Through the garden gate in January 2017
Although January can be a desolate month in the garden and is the month when I spend the shortest time out in it, there are still some highlights to see, if you look close enough.
The first snowdrop in flower was a welcome sight.
I have planned to take images from the same point each month during the year so that I can clearly see the changes. The old dustbin in the right hand corner, doesn't look very attractive but I have been using it as a planting container. It is currently full of 'Seagull' daffodils a variety that I haven't grown before. The dustbin has been in our family since the 1960's so I was loath to part with it! Have you got any unusual plant containers in your garden?
Despite not being in the garden we have still attended a 'Potato Day' and bought some onion sets, potatoes and garlic bulbs. I learnt how to do apple pruning properly and we attended the annual "Wassailing" celebrations at the local community orchard. We have also been buying seeds although it still seems a long way off until the weather will be warm enough to sow them!
I am always tempted to buy spring flowers at this time of year to brighten up inside. Have you seen anything to brighten your days this month?
It is always wonderful to see other gardens and watch their development during the year. If you want to join in with Through the garden gate each month please let me know in the comments below and I will add your site. Those participating this month are :-
Wishing you best wishes for what is left of this week!
Sarah x
Snowdrops are lovely to see. It looks as misty and murky there as it is here :(
ReplyDeleteI think that is such a good idea, to photograph the garden from the same spot over the course of a few months. Looking forward to seeing the pictures.
ReplyDeleteThe mice 🐭 have eaten all our snowdrops. X
ReplyDeleteOh no, we planted some down in the Bay last winter I noticed a few weeks ago that the grass had been scratched back. We obviously didn't plant them deep enough! The smell of the bulb attracts them. Sarah x
DeleteIt will be lovely to see the changes as the year goes by. A few months from now everything will be exploding. Gorgeous hellebores, and I love that red primula. Brilliant raised beds as well, they look really sturdy and attractive. Let's hope it's a good growing year. CJ xx
ReplyDeletePlenty of colour in your garden. I like the dustbin - I used to have an old large Walls (ice cream) zinc tub in the cottage garden that I grew Nasturtiums in but it got swept out to sea in the flood. Sad really as it was my dad's - not sure where he got it from though as he never worked at a Walls factory.
ReplyDeleteIt is much the same here. I didn't mark the places I wanted nor get pics like I wanted but I am cleaning out the beds. I had so many different plant containers it was starting to look junky. Mainly old enamel pans, but also old leaky watering cans and a pair of old cowboy boots were filled with plants. I hung them on a gate.
ReplyDeleteLovely Sarah, even in the depth of January. Still waiting for my snowdrops to come up. Despite planting them deeper still no sign. Maybe my soil eats the bulbs :) B x
ReplyDeleteNothing grows this early here, Sarah. Everything is frozen. Love the flowers!
ReplyDeleteYour garden is in much better shape than mine(!) although the snowdrops are starting to appear here too which always cheers me up. They seem to spread further each year. I like your old dustbin and it's a great use for it. It'll look lovely full of daffs.
ReplyDeleteThe fog brings a magical, ethereal quality to our gardens which I love. it has been so unseasonably warm I already have Wallflowers in bloom! It is a wonderful time of year, watching the new shoots push their way into the world.
ReplyDeleteWe made it. We survived January, and now February is a short month, then we can truly start singing the praises of spring!
ReplyDeleteIt's so cheery to see the snowdrops. They just might be my favourite flower. I like the old dustbin being put to use like that, especially since it's almost a family heirloom. :-)
ReplyDeleteLovely! It's -16 C here today. I cannot wait for green grass and spring flowers :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks chilly outside in your garden, but oh so lovely to see the snowdrops peeking through!
ReplyDeleteYour garden is way ahead of mine with flowers, Sarah. I've had snowdrops (grown in a container) blooming since before christmas but other flowers that I'd expect to see by now (cowslips, primula) are just not doing their thing. Even the hellebore buds haven't get bloomed and I cut the leaves back several weeks ago now! Lovely to see a bit of colour and I expect another month will make a huge difference! Caro xx
ReplyDeleteOh no, you have just reminded me of how our garden looks in July and August!! The last months of winter are hard to take, but wonderful to see snowdrops, and then the bright colours of spring daffodils. My second daughter was born in late August, and when I brought her home all the daffodils were out to greet us....a nice memory.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping the daffodils would still be out when my son was born but they had gone over by the time he arrived. Sarah x
DeleteSomething to brighten my day - in the garden Center? Never, I live in the gardening diaspora, something special to buy? Not. But I have seen some beautiful dinnerplates in pastel green, probably I buy them on saturday!
ReplyDeleteSigrun
Sounds as though it has been a good month in the garden for you. It has been far too wet here to even get out, or too cold, or too busy! So not the best so far this year, it will pick up though. How great that you learned more about pruning apple trees, it is always good to learn knew things isn't it.
ReplyDeleteI buy daffodils every week to brighten the house up at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteI like to go to car boot sales or secondhand shops to find containers for planting up. In the garden I have an old enamel bread bin and one or two coal scuttles. When we took the allotment on we were lucky to find an old dustbin, three old dolly tubs and a tin bath left lying around. The tin bath is now in use as a pond.
I remember your bath well, that's a great way to reuse it! Sarah x
DeleteIf that is what January looks like in your city, I say it looks almost tropical compared with us here. Your place looks beautiful, green and a lovely lacy fog. We are surrounded by ice right off the front door. One can ice skate right outside our doors. I do not have containers in the garden. We have lots of lawn both in front and back of the house but the place where I plant a vegetable garden is rather small by choice. I love your garden space!
ReplyDeleteThat does sound so different to here, I should appreciate the grey skies and being surrounded by green fields! Sarah x
DeleteI love seeing snowdrops at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteDaffodil bunches have been appearing in the shops recently.
They are always so cheerful to have in a vase!
Good wishes for the month of February, I don't know where January went, it seemed to zoom by.
All the best Jan
Your dustbin is a delightful planter. The shape and texture and patina - can't do that with a tired old plastic bin in a nasty colour.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar watering can that my father used. Much too heavy for me, but I like the shape and metallic colour.
I have tips of daffodils pushing up through the ground even though they shouldn't for another two months. Your garden is ready to burst forth soon!
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful pictures! Spring can come! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI always feel encouraged when I buy early daffodils and smell that characteristic daffodil scent.
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ReplyDeleteHello Sarah, your garden is beautiful and very tidy. I would be ashamed to share photographs of mine at the moment as it is in desperate need of a spring clean. I like gardening, but not when it’s cold, and as it snowed this morning, any tidying will have to wait just a little longer. :-) x