Not much to see

My garden does not have much to commend it at this time of year, but I compensate with plenty of birds. Goldcrests have been plentiful; tiny, tiny bodies buzzing about like feathered bees; they come more for the insects and the cover where they can hunt without danger, rather than exposed feeders where cats may lie in wait.
Immortal Sweet Peas
I’m running an experiment at the moment. The sweet peas I planted as usual in the spring from seeds raised under glass, produced about half-a-dozen blooms, certainly no more, something that hasn’t happened before. Oddly in view of the many hard frosts and, in general, the cold weather, they are still growing. I’m reluctant to hoik them out as they now provide a happy green and productive hunting ground for the wrens and bluetits that forage for sheltering and over wintering insects, and I am interested to discover just how long they last! The purists would have their destruction no doubt but they show no signs of disease; quite the opposite.
Required Reading
I am currently re-reading Christopher Lloyds Exotic Planting for Adventurous Gardeners, since I’m looking for inspiration from all available avenues and he was my ultimate ideas man and I hope one of these days to own all his books – unfortunately I don’t share his regard for Dahlias but there’s plenty more besides.
Dahlias
I got hold of a couple of freebie Dahlias in the spring and they are currently over wintering in a dark shed. I imagine they’ll survive since the things you don’t particularly favour always do. They are relatively easy to propagate and I can just imagine, a few years down the line, given my reluctance to chuck anything, a collection of unwanted Dahlias born of the two freebies of this summer. I think I’ll call them Dahlia Don’t Like and Dahlia Done With and what do y’know – here they are…..