February in a Scottish garden

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Frosty mornings. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Frost and fog have been the order of the day since my last out-of-doors post. Without doubt, February is my worst month of the year. To me, it’s neither one season nor the other, and I am longing for Spring. Many plants that seemed so advanced back in December, have slowed down recently, and my hopes for an early end to Winter have been thwarted.

On a positive note, the afternoons are getting noticeably  lighter as the days begin to draw out, and, the snowdrops are beginning to bloom at last. I hadn’t given much thought to this well-known, delicate little flower until I moved to Scotland. Snowdrops grow every where in the countryside around me: from the sides of the roads to carpets in the forests, and in the most modest of gardens to the landscaped grounds of castles and palaces, they certainly feel at home here. I have small clumps growing in different areas all over the garden; none have been planted, they come back naturally year after year.

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Early February snowdrops. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

Other bulbs are greening up, and most shrubs are in tight bud; I am hoping they will open up in the next two to three weeks. I have are a few heathers in bloom here and there, adding splashes of pink amongst the green shoots.

The weather has just turned milder these past couple of days, which means (fingers crossed) that the garden will spring into action once more. Until next month………..

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February pink heathers and rhododendron buds. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

October flowerings

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October foliage and flowers. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

It has been a mild and reasonably bright few weeks since my last garden posting. I am pleasantly surprised that so much is still in bloom in the garden. In fact, there are very few signs of Autumn here at all, and the garden hasn’t changed that dramatically from last month, the colours are just a little faded and more muted. The large trees are barely turning, so I had to look to smaller bushes and shrubs for some typical October colour. The blueberry bushes have finished fruiting now and are the only real hint of the season, having turned from bright green to deep red-orange colour.

More Autumn crocus have found their way to the surface this week, and make a pretty splash of colour on the increasingly barren soil as the other foliage dies back.

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Autumn flowering crocus. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

It was also good to see that we still have plenty of bees around the garden. Yesterday, they were buzzing round the Hebe and dahlias as I took my photos, still busy gathering pollen from the flowers and shrubs.

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Hebe bee-bee. Image: Kathryn Hawkins
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White petal dahlia with busy bee, and Burgundy pom-pom dahlia. Images:Kathryn Hawkins

Usually at this time of year, there is only one splash of colour in one a particular flowerbed in the back garden; it prompts me to think every year that I must plant a companion ready for next Autumn (and of course, I never do). Sedum “Autumn Joy” is very reliable, multi-headed with tiny pink flowerets and succulent bright green leaves, I think it must be very happy having its moment of glory every year, when it stands out alone amongst its fading neighbours, so who am I to spoil its fun?

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Sedum “Autumn Joy”. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I will finish this post with an image of a flower I spotted in bud a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday, it was in full bloom. It is a well established shrub and should have flowered back in June, when it is normal to do so, but for some reason it has decided to break flower now. Fingers crossed we don’t get any frost………

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Rhododendron in bloom in October. Image: Kathryn Hawkins