Tag: winter

Bluebell Arboretum

We recently spent a morning at Bluebell Arboretum in Leicestershire, a return visit in fact as we visited it many years ago. It is a young arboretum and small as arboreta go which gives it an intimate, manageable feel.

As we approached the wooden cabin that acts as reception, the door creaked open, “I see you have your walking boots on! I wouldn’t recommend you go around if you hadn’t.” Apparently we had arrived the day after a foot of snow had melted onto already water-logged ground. It was wet so we splashed and slid with great care around boggy pathways, but the trees that greeted us made it all worthwhile.

We are great fans of Betulas (birches) and Acers (maples) and here we found many to admire. We admired them for their profile, their bark texture and colour.

Acer griseum is a classic winter garden tree, with its silky-smooth, shiny mahogany bark. the thinnest of slithers peel off, curl and catch the low winter sun. It has a perfect common name, the Paper Bark Maple. It appears to be wrapped in sparkling, shining and very fancy wrapping paper

Another Acer that caught our eye, similarly had beautifully coloured bark, was Acer x conspicuum “Phoenix”. The bark on this Acer though was silky smooth.

The celebrated Snakebark Maples need to be studied close up where the delicately textured and multi-coloured bark can be fully appreciated.

The type of Acers most frequently grown in smaller gardens and arboreta alike is Acer dissectum, grown for its leaf colours, the fresh young growth in spring, the rich summer colour and perhaps most of all for the extravagent autumn colours. But at Bluebell Arboretum we discovered this variety, “Eddisbury” which had another layer of interest and an extra reason for growing it, the beauty of its stems.

Acer dissectum "Eddisbury" — Acer dissectum “Eddisbury”

I am not a great fan of conifers but two caught my eye, both Piceas. One had bark with eye shapes and the other an amazing profile.

If the amazing trees of Bluebell weren’t enough for the gardener to delight in, other points of interest are there to catch the eye. An archway of clematis, a petrified tree stump, a kettle Robin nestbox, a logpile for beetles, an interesting old stump and another stump with rings making a picture reminiscent of an ammonite fossil.

There were too many examples of my favourite family of trees, the Betulas, so they deserve a post of their own. One to look forward to!

Tags acers., garden photography, gardening, Leicestershire, maples, ornamental trees, shrubs, snakebark maple., trees, winter, winter gardens

allotments birds community gardening garden photography garden wildlife gardening grow your own ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography shrubs trees wildlife winter gardens

Allotments under Snow

Today we braved the snow and floods up at our allotment site and went for a walk around to look at what turned out to be a very different world to the one we usually see. The pictures illustrate just how long it may be before we can get any gardening done up there. We still have root crops in the ground – in December it was too wet to get on the soil and now it is all under the white stuff.

Here is the actual green bench that inspires the name of my blog.

The scarecrows remain on duty whatever the weather and shrug off the snow and ice.

Wheelbarrows wait patiently.

The plots have a forlorn look but beneath the ice and snow the soil is waiting – waiting for a little more light, more heat from the sun and plenty of evaporation to lessen the moisture content.

The Winter Garden is full of interest.

The contractors preparing our site extension in the adjoining field were toiling away in the snow, ice and waterlogged soil. They are putting in drainage and clearing out an old pond to create a wildlife pond for us all to enjoy. The ground they overturn presented birds with a rich feeding ground. Blackbirds, Redwings, Fieldfares, Jays, and Thrushes both Song and Thrush revelled in a fresh supply of worms and ground creatures.

Tags allotments, birds, community gardening, dogwoods, fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grasses, grown your own, scarecrows, shrubs, snow, snowmen, trees, winter, winter gardens

garden photography gardening photography roses winter gardens

Melting

Snow is a bit of a novelty when it arrives and I always enjoy watching it change the atmosphere, character and look of the garden. But after five days I have had enough of it so got excited when the sun came out for an hour or two this afternoon and the snow and ice started a steady drip, drip, drip – melting gently.

A new challenge for me and my camera! See what you think.

Poor old Matilda has melting snow running down her forehead and she does not look pleased!

As the sun gives a rare January appearance, the snow begins to melt and for a while takes on a transparent look and glows.

The greenhouse begins to lose its duvet of snow.

The tallest stems away from shadows melt first. This pair of rosebuds is clear of snow and ice but their yellow petals, exposed where the bud has tried to open, have suffered from this attack of January weather.

Tags garden photography, gardening, greenhouses, January, roses, snow, winter, winter gardens

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Garden Birds in the Snow

Today the snow came! We had hoped for a snow-free winter but the weather defied us. We woke at 7:00 expecting a covering but we were gladdened to see not an iota of white stuff. Half an hour later it started and by mid-morning we were under a 3 inch layer.

The birds arrived in force queueing up at each feeding post. A flock of Fieldfare and Redwing dropped in as did the first Siskins of the winter.

The garden was alive with Titmice, Blue, Great, Coal and Long Tailed and mixed flocks of finches, Green, Gold and Chaffinch. The Great Spotted Woodpeckers made regular forays from the old oak in the paddock onto our peanut feeders.

The picture below was the best of a bad bunch – I have decided that trying to take a photo of a Blue Tit within the fine filigree of Birch branches is not easy!

Blackbirds were far more amenable as they sat for longer and seemed to ignore this very amateur cameraman.

The only time the garden was quiet today was just after the flypast of a Sparrowhawk, but hunger soon overcame fear. Back they all came.

It is essential that we all feed the birds throughout the year but even more so in the winter and provide fresh water. The birds benefit but so do our gardens as we help maintain the balance of nature. Some of the birds who use our feeding stations are also part of our balanced organic pest control.

Tags birds, blackbirds, feeding birds, fieldfare, garden birds, garden wildlife, organic gardening, redwing, winter, winter gardens

colours garden design garden photography gardening grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography shrubs Winter Gardening winter gardens

A January Bouquet

Think of January in the garden. Could you put together a bouquet? This is my new monthly garden blogging challenge, and starting in January most certainly throws me in at the deep end. But here goes…………………

Here are the first couple of pages of my sketch pad for the new year.

In this cold month colourful flowers can be used to create a bouquet, but you can also experience and enjoy a bouquet of scents.

So firstly what is delighting us with colour?

The rather inappropriately named Prunus x subhirtella autumnalis, with blossom of the palest pink, stunning against a pure blue sky.

The perennial wallflower, Erysium Bowles Mauve flowers in almost every month of the year, but is very special in January.

The first flowering bulb of the year is the Winter Aconite, Hyemalis, with its buttercup flowers close to the ground. The Flowering Quince, Chaenomales greets visitors to “Avocet” with its bright sun-set red flowers giving a warm welcome alongside the gate post at the bottom of the drive. The Cornelian Cherry, properly called Cornus mas dominates the “Freda Border” at the top of the drive. It is covered from head to toe with bunches of acid yellow umbels. They are little nuggets of gold.

White is appreciated more in the dark days of winter. The pussy willow’s furry white blooms huddle along the black stems of our Violet Willow by the wildlife pond. As grasses reach their end, prior to me pruning them back to the ground, their flower heads are white and silver.

And who keeps us warm with their scent in the cold? Sarcoccoca, Witch Hazels, Viburnum and the first Daphne of the year Daphne bhuloa “Jacqueline Postil”. She glows pink, a unique pink with hints of blue and violet. Her scent is mesmerizing.

Jaqueline Postil – what a beauty and what expensive perfume she wears.

But think of January blooms and we must not forget the first Hellebores.

birds colours garden photography garden wildlife gardening natural pest control outdoor sculpture photography Winter Gardening winter gardens

The Garden’s got its hat on, hip hip hip hooray ……

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 21, 2013
18 Comments on The Garden’s got its hat on, hip hip hip hooray ……

The garden has its hat on – a hat of snow.

Plants are sporting their new white headgear.

All sculptures and ornaments are wearing their ermine hats and coats.

The insects are warm in their homes, hopefully hibernating safely, but we will not know until the spring. Each night the little Jenny Wrens queue up to roost in their wicker basket.

Tags birds, garden photography, garden sculpture, garden wildlife, gardening, insects, organic gardening, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, winter, winter gardens

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Do snowmen travel by bus?

Sometimes things happen in life that make you ask hugely important questions, life-changing in fact. Today as we drove to the local garden centre we saw these characters waiting at a bus stop. I had to stop and snap up a photo. And this experience brought one of these massive questions to the fore.

Do snowmen travel by bus?

Sadly, the character on the left got fed up of waiting and fell asleep.

Tags mysteries, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, snow, snowmen, winter

colours conservation garden design garden photography gardening ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs winter gardens

Colourful Stems

In the first few months of each new year the garden treats us to a colourful show of bright and varied coloured stems of shrubs. The most colourful are the dogwoods and willows of which we grow several specially chosen for their coloured stems. They glow in any bright days at this time of year.

This selection of stems cut from our garden include dogwood, Kerria, willow, bamboo and Winter Jasmine.

The first pair of photos shows Cornus, the first is “Midwinter Fire” which we grow alongside our summerhouse just where it gets backlit by the winter sun, the second is “Cardinal” of which we have several specimens around the garden as they look good in any light.

Below is neither a dogwood or willow but an extremely red stemmed Acer called “Sango Kaku”, which we have planted alongside Cornus “Midwinter Fire”. We look forward to seeing them grow together.

The Cardinals in our front garden grow in front of our White-stemmed Birch, Betula utilis “Silver Queen”.

We keep adding shrubs with coloured stems and yesterday I took these cuttings below off gardening friend Pete’s fiery willow.

Sometimes the coloured stems are made even more special with the addition of flowers. The willow below with its black stems glow with the emergence of its white flowers at this time of year.

I shall finish with the photo of a bunch of stems cut from our bamboos.

Tags coloured stems, cornus, dogwoods, garden photography, gardening, salix, shrubs, willows, winter, winter gardens

garden photography gardening photography winter gardens

Melting Frost

We awake each morning this week to frost which gives way to mist. As the day light increases, the drops of melted frost hang from plants like miniatures lanterns.

Please click on the first image in the gallery below and click the right arrow. The technical details are with each photograph.

Tags frost, garden photography, gardening, melting frost, winter, winter gardens

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The Frosted Garden – Part Two

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 7, 2013
12 Comments on The Frosted Garden – Part Two

Artefacts, ornaments, sculpture and collected objects all come to life with a coating of frost. When the garden takes on its bare look of winter these items gain extra significance . Some are completely hidden during the growing months and we can appreciate them anew as leaves fall and greenery dies down.

In “The Stumpery” in our front garden, which could well be the world’s smallest stumpery featuring only one stump, a rusted iron sculpture based on ferns is given new life when rimmed with frost.

In “The Beth Chatto Border” our sundial and terracotta oil jars are given extra texture detail with a cold white coating.

Lanterns hang throughout the garden some from arches and some on their own stands like shepherds’ crooks.

Chicken sculptures abound as you might expect!

And finally a look at a piece made in hammered sheet copper by our daughter, Jo. The frost hides its shine, intensifies its texture and calms its colours.