Twelve months ago when I started these pages I
would have been surprised if anyone came back for a second look. Now one
year on I am amazed to find some of those early surfers (sufferers) are still with
me and have become good friends. I debated in December whether or not to
continue after one year, feeling that a year was about the level of
interest to be found in a small garden. I suppose that would be true if
our gardens remained static, but of course they never do, change comes
with or without our help. I just hope that I can create enough changes
this year to keep this site interesting.
Due to web space limitations I have to remove
last year month by month to make room for this years content. I hope at
some point to have more space and perhaps reinstate those earlier pages.
Brrrr cold early morning when I took this
photograph of a frosted black bamboo. Notice that there is no cold
damage to the leaves. Many people think of bamboo as being tender, but
many varieties are fully hardy in Northern England. The main thing to be
aware of when planting bamboo is that some types are very very invasive.
Make sure you get the clump forming ones or grow the spreaders in
contained areas. They spread by means of sharp pointed leaders at or
just below ground level and these will easily pierce any flexible pond
liner they come into contact with.
More frost, this time giving a new quality to
the metal of my sundial. It will be quite a few weeks before the sun
rises high enough for me to check the time, not that it ever gives an
accurate reading.
Looking like something from another planet, my
Euphorbia mellifera is certainly from another zone and looks decidedly
unhappy in our winter temperatures. The leaves do recover from this
state when the temperature rises back above freezing, but only just.
This strange looking creature is what is
commonly referred to as a Duck Potato. It is the over wintering stage of
the arrow leaved pond plant Sagittaria. It very kindly reproduces
itself by developing these corms late in the year, many of which float to
the surface ready to be scooped out and potted up as gifts to new pond
owners.