Friday, January 17, 2014

Garden Update

Well, I didn't get my act together enough earlier this week to put together either a Bloom Day or Foliage Followup post. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were such nice, dry days approaching tolerable temperatures (almost 50 degrees!), that I spent them outside on my hands and knees pulling weeds, cutting back and sorting out. I didn't want to take time away from the garden just to take pictures of it.  Still, despite having 3 days to work, I made only a small amount of headway on only one bed. We were supposed to get part sun with temps even warmer yesterday and today, but so far there is nothing but fog and the temperature is so cold it makes my hands ache. And there is nothing but fog in the forecast for the next 5 days. Bummer!

Anyhow, here are some closeup shots of what's looking nice in my garden right now.

I have several Hellebores, but this one is the closest to flowering


One of several profusely flowering Sweetbox -- such a delicious scent!


Mahonia 'Charity'

Mahonia 'Charity'





Cyclamen coum

Last weekend we had a major windstorm, which left my garden littered with Douglas fir boughs and cones. One quite large bough fell on one of my few blooming plants, a Mahonia 'Charity', and as I pulled it off and dragged it onto the patio, I couldn't help noticing it had some pretty lichens on it.



This pattern beneath my fall-planted Schefflera delavayi is evidence of the recent windstorm -- that little branch was blown ragged sweeping back and forth across the soil!


Here's some un-fabulous foliage I could do without -- a corner of the garden that is rapidly getting over-run with shotweed.

Here's hoping we get some weather soon that is conducive to gardening. Oh, one piece of good news -- my back is so much better after about 4 months of rest, that it barely registered all that work earlier this week. My legs and arms ached from crawling around, but not my back.