A few good plants...

With so much in the garden looking, frankly not great, I'm pleased with a few new comers to the winter garden , Hebe 'Karo Golden Esk' planted last summer,  this whipcord Hebe looks beautifully fresh. I think a few more like this could be in my future.

Another lovely winter plant ozothamnus 'sussex silver' white white stems and silvery foliage  , may need a bit of a trim , it's looking a tad leggy , but still ,  a  wonderful one.

Lastly chamaecyparis thyroids 'heather bun' ,  is still quite small, but I love the feathery smokey  foliage ,  and it looks great planted with bonze Carex ….

Little bits of spring...

Apparently we are in for another freeze … oh dear , I guess the plants that got whacked in the last freeze will  have to endure another blast. 

But for today, I'm just enjoying what little bits of spring I can find

Grieving …over

Grieving that is over , the very dead looking Acacia 's , pravissima and  dealabata, at least from above ground. So, I've been snipping out the crispy foliage. Leaving me with a rather nice structure for …something . I've also been making a list of possible replacement trees , which is quickly growing longer :

http://plantlust.com/plants/salix-lanata/

http://plantlust.com/plants/hamamelis-x-intermedia-primavera/

http://plantlust.com/plants/hamaelis-mollis

http://plantlust.com/plants/ficus-afghanistanica-silver-lyre/

http://plantlust.com/plants/cornus-kousa-autumn-rose/

http://plantlust.com/plants/euscaphis-japonica/

http://plantlust.com/plants/lagerstroemia-natchez/

http://plantlust.com/plants/lithocarpus-edulis/

http://plantlust.com/plants/torreya-grandis/

http://plantlust.com/plants/genista-aetnensis/

http://plantlust.com/plants/argyrocytisus-battandieri/

http://plantlust.com/plants/cryptomeria-japonica-dacrydioides/

http://plantlust.com/plants/cercidiphyllum-japonicum-pendulum/

http://plantlust.com/plants/styrax-japonicus-carillon/

http://plantlust.com/plants/aralia-chinensis/

http://plantlust.com/plants/quercus-dentata-pinnatifida/

http://plantlust.com/plants/fagus-sylvatica-ansorgei/

http://plantlust.com/plants/aesculus-hippocastanum-laciniata/

Just another frosty morning...

 The view from the window that had me grabbing my camera and out into the frosty morning . My favorite part of the winter garden. All it needs is for the tall grasses planted at the back to fill in .

No…not confetti, but my poor Accacia pravissima having a serious leaf drop…we'll see if it is  root hardy after all .  I   'm resigned to it needing replacement. I've got a short list at the moment , something hardy perhaps ….

January Gardeners Bloomday 2014...

Plenty of almost blooms like this Helleborus  Wester Flisk group 'bears foot' or the stinking Hellebore . I can't smell it yet . I do love the red stems and Foliage .

Good old reliable Arctostphylos 'Austin Griffiths' starting to bloom away and now after four years looking  like an established tree.

And A. 'St Helens' also blooming , or  are you 'Austin Grithiths ', I can't remember ...

Many nearly blooms like this Sareocoocca living in a pot, because I can't decide where to plant you.

And my sweet Cyclemen coum still blooming . Surely next month will be a better month for blooms and everything else  . Anyway for many more beautiful blooms visit  May Dreams Gardens. 

A key ring and a hole punch ….

I  have had enough of rummaging through my plastic bags of plant tags . I've tried putting them in a sort of order , with a bag for each year. A bag for grasses , a bag for  spikes  and succulents . A bag for perennials , a bag for  odds and ends .Enough of this , I say.  So, I  did several different searches on line for " How to organize plant tags" Several gardeners used photo albums with sleeves to store everything ...nice and neat, but I'm not keen on a big fat photo album, I 'd end up with soil and  gritty bits all in the sleeves . so , no good . Many had my sandwich bag system. They seemed just as fed up as I am, At last Someone had a simple idea . Perfect…only to punch a hole and through a keyring you go.
                                                      

Plant shopping 2014...

My first nursery visit this year .  Well … it was a beautiful frosty, dry, sunny Sunday morning .   Perfect for a drive to Sauvie island and Cistus nursery. Of course I didn't bring my camera along or the dogs . Just my 20i4 plant wish list. which I duly handed to first person(staff)  I came upon  This is a list of plants I'd made while reading  my new Margery Fish  book' Carefree gardening ' a christmas present.
Though there wasn't  much out on display, most things neatly tucked  snuggly undercover . I did get two things from my list: Lithocarpus edulis , which I love , but didn't take note that it is actually a TREE , a small one at 10 ft or so it says. An adorable Camellia forestii with tiny pink buds already looking to open.
When I got home , I realized these two plants were not from  Margery Fish's book at all.  I don't know how they came to be on my list !

Frosty this morning