The holly and the ivy

This is the season of evergreens - nothing else is doing much in the garden at the moment.  There are still a few flowers on the chrysanthemums, but they are sprawling on the ground mostly, and viburnum 'Dawn' and its evergreen relations are in flower - oh, and there's one single flower on the winter honeysuckle, at last.  At the front the winter jasmine is doing its thing.  Otherwise the interest is from the evergreens (and evergreys), and the red stems of the dogwood.  The Christmas greenery has started to make its way indoors; this week's photo offering is the decorated mantlepiece, using ivy (mostly) and a little holly, all from the garden.  The neighbours' efforts to eradicate the coloured-leaved ivy from the boundary wall means that there's less variegated stuff than usual, but enough to make a good contrast. (I don't blame the neighbours, by the way; ivy looks lovely but it does terrible things to old drystone walls.)

This weekend's work included weeding around the chrysanthemums, the aster and the helianthemum to allow me to plant the small red tulips (T. linifolia) that were the most recent bargain acquisition.  I hope I remember where I've put them.  I've also started to reclaim the path leading off the patio, where the rose has encroached on one side and a self-sown honeysuckle had taken root on the other.  The resulting digging was tidings of great joy to the robin, who took every opportunity to check for worms when I wasn't too close.  He's becoming quite trusting, and even a little cheeky - flying on to one of the pots near the window when he sees me and thinks I might bring out food.

I did put out quite a lot of food during last week, when we had several severe frosts; the robin was waiting most mornings when I opened the curtains.  The blackbirds, sparrows and starlings also came.  By the end of the week the weather had turned milder, with a little more rain and wind, though the weekend was mostly dry; this week has started clear and chilly, with sunny days, but rain on the way again.  Probably a wet Christmas rather than a white one.

Other wildlife hasn't been very visible.  The marsh tit was around at the weekend (and probably during the week too), and a nuthatch was whistling to itself (or maybe to another nuthatch, though I couldn't see one) as it looked for food in the trees on Sunday.  Mr Mole hasn't been doing much in the garden; he seems to be intermittently active down by the compost heaps at the moment, and as long as he stays down there that's fine by me.

Under cover

A drier week, but several frosty nights, so a decision had to be made about the more tender plants.  The blue-leaved succulent (echeveria?) that spent the summer in the big pot was potted on into something smaller some weeks ago, and put into the cold frame, but the frost prompted me to bring it indoors.  Until I get a greenhouse it'll have to overwinter indoors, so it's currently on the kitchen windowsill (taking up most of the space).  Today I removed the purple spiky thing (phormium? cordyline?) which has been forming a very effective backdrop in the pot by the patio doors, potted it up and brought it indoors too.  I've no idea how hardy it is, and it was in a very sheltered place, but it has grown well this year since I got it at the plant sale and I'd be sorry to lose it.  It has gone into the top bathroom.  While I was at it, I also removed the purple osteospermum from the same pot, potted that up too and put it in the cold frame; it spent last winter in there, so I hope it'll be ok this winter too.

The frost has seen off the last of the nerines, and the marigolds.  The only flowers now are the real winter ones - winter jasmine, viburnums and the hellebores under the dining room window.  Still nothing on the winter honeysuckle; the plant probably needs pruning as the wood is mostly quite old.  A cutting or two might be good insurance, unless I can find another layering where a branch has rooted into the ground.  A good sign on the viburnum that is dying back, though - it has produced a well-grown shoot from the base.

A few more bargain bulbs potted up today.  Some Super Parrot tulips (white with yellow-green backs), with a couple of cuttings of yellow ivy on top; the ivy came over the wall from next door, and since the neighbours have dug it out on their side I've tried to root a couple of pieces.  They seem ok so far.  Also a pot of paperwhite narcissi (Ziva), in the hope that they won't flower while we're away from home.  The third bargain hasn't gone in yet: red species tulips (linifolia), which will go around the aster, chrysanthemums and red helianthemum once I've finished weeding round them.  There's still time to plant them, as long as it isn't too frosty next weekend.

All the apples have gone from the tree, so the fieldfare and green woodpecker will have to move on elsewhere.  There are still some apples indoors, and the damaged ones go out on the patio for the blackbirds, who are becoming quite trusting.  Besides the robin, dunnocks and sparrows, a couple of chaffinches came down yesterday and a wren was about today.  We used to get flocks of finches, but not for a few years now; today there was a flock of what looked like finches up in the field maple next door, but I couldn't make out their markings.  It would be good to see more of them around.  There was a single goldfinch in the garden today, and the marsh tit was on the seed feeder - like the nuthatch, throwing seeds out until it found its favourite ones.  Must get better seed next time.

Splitting sedums

A drier and sunnier week, but the wind has turned to the north and we've had frosty nights - enough to freeze the pond and require scraping of the car windscreen.  There's still some water about, particularly when it rains but also just run-off from the fields; it's got to go somewhere, and back into the waterlogged soil isn't an option at the moment.  In the garden, the soil is a bit sticky but it never gets completely sodden.  The winter sunshine isn't enough to dry it out, but it's welcome when it comes.

The weekend's work was a mixture of clearing up, some cutting back, a little weeding - and doing a job I'd been keeping for the back end of the year, splitting the two 'Autumn Joy' sedums.  They hadn't been divided since they went in (a good many years ago), and were flagging. Now that their flowers are over, it's a good time to get at them.  The one by the summer house had all sorts of weeds in its roots - ground elder, nettles, buttercup and more - so badly needed sorting out.  Three offshoots have been planted out under the big ash tree, three in front of the honeysuckle and a few more potted up as spares or for the spring plant sale.

Sunday was a bumper bird-spotting day.  Over breakfast, in addition to the usual sparrows, robin, blackbirds and pigeons we had a pair of chaffinches, the fieldfare, a male bullfinch, a wren and a treecreeper.  The fieldfare was busy keeping the blackbirds off the remaining apples, and even chasing away a blue tit that got too close.  The green woodpecker is still about, and on Saturday we had a dozen partridges hiding in the garden to stay out of the way of the shoot.  Even more remarkably, yesterday's sunshine saw a dozen woodpigeons all together, quite amicably, enjoying the sun under the plum tree.  We seem to have plenty of robins this winter, which is nice (unless you're a territorially-minded robin); one of them was very appreciative of my digging up of the sedums, where the freshly turned soil provided a feast for him.