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January 2026 - Cornus Midwinter Life

December 2025 - Clematis cirrhosa

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The Courageous Cerinthe

Regular readers will remember that last year I had the front and side garden of the house renovated. Old dead trees, the Knot Garden and a couple of sheds were removed to create more open space. This year has turned into a delight of discovery as plants have suddenly appeared especially in the gravel of the side garden. I have written previously about the field of verbascums that has appeared and the magnificent Burdock plant. The Burdock is still there, I feel I should remove it but something is holding me back. I will do it, I am sure I will do it...... This Cerinthe has popped up by one of the random rocks in the side garden. I have not sown any cerinthe for a few years and not any near here for a good couple of years. Yet here it is: not only growing, but flowering despite it being November. What has triggered the flowering I am not sure and I am quite frankly worried about it. I had wanted this plant to over Winter, flower next ...

Get stuffed

Yes it’s that time of year again. Suddenly the temperatures have dropped fast so action was needed. I was working from home and in between meetings I had to remember where I’d saved some straw from a delivery, grab it and run down the garden to pack the tree fern crowns. They need better packing, but this was quick - it will do for tonight. As expected the next day dawned frosty, and I do mean frosty. Last week the night temperatures were hitting between 8 and 11 degrees, this night it went down to -3. I could see the garden birds shivering as they pecked at the birdfeeders. I wondered if the bird seed was frozen solid so popped out to put some fresh onto the bird table just in case. The ground itself was frozen, it had that harder than hard feel to it. The frost silver-tipped the grass and the plants in the garden. The dahlias have their blackened frosted look and I will have to bring them under cover shortly in the vain hope of over-wintering ...

Proper Autumn

It feels like we are now in proper Autumn. We are past the stage of the odd flutter of leaves, we are now at the stage of serious denudement. As I set out on my usual walk I paused to admire this sight. This tree has shed so many leaves, and there they lie, creating a shadow of leaves on the ground like an Autumn comforter to keep the ground warm for as long as possible. The forecast has been quite mild so far but as I write this there is a forecast of frost on the horizon and even some sleet. This particular day it has been raining steadily for most of the day. The leaves are sodden and gleaming; shining as much as they can when there is a serious deficit of sun. There is a definite Autumnal smell in the air: it is a little bit damply, mushroomy and snaily. I think it ought to be an unpleasant smell yet it is not, it is the smell of the season and that makes it welcome and good. It is, I suppose, the smell of the start of decay. I a...

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