Yesterday it was an unexpectedly but very welcome sunny day. And of course Dolly Daisy made the most of it by taking a snooze in the sun in the conservatory. If you want to know what the best place in the house is, look where the kittycat is having a nap. ;-)
The same applies to outdoor spaces. As soon as the sun appears on my front porch, so does Macavity, one of my rescue kittycats.
As it was such a gloriously sunny day I decided to take a good look round the garden to see what's going on there at the mo and this is what I found; a very pretty Heuchera already putting up new leaves.
Chuffed to bits I was with my Hamamelis x intermedia Jelena. I'd bought her last year for a fiver (dirt cheap) and this is the first time she is in flower.
This Hellebore is showing great promise. I also bought it last year so I'm very curious about its flowers.
My snowdrops are looking remarkably like a bunch of white crayons at this stage and my wonderful buttercups, aka winter aconites, are about to burst into flower.
Every year there is a race on between the snowdrops and aconites to see who will flower first. This year it's going to be the aconites, I think.
In amongst my snowdrops I found the first weeds so I did my first spot of weeding this year, the first of many.
Quite a few bulbs are poking their noses through the earth already; I noticed crocus, daffodils, irises and grape hyacinths having a look to see if it was time yet for them to get out of their winter slumber.
The forget-me-nots look remarkably ready, the only thing they have to do now is to make their pretty blue, white or pink flowers.
In the potager the onions are wearing frivolous new green hats and in my cold frames the first radishes are growing their socks off,
and it won't be long before I'll be eating my first lettuces of the year from my potager.
Although we'll still have to wait a fairish bit until Spring arrives, walking around my garden yesterday filled me with hope that it won't be long now before Spring will really be there.
designed by Jacqueline van der Kloetcopyright 2009: Y.E.W. Heuzen
We have descended into the garden and caught 300 slugs. How I love the mixture of the beautiful and the squalid in gardening. It makes it so lifelike. Evelyn Underhill, 1875
32 comments:
growing their socks off!?!?! :-) See you slipped that one in there hoping kate wouldn't notice...
What can I say Emma? I love to blog dangerously. ;-)
You've made me feel like spring with all the wonderful photos of new growth! I'm almost afraid to look for the tulips in my (non)garden and I both dread and anticipate the job ahead of me in renovating the whole thing!
Hi YE, HA, I like to see a little free wheeling with the language too! :-) The smart kitties know the best spots here too and the sun has been in short supply this winter. I love the white crayons and am rooting for them to win the blooming derby. That was a bargain witch hazel, lucky you! We have just added Arnold's Promise to join Diane but it was no bargain. And you have inspired me to get that frost cloth covered hoop house going for the radishes and lettuce, thanks!
Frances
Your "white crayons" create such beautiful imagery. Love those sunny days with kitties napping here and there soaking up the sun.
Such a cute kitty,
:)
I was wondering whether you would be interested in my daily photo challenge :
look at my latest blog post on http://LaughterMinute.Blogspot.com
Would be great to have you involved.
Charlie
Lucky you as it rained here all day yesterday. Mind you Saturday and today, so far, were sunny!
Cats are real heat seekers aren't they!
Lovely photos showing a glimpse of what's to come fairly soon. xx
Spring is flirting with you, Yolanda, meanwhile, we have just BARELY made it up to 0 degrees F here today. However, the sun is out and there's little wind, and when cats aren't napping in the sun they're watching bird television, because there are plenty of peeps at the feeders today.
Hi Yolanda,
hallo from Germany.
Monika
Well Yolanda spring is definately on its way in your part of the world.....don't you just love aconites. I have a few but they do not do particularly well here....the reason, I am not sure.
My witch hazel is still teasing me and will not open her blooms.....I am getting quite impatient........
A lovely uplifting post......
We have a day here and there with nice weather...but other wise it is winter YE. Kat King Coal is always to be found in a warm spot...Jelena is gorgeous...Diane is blooming on and off here...still stubbornly holding onto those brown leaves! Spring can't be far away from your potager! gail
Ha! "Jelena" - that could be it! I bought a Hamamelis intermedia (for 5,-, too, what a coincidence) in Autumn and it was suppposed to be the yellow Westerstede, which would bloom later in the year. But mine is flowering like yours and right now. No scent, sadly. Two snowdrops in containers are already flowering and a lot of crokus are poking their noses out of the dirt. I'm looking forward to four blooms on a dark plum coloured helleborus which only had one bloom last year... It's starting!
Oh, lovely kitties of course. And very clever ones my cats pointed out...
Snowdrops seem to take ages to open. It is good to finally see spring bulbs and flowers appearing in the garden.
The Tulips were a shock to the system - very warming!
We had a nice sunny day today. I enjoyed spending a couple of hours in the garden which is so much more exciting in January than in December. I liked your description of your snowdrops as 'white crayons' . It's fascinating trying to guess which day they will finally open. That sense of hope is definitely in the air.
You certainly are way ahead of us there having such warm weather. Our little buds are still under many feet of snow and ice. Lots more to melt here before we get a sign of Spring.
My kitties however are comfy and cozy indoors.Purzzzz..to you and the Bliss team.
Nice buds, Yolanda!
I envy you that race between the immense clump of snowdrops and the enchanting aconites. No matter which flower is first to bloom, the winner will be you.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Heerlijk, al die nog niet helemaal tevoorschijnkomende-maar-veelbelovende neusjes! Hier ook zo, ik kan amper wachten tot het zover is dat de bloemetjes er zijn!
My winter onions have suvived the really cold temps we have been getting. I would really like to get some early potatoes in, hopefully next week!
Lovely to see Macavity again, is Jeeves still around?
Hi Yolanda
We have not seen the sun for a long time...lucky you.
It is fun to see whats happenig in your garden.
Ken
It looks like spring is in the air at Bliss
Oh good Lord! I've already whimpered and complained in dear Frances' blog about showing me heuchera foliage intact in JANUARY! Now, I know I live in Michigan. I accept snow and ice and freezing cold. I know things grow earlier for other people. That's no one's fault! And I can admire witch hazel without my heart twitching. I can happily look upon cute snowdrops, and growing leaves of many kinds, and genuinely be happy for you that they're blooming already. But heucheras are my babies! I love them so. Mine are under two feet of snow. Please, please have some consideration for my HWS (heuchera withdrawal syndrome). Thank you! :)
Oh...to take a nap in the sunny conservatory with your kitties! Back in blog lad for a bit.... good to catch up...
Carol in Mass
terranovadesign.blogspot.com
Lovely to see the sunshine, and the sprinklings of spring ~ at least in your garden! There are a few little primrose/primula buds here, but I think if the snowdrops peeked up they'd duck back down pretty quickly once they felt the icy cold. Nice to know though that spring is on its way. Our sunrise is around 7:50 a.m. now and our sunset about 5:10 p.m. How does that compare with yours?
No spring around here! Check out my snow pictures today; I can prove it. There were daffodils poking their leaves out, and crocuses as well, before we got smacked by a two day winter storm that started out with sleet and ended with snow. No freezing rain, thank God.
We are still wrapped in snow and ice but it is good to see growth somewhere in the world. Send it this way please.
Your Hamamelis x intermedia Jelena is looking lovely, what a bargain. I have also done my first bit of weeding :)
K
Hi all and welcome to first Bliss!
*Casbah kitten: we can all do with a bit of spring at this time of year. Good luck with the renovation job!
* Frances: it was a very good buy, especially as I had been dreaming about having my own Hamamelis for years. Glad to have inspired you to do some veggie sowing.
* Lisa: I treasure sunny days, especially at this time of year. The kitties and I are very happy with our conservatory on sunny winter days.
* Charlie: welcome and glad you liked the kitty. I've checked out your challenge but it's not for me.
* Flighty: Living where we live, sunny days are always a big plus. ;-)
* Jodi: brrrrrrrrr, that's very cold! The kitties are watching live bird tv here too, when they are able to keep their eyes open that is. ;-)
* Monika: hello from the Netherlands! ;-)
* Cheryl: glad you were uplifted by this post. Have you tried the new variety of aconites, they are much hardier than the old ones.
* Gail: we have good days and bad days here too, weatherwise, as it is still winter over here too. We're having another frost spell which is fine by me as that usually means clear blue skies.
* Cat with a garden: yes indeed, it really is starting. Glad to hear that you have some new blooms too, they are so precious at this time of year.
* Easygardener: snowdrops are slow to open up their flowers but that's perhaps because we are watching them all the time. You know the old adage about a watched kettle. ;-)
* Anna: hope is _the_ word for most gardeners in January. It's good to know that you were able to spend some time in your garden too.
* Naturegirl: the first glimpse of spring will come for you too, once the snow has melted. Your kitties are just as clever as mine, knowing all the best spots for snoozing and being very comfy. ;-)
Thanks all for visiting and commenting on this first whif of spring.
Oh, how I long to see my Snowdrops looking like white crayons & buds on my Hellebores. I can't even see my Hellebores right now.
Excellent choice for a water feature, YE. If only he could do double duty-- both water feature and handyman. ;)
Also, that lovely drift of daffodils takes my breath away!
Lucky you to have signs of spring, Yolanda.
I too would be chuffed over such a bargain as your pretty witch hazel. I badly need hellebores! I'm hoping my one little fellow will make it through the winter.
I can't wait to see the little snowdrops!
I'm so envious of spring busting out all over at your place! We'll have to wait a little longer here. We got some snow today.
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