Here are some photos of  some of the plants flowering in the garden right now!

Pretty Alpines, Heathers and Japonica and Forsythia

Be back later in the week! Bye for now

Its cold, raining and windy today so does not feel much like Spring…..so thought I would share some cheerful photos of what is happening in our garden right now! Our Primrsoes have been excellent this year although they got off to a slow start. These I bought as plants but we do sell seeds in our shop! However they do need careful treatment in order to germinate and on this site there is the growing information section which covers primroses.  

Historically Spring starts on the day of the vernal equinox, which usually occurs on the night of 20/21 March. Vernal comes for the Latin word for bloom and refers to the fact that, in the Northern Hemisphere, this equinox marks the end of the winter and the beginning of the Spring.  An equinox is a time when the nights are as long as the days and the vernal equinox is recognised the world over as the start of the new astrological cycle.

Thought I would share with you some more cheery photo's! Spring is definately on the way. 

My dog loves the snow so we had great fun on our walk this morning and came back and we filled the bird tables and feeders with nuts and seeds and then settled down to a lovely cup of coffee. So no gardening for me today, but hopefully get on with my garden plan.

We took part in the RSPB bird watch last weekend and apparently over 600,000 people took part, wonder if the mild weather had any effect. The data will be published sometime in March.

Some of the birds we have in our garden are, collared doves, wood pigeon, wren, robin, dunnock, sparrow, starling, magpie, blackbird, blue tit, long tailed tit, great tit and we have a pair of beautiful Jay's who visit the bird table and come from the nearby woods. Importantly I have made sure there is a fresh supply of drinking water and also essential is a supply of water for bathing which is just as important in winter. The birds we tend to have in our garden seem to drink and bathe from the wildlife pond, which can be difficult to stop freezing in these conditions. A light ball, placed in the water will keep a small amount of the water ice free, even in the most severe conditions. On no account should salt, anti-freeze or any other chemicals be added to the water.

Recipe for making energy foods for your birds….taken from http://www.gardenersworld.com

75g Maize meal or polenta

Chopped nuts and seeds (bird seed mix)

2 beaten eggs

Baking tin

Stir the maize or polenta with the seed mix together with a little boiled water, add 2 beaten eggs and stir until combined. Place mixture in baking tin and bake fro 50mins at Gas mark 4 or 175C. Once cooked, cool on wire rack. Cut a small slice of cake and palce it on your bird table, replacing it once its been eating

Bon Appetite! to the our wildlife birds…. 

Another snowy  scene from the garden…….

We are adding a range of bird houses to our shop soon including some other wildlife habitats including bat houses with full instructions of how to install and place, and some great new garden gifts and garden essentials for the spring. Nest Boxes

A snowy view of the nearby farmland…..

Prune your shrub roses by about and quarter using a sharp pair of secateurs to make a sloping cut, just above a outward facing bud. Remove dead and dying branches first and thin out if overcrowded. There are many specialist rose grower sites online,  and one of my favourites is http://www.classicroses.co.uk/ who have superb varieties and have won many awards and have good advice page and a forum. 

In a creative moment this week I created this rose out of coffee filter papers…..not my idea i might add…looks very realistic! I know there is nothing like the real thing but it was fun to do! And when (normally this time of year) you have no roses in the garden, a few of these in a bouquet look lovely!

I love making homemade soups and even better if I can use my own veg from the garden. This really is one of my favourite winter soups~would have uploaded a photo of it but the family got to it first and its all gone……Here is the link for the recipe…

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/soups/stilton-soup-with-parmesan-croutons.html

Try it! its lovely 

I also lost some terracotta pots last year so this year I am not taking any chances this year, and have wrapped them in bubble wrap  which can provide protection up to six degrees of frost. Its a good idea to group pots together too for extra shelter as well as looking more eye catching I think….

Although for most of the UK we have had a unusually mild december (warmest for 90 years I read somewhere) its probable that we will not escape a significant snowfall even here in the South Eastern region of the UK. Although snow offers some sort of insulation for dormant perennials the weight of the snow can cause damage to trees and shrubs. I use a soft brush to brush the top of the snow before it has a chance to freeze. 

We built a small wildlife pond last year and to our delight it wasn't very long before frogs took residence, so making sure the water doesn't freeze over…do not want any frog casualties…was wondering what time of year frogs spawn in the uk as sure I saw some last week? isn't that a bit early? 

Heres watching  the uk weather forecasts with interest! A British pastime!!!

As well as its culinary uses Garlic has many medicinal benefits. Daily doses may help lower blood pressure and blood cholestorol and is know to have antiviral and antibacterial properties. Also acts as a nasal decongestant……..

Garlic is regarded as a miracle food by herbalists and naturopaths and can be used as a remedy for dozens of complaints ranging from asthma to arthristis, all now backed up with scientific evidence. The medicinal properties of garlic are the result of the sulphur compounds it contains,including those that are responsible for the pungent odour when crushed.

Garlic is also found in Folklore particuarly to ward off vampires and in days gone by garlic bulbs would be hung on the door to ward off evil spirits! I for one will be putting it to use in one of our favourite culinary ways however and this is delicious! We particuarly like Rustique Camembert cooked in the box for lunch on a warm summers day… Just make some slits in the cheese and add 2-3 cloves of garlic and some thyme. Cover loosely with some foil and bake in the oven until the cheese melts…(take care that the box is not near a naked flame) then serve with a bottle of good French Wine and some crustry bread! Simple but delicious! Bon Appetite!

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and see you in 2012!

 Tomorrow marks the day as the shortest day otherwise known as the Winter Solstice which occurs this year on 21st December here in the Northen Hemisphere. Time to celebrate as after the solstice the days will be getting longer!

You can see how low the sun is in the sky is at noon around the solstice, and it will be your longest noon time shadow too!

On returning cleared the ice from the pond and the bird baths and topped up the bird tables and bird feeders with seed and nuts and was rewarded with a visit from the Jay who seems to be partial to the monkey nuts.

I read recenty that if you see a hedgehog in December who have declined by 25 per cent over the last decade, it is either too small to hibernate or has woken up early, and therefore will be at risk of lack of food and freezing conditions. Leave out water if you can and dog or cat food and if its small and you see it during the day contact the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on 01584 890 801 or see here http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/