I’ve gathered in all of my delicate pots and consigned them to the greenhouse, although further covering will be necessary as freezing temperatures continue. Winter is either a “holding “ operation at best or an unashamed rescue mission for me, with horticultural fleece, layers of newspaper and the like, always on hand in emergencies. A good surprise has been the Fatsia, blooming brilliantly in the cold sunshine and instead of bees, was covered in large flies enthusiastically digging into the unaccustomed bounty.
Cotoneaster berries are plentiful again this year, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t play host to a flock of fieldfares as we did a couple of years ago during which time they stripped every berry in the garden, leaving the local birds bereft and helpless in the onslaught.
The Winter Jasmine is providing a bit of a conundrum in that the specimen in the front garden has flowered and finished, yet the buds in the back garden have only just burst. Though looking on the bright side, at least the few remaining hardy bumblebees benefitted from the untimely blooms.
The “impossibly pink Hebe” (10th August 2011) is still flowering, even under the influence of several degrees of frost, but with no bees to benefit it is seen only by me, when I venture out coated, scarfed and gloved to feed the birds and to slip about on the already sodden lawn.
I’ve been reading about overwintering chilli plants and decided to give it a go. My use of chillies in cooking is rare but I do like to grow them, for their colour. This one has survived first in the greenhouse, then the conservatory and now on the kitchen windowsill. With luck I’ll be able to hang on to it next year - watch this space.
A post-script
This group of cyclamen reside beneath the front house wall, amongst gravel over black weed-suppressing membrane, they can receive little in sustenance and light but the odd one began to grow a few years ago and they have indeed prospered, although no flowers at this time of year, they do possess delicately patterned foliage.
