This is the journal of my endeavours to grow a range of fruit, veg and flowers from seed, grow organically, and my attempts to create a personal paradise with 1/2 acre of maintained gardens and 1/2 acre wild meadows. Northern Ireland's average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. Soil type: Clay

Sunday, 22 January 2012

The Winter Garden

There's a fair bit of interest in the Winter Garden this month...

The snowdrops are coming up, some just pushing through whilst others are at the flowering stage.
Above: A clump of crocus more advanced than other crocus bulbs, which are just pushing through. 
A variegated holly brings colour to a border.
The Corylus Avellana Contorta, also known as Harry Lauder's Walking Stick or corkscrew hazel, brings interest in Winter. (I prefer it in Winter than in Summer.)
A variegated ivy flower head. 
The red stemmed dogwood - one of my favourite Winter shrubs. (It's not very interesting in Summer but makes up for it in Winter!)
Kale Curly Scarlet looks lovely in the Winter sun. 
More snowdrops amongst the trees. A Winter favourite!

I'm toying with the idea of changing my blog name to Northern Ireland Garden Diary, just in case you notice the name change at the top. Not sure why, but I fancy a change in 2012.
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16 comments:

  1. Jo22 January 2012 at 11:24

    There's certainly a lot of interest in your winter garden. The corkscrew hazel is wonderful. I don't have any spring bulbs flowering yet, you're way ahead.

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  2. Mark Willis22 January 2012 at 11:54

    Looks like you have had a decent bit of sunshine, Kelli. Your photo of the Crocus with the line of raindrops along it is really nice. My Crocuses are just beginning to show a tiny bit of colour. I must be the only gardener in the UK that doesn't have any Snowdrops - which is a mistake!

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  3. Egretta Wells blog22 January 2012 at 13:52

    I like your new blog name. Your winter garden is very interesting, especially that corkscrew hazel. But my favorite is the Snowdrops, which we don't have here is South Florida. That Kale is really pretty, too.

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  4. Martyn22 January 2012 at 13:54

    Your picture of Corylus Avellana Contorta reminds me of the shrub we used to have. It's now growing on the plot as "straighta" and gets coppiced for pea sticks and the like. I'm sure our spring flowers are a little behind yours. We have one crocus trying to flower in the front garden.

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  5. Rainy Day Gardener22 January 2012 at 14:11

    Like everyone else, I'm quite taken with the corkscrew hazel. What a great winter piece! I'm really missing snowdrops. Such a delicate and cheerful winter bulb! The red stemmed dogwood is vivid in winter! I like both names of your blog..so you can't go wrong ;) Cheers, Jenni

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  6. Janet22 January 2012 at 14:22

    I love the simplicity of a bunch of snowdrops. Even better in a drift if there's the space!

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  7. HolleyGarden22 January 2012 at 16:36

    Beautiful pics of your winter (early spring?) garden. Loved them all. You've got some great shrubs!

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  8. ann22 January 2012 at 18:15

    You have such color and interest in your winter garden.Your new title suits the blog well. I will keep visiting. Have a good week.

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  9. Sue Garrett23 January 2012 at 02:30

    I'm glad I got my snowdrop photo in just before you as your clump makes my little clump look very meagre. I agree about the corkscrew hazel - ours looked a but messy in summer which is why it ended up at the allotment - our garden wasn't really big enough to allow it to stay!

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  10. Karin / Southern Meadows23 January 2012 at 03:50

    You do have lots going on in your winter garden. I love the color of the dogwood; reminds me of the coral bark maple. The corkscrew hazel is fabulous! Every winter when I see photos of snowdrops I always think next year I need to plant some in my garden and then I always forget. I must make a note of it because they are so lovely!

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  11. Cally24 January 2012 at 12:48

    Hi Kelli, Thanks for your comment on my blog. I like to see the nice bits of the garden and pretend the other bits aren't there. Your garden looks to be at least a few weeks ahead of ours here, it's lovely to see that you have crocus coming already - mine are hiding. I'm glad you posted the dogwood photo because I really need to remember to cut mine back - I always procrastinate until it's a bit too late.

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  12. Crystal24 January 2012 at 14:15

    Wow, you've got crocus in flower already. Mine are still asleep, or maybe the mice have eaten them.

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  13. Annie25 January 2012 at 04:21

    Fabulous photos, I love your back drop to your blog.

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  14. Malar25 January 2012 at 18:33

    Those are pretty winter plants! I like the snow drop!

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  15. RobinL29 January 2012 at 17:27

    Kelli, how lucky you are to be having spring already! We are having a mild winter, but still have a long time to go before we get any flowers. Do me a favor, and make a note of my new blog address. My old one was deleted due to someone else's fraud. Grrrr! http://lifeinrobinsnest.blogspot.com/

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  16. Malay-Kadazan girl1 February 2012 at 03:48

    Like the crocus picture the most! Don't have much flower in our mid-summer garden. Looking at your lovely bloom makes me feel a lot cooler and refreshing.

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