distinct
impression here ...

It seems that the 'down south' gardens are doing really quite badly.
Mine's bad, but in terms of numbers of species in flower, I think have
more than anyone except Sacha (and that's a large 'plantsman's'
garden). So, instead of what I was expecting - producing a pathetic
list to put alongside everyone else's long list of exotics - my garden
is in fact holding its own ;-)

I think it's so interesting to see what's going on all over the place,
really. This is a 3 acre garden which to some is large and to others
is merely a starter plot! But what we have in flower in the garden now
are not 'plantsman's' plants, I think. Maybe the fishtail Camellia is
unusual but it's still a Camellia. Everything else is pretty standard
fare, I think. I haven't counted anything at all in the greenhouses,
btw, only planted in our own garden.

.. so - is it that this winter is a good deal colder than normal down
south, and therefore things have been hit quite badly? Whereas up here,
it's only marginally colder than normal, and we already plant for this
sort of weather, so we haven't been hit quite so badly?

I think that could well be the case. It's been a lot colder a lot earlier here.


--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

"K" wrote in message
...
Too early to draw any conclusions, but I'm getting a distinct impression
here ...

It seems that the 'down south' gardens are doing really quite badly.
Mine's bad, but in terms of numbers of species in flower, I think have
more than anyone except Sacha (and that's a large 'plantsman's' garden).
So, instead of what I was expecting - producing a pathetic list to put
alongside everyone else's long list of exotics - my garden is in fact
holding its own ;-)

.. so - is it that this winter is a good deal colder than normal down
south, and therefore things have been hit quite badly? Whereas up here,
it's only marginally colder than normal, and we already plant for this
sort of weather, so we haven't been hit quite so badly?

So far (since the middle of December) the winter has been far harder here
than usual.
Most years we don't see any snow, at least any settled snow.
Hard frosts are unusual as well.

The flower count in the garden reflects this a little (I would normally have
expected to count in a couple of Fuscias) but our garden is in a state of
flux at the moment and doesn't have much in the way of flowering plants
anyway - it is mainly shrubbery.

In article ,
David WE Roberts wrote:

"K" wrote in message
...

.. so - is it that this winter is a good deal colder than normal down
south, and therefore things have been hit quite badly? Whereas up here,
it's only marginally colder than normal, and we already plant for this
sort of weather, so we haven't been hit quite so badly?

So far (since the middle of December) the winter has been far harder here
than usual.
Most years we don't see any snow, at least any settled snow.
Hard frosts are unusual as well.

Not really. That's true only on a 10-15 year timescale. Even the
hardest winters of the past 10 years have been milder than average
for many of the decades before.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Sacha writes

I think it's so interesting to see what's going on all over the place,
really. This is a 3 acre garden which to some is large and to others is
merely a starter plot!

It all depends where you're looking at things from, doesn't it! Most
urban gardeners think I have a huge garden, but it's not even a quarter
of yours!

But what we have in flower in the garden now are not 'plantsman's'
plants, I think.

No indeed - think that's a bit what I'm getting at. My winter plants
are bog standard reliable winter flowerers, planted because we always
have a cold, damp, dark winter, and they are doing their normal stuff.
Other years, people have commented on all sorts of things which have
been in flower, and have produced long lists of things. This year, have
you been cut back to the basics? What are the things you would have
hoped would be in flower and which are not?

Maybe the fishtail Camellia is unusual but it's still a Camellia.
Everything else is pretty standard fare, I think.

There's degrees of standard! Rosemarinus marenca, Mahonia bealei, Correa
backhousiana, Cestrum parquii,Fuchsia excorticata are not quite as
standard as winter jasmine, Viburnum bodnantense, Prunus subhirtella.

I think that could well be the case. It's been a lot colder a lot earlier here.

We've had more snow than is usual this side of Christmas, but we have
certainly had December snow in several of the last 10 years. Frosts have
been getting later and later, but we still have seen the first frost
before Christmas each year. Although we have been going down to about
-6, that is not at all unusual, nor is it unusual for the ponds to be
frozen. What has been unusual is that the ponds have now been frozen
continuously for almost 3 weeks.
--
Kay

On 2010-01-02 16:33:12 +0000, K said:

Sacha writes

I think it's so interesting to see what's going on all over the place,
really. This is a 3 acre garden which to some is large and to others is
merely a starter plot!

It all depends where you're looking at things from, doesn't it! Most
urban gardeners think I have a huge garden, but it's not even a quarter
of yours!

Exactly. Yet again, let us remember Mrs Jekyll "No matter how small
your garden, you should set aside two acres as woodland". ;-) You
saw the garden where I lived before and that was probably the smallest
garden I've ever had but as I lived alone then, it suited me perfectly.
I think it was you who once made the very perceptive remark that one
has to be a LOT more careful about gardening in small gardens.
Mistakes - and weeds - are more noticeable than they are in big gardens.

But what we have in flower in the garden now are not 'plantsman's'
plants, I think.

No indeed - think that's a bit what I'm getting at. My winter plants
are bog standard reliable winter flowerers, planted because we always
have a cold, damp, dark winter, and they are doing their normal stuff.
Other years, people have commented on all sorts of things which have
been in flower, and have produced long lists of things. This year, have
you been cut back to the basics? What are the things you would have
hoped would be in flower and which are not?

I'd have expected the Chaenomeles to be in flower - the one on the
house wall. It was a week or so ago but now now. I'd have thought
more Fuchsias would have held on but am not at all sure all have
survived, even those down by the cedar tree, which are really fairly
sheltered as to canopy. Some of the Rhodies are usually in flower
about now and there isn't one showing at present. Even our Hamamelis
on the area where we park our cars is sulking, the Euryops look unhappy
(and they flower around 8 months in the year here) and even the Welsh
poppies bucked Ray's usual confidence in there being at least one in
flower in the garden every day of the year.

Maybe the fishtail Camellia is unusual but it's still a Camellia.
Everything else is pretty standard fare, I think.

There's degrees of standard! Rosemarinus marenca, Mahonia bealei,
Correa backhousiana, Cestrum parquii,Fuchsia excorticata are not quite
as standard as winter jasmine, Viburnum bodnantense, Prunus subhirtella.

Okay - standard down here, if you like. Plenty of people grow these
plants with the possible exception of that Fuchsia because it's not a
showy one. IOW, there's nothing in flower that would make
Devon-dwellers say "How unusual", if they know the plants at all.

I think that could well be the case. It's been a lot colder a lot earlier here.

We've had more snow than is usual this side of Christmas, but we have
certainly had December snow in several of the last 10 years. Frosts
have been getting later and later, but we still have seen the first
frost before Christmas each year. Although we have been going down to
about -6, that is not at all unusual, nor is it unusual for the ponds
to be frozen. What has been unusual is that the ponds have now been
frozen continuously for almost 3 weeks.

We rarely get snow right here anyway but frosts are more usual after
Christmas, so heaven knows what to expect, frankly! The ponds have ice
on them but usually, it melts during the day. The front of the house
has a bed borderinig the big lawn and the left hand corner of that is
the one that seems to get the most frost and again, today, it was
white. No wonder we lost the mimosas there last year!

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

wrote in message
...
In article ,
David WE Roberts wrote:

"K" wrote in message
...

.. so - is it that this winter is a good deal colder than normal down
south, and therefore things have been hit quite badly? Whereas up here,
it's only marginally colder than normal, and we already plant for this
sort of weather, so we haven't been hit quite so badly?

So far (since the middle of December) the winter has been far harder here
than usual.
Most years we don't see any snow, at least any settled snow.
Hard frosts are unusual as well.

Not really. That's true only on a 10-15 year timescale. Even the
hardest winters of the past 10 years have been milder than average
for many of the decades before.

I am reporting going back to 1984 :-)

We do have a very mild microclimate in this part of coastal Suffolk.
Even 10 miles inland has been very different.

This reminds me more of the winters in Essex in the 1960s, although they
were much more extreme.
I remember four foot and more snowdrifts in 1963/64.