Not deeply meaningful

As it is that time of the year I thought I would wish everyone all that they wish for, within reason of course, over next 12 months.

 

I don’t make resolutions but despite that I will of course end next year thinner, better off, less lazy with a garden that looks glorious all year, an allotment heaving with the most perfect produce, I could go on but those flying pigs are a little off-putting.

 

Happy New Year!

What a difference a day makes…….

I was accused yesterday of not blogging for ages & being a lazy trollop…………………yes, ‘and the point is’ as that very annoying little phrase goes!
I could have blogged about being a domestic goddess & making jams & chutneys or steeping magical ingredients in vodka for delectable Christmas pressies but I couldn’t possibly reveal all that hard work, where would my lazy trollop street cred be?


                  

I have also been extremely busy thinking about biscuits, & that is very taxing work I can assure you, particularly the extensive road tests I have to carry out at great personal expense & risk.
So, instead of all that I will show you the before & after pictures of the effect of all that exciting snow yesterday on my garden.


 


Dramatic or what!  Well it is for suburban SW London in December! The sad thing is that once the snow had started to fall I found myself singing Christmas songs. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

What’s occurring?

At last the weather has brightened a little so yesterday I was able to get out into the garden & do a bit of overdue tidying.

The Patient Gardener has been bemoaning the fact that things have just been too miserable to get out & do much constructive & even I was beginning to feel a bit frustrated at not being able to do anything much! At last I got round to sweeping the front path of leaves so I didn’t get sued by the milkman when he slips with his semi-skimmed. I had actually given him a teeny little walkway through the middle of the leaves but there is no point sweeping until they have all come off the tree now is there. I did a few more bits of sweeping & trimming & then this morning I had a little wander round to see what had been happening in my absence on the other side of the glass.

The camellias have got huge buds on them, a hellebore is flowering its socks off, primulas are starting to flower but all blooms are being nibbled by slugs & snails which must be on cloud nine with this wet & relatively mild weather, the viburnum tinus is starting to flower as is the Fargesia nitida.

Mine began flowering last year so I kept cutting out the flowering shoots & fed it up & we survived one more season so I will try the same this time & just hope we can pull through the crisis. The sparrows & starlings have virtually eaten all the seeds from the cordyline. I was glad to add something new to the menu here: I mean the birds only have sunflower hearts, niger seeds, fat balls, peanuts & mealworms.

It is cheering to see the seed heads of the Iris foetidissima glowing in my woodland (1 silver birch!). Should I scrub its bark for the best winter show – probably not! Bulbs are beginning to peak through in various parts of the garden: the iris reticulata are poking through the gravel in my (fairly) newly planted sink which I did after seeing some lovely examples at the Wisley Flower Show. The obvious gap is a hosta just in case you were wondering.

As for Christmas which is apparently looming, well the tree has been bought & will sit in a bucket outside until the weekend before the big day. The cake has been made. Victoria made me feel quite inadequate.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have bought a few presents, including a few for myself, but that is it! It is only Christmas after all……….

What does Santa like to do in his garden?

Hoe Hoe Hoe!

Well, I thought I would try to get a bit festive. I'm sure things will change rapidly once our very own christmas nazi is home from University next week: "Ooooh, I'm so excited mum. Have you got the tree yet? Have you ordered the turkey?" And that was about 2 weeks ago!

Another joke.........Precipitation was falling from the sky one winters day in a Communist state far far away. A couple were arguing fiercely about whether it was rain or snow. "Ah" said the wife "there's comrade Rudolph, we should ask him if this is rain or snow.  Comrade Rudolph, please tell us, is this rain or snow falling from the sky?" After Comrade Rudolph had carefully considered the situation he settled the argument. "There you are" said the husband" Rudolph the red knows rain dear!"

Oh well, it made me smirk!