"Hop" to it

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Looking for a climber that grows at amazing speed?

Will be happy in shade or part shade?

Is happy with a bit of neglect as long as some support is in place?

Only needs a trim once a year, and no fancy pruning? 

Has plenty of bright green foliage and interesting scented flowers?
You have no ladder or no head for heights?

Humulus Lupulus (hop) does all that and more. 

Anglesey Abbey Gardens - Snowdrops

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Galanthus 'John Gray'

Weekend Eye Candy

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Helleborus orientalis

Grails

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The theme on the scarf board is "Grail Scarves". 

Scarf ring - Bolduc

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This week is scarf ring week on the scarf board. Far too wet for silks for me today today, so no action shot, just some eye candy and styling ideas for a better day.

I am charmed by how well the Bolduc scarf ring in gold works with my Grand Apparat.

Snuggling up .... Très Kelly

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Wasn't it crisp a few days ago? I thoroughly enjoyed the cold and sunny weather a few days ago.

It gave me an opportunity to swan around the house peruse seed catalogues and plan vegetable beds all cosy in a fur collar, a rare feast this winter.

As the collar has a fair bit of volume, I often fasten it with a twilly rather than a carré; a bit less bulk up front can be a good thing...

Weekend Eye Candy

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Sarcococca Confusa (Christmas or Sweet Box)

One step ahead of the game

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Whilst I am bracing myself for colder weather (yes, I needed those thermals again this morning), nature is still in Spring mode.

The leaves of quite a few tulips have started to emerge (yay to surviving rummaging squirrels) but unlike daffodil leaves, they are a magnet for snails.

The best of jobs

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Today was a lovely day that felt like Spring: a bit of sunshine, warm-ish, calm and dry underfoot.

Feeling horn-y

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Forgive me the misspelling but I really want to avoid any internet search engine leading people up the garden path.....

When I met up with some lovely scarf collectors in early December we had a quick browse of the shops. For once I was looking not for a scarf but for the Bolduc scarf ring (which I found) and some horn earrings (which I did not find).

I was offered the latest style, which has the base coated in gold leaf but found it a bit too chunky for my liking. Since I was headed for Paris anyway I few days later I decided to continue the hunt there.

Now sowing .... sweet peas

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Last summer's sweet peas were a runaway success. They kept flowering and if I had not needed the space to autumn plant garlic and onions, they would probably still be blooming.

In anticipation of a hard winter (which of course has not materialised so far), I have not done any autumn sowing. 

Going nuts

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The last few days have been dominated by domestic admin and a gradual return to gardening work, dodging showers and fitting work around family life. 

I have fruit tree pruning lined up but would prefer some cold and dry weather for this, I really dislike climbing ladders and wielding saws when the ground is all boggy. Things go squelch underfoot, the ladder sinks and leans, the grass takes a pounding, boots and gloves are a muddy mess, I guess I will procrastinate a little longer. 

Recycling (and keeping the critters at bay)

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Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading my blog, your comments and contributions are very welcome. I hope you are not expecting a recap of last year or some resolutions for the new year, as you won't find them here.

My contributions on the gardening side have been woefully absent of late; it is of course a seasonal thing and there are only so many melancholy shots are stark branches bereft of leaves I can stomach.....if there was a nice hoar frost, I'd be delighted and would rush to share the best pictures with you and but we have fine and mild weather with overnight rain, so the gardens look decidedly drab.

I did venture out for a spot of work today which included some recycling of the green kind.