Groundhog Day - again

kitchen window daffs

February has started with washing-flapping, door-banging, rubbish-flying wind - and sunshine for the morning of Candlemas/Groundhog Day. Supposedly this is a bad sign for weather watchers, meaning there's six weeks of cold wintriness before Spring really appears.

early daffs battered by wind

good to have more to follow

It doesn't seem believable today though as Spring seems well advanced already -   snowdrops starting to take over the rockery, daffodils in flower (I'm sure this is the earliest I've seen that!), crocuses, polyanthus, even a single grape hyacinth encouraged by the oddly mild winter...

and sheltering in the greenhouse I found a really early anemone in flower. This normally stays in a pot outside but as it was already in bud I moved it inside a couple of weeks ago when we had a short spell of snow and frosts.

Flowers everywhere...

 It seems at the moment that more flowers are blossoming every day, and the daffodils and tulips are dying back without being noticed.

White bells and honesty full the lawn borders...











the clematis montana is now covering the back fence with flower ...

and lilac will soon be flowering to hide the shed














even the practical plants are looking beautiful - the second apple tree is blossoming..

rhubarb looks like an exotic decorative leaf



the tiny flowers of the blueberries are now setting and berries starting to form

 the american land cress is staring to fill the veg patch with bright yellow flowers






and strawberries edge the path












I'm very pleased to see anemones again this year - I think it's the first time corms have grown and flowered for a second year.



It seems a little early for aquilegias but the first few are just opening their buds

 and these alliums will be ready to pop open any day

May in the garden - flowers

 At the moment,the garden is divided into two colours - white around the lawn where the whitebells dominate the flower beds  and the blue of forget me nots taking over the vegetable patch - but almost every inch has flower of some sort...

Very pleased to see these two new anemones in flower.

potted rhododendron

Cherry tree in flower

bluebells under the trees

last of the huge red Appeldoorn tulips

kerria japonica

the first couple of aquilegias in flower - soon the garden will be full of them

welsh poppy

pansies

...and at the back of the garden my 'secret' bench seems almost taken over by honesty and clematis

 and very near to flowering ; lilac, peony, lily of the valley and laburnum

Winter Solstice

 For midwinter, today was a mild day. I spent some time this morning pottering about to and from the shed, planting daffodil and tulip bulbs and anemone corms that I bought amazingly cheaply this week. Some I've planted into pots for hopefully some early Spring flowers in the house, the others are out in the garden.

Looking around, I was surprised how much colour is still around - the house walls are covered in jasmine and cotoneaster.

More polyanthus are coming into flower

 Unfortunately, the birds seem fond of this pink one and have nibbled most of it away.

 And there are still summer 'leftovers' - an oriental poppy with two buds, orange welsh poppies in flower and the black hollyhock is still going strong.

As I'm typing this up, late at night, I can hear birds twittering in the pyracantha at the front of the house, sounding as if they're nesting already. Surely that's not possible?