2011                                   

The story of our garden this year.

Please click on the small pictures to see a larger version

Saturday January 1st - Happy New Year everyone.  This morning we had a jay in the flowering cherry tree.

Saturday January 2nd - Cold and misty, I tried to take photos but it was too dark and they aren't very good.  The reed buntings were here again and at least four chaffinches. A magpie, which I didn't catch, and thrush, golfinches, blackbirds and sparrows

Sunday January 9th - Did my first work in the garden for some time.  Swept the leaves off the lawn and cut back some of the rambling rose and did a quick cut back of the roses, not completely. I usually cut back the roses in October but they didn't get done this year.  The local forecast was no frost for a week so I thought it would be safe to do so.
Ther are green shoots everywhere, probably snowdrops.

Tuesday January 18th -  

our first spring flower

Thursday January 20th - A dull day, cold and frosty. I tried to take some pictures of some of the birds that visit our back garden bird table.

 
Mr & Mrs Blackbird, well just two of the many, we've had at least ten at one time.

We have lots of chaffinches this winter

I was lucky to catch this thrush

At least ten goldfinches at one time. A sparrow and chaffinch as well

Thursday January 20th - A dull day, cold and frosty. I tried to take some pictures of some of the birds that visit our back garden bird table.

one of two wood pigeons that were around today

collared dove

   
blackbirds

 
 our two reed buntings, regular visitors since the snow

Friday January 21st - A lovely sunny day, cold but bright.  I took a few more pictures of the birds

 
The reed buntings again, one of the many starlings and a robin . I didn't spend much time today.

Friday February 11th - The crocuses fully out:

Wednesday 2nd March - I cut the grass for the first time today

Sunday 13th March - Two siskins visited the garden today, the first time we've noticed them this year.

Today's photos are not very good but tell a story.  The sparrows often use the peanuts, I think the robin is waiting to go on the sunflower kernels.

Wednesday 6th April - The garden is now full of spring flowers:

Erythronium - the yellow flowers.

Anemone blanda 'Atrocaerulea'

The Magnolia, Magnolia stilata and three camelias

Friday 8th April - More colour

Friday 15th April - Even more colour

Rhodondendron, Magnolia and the Rhododenron on the south rockery

Thursday 28th April - Now the Wisteria is in full bloom.

In full sun and the last two with the sun on the other side of the house, late afternoon

We have more ducks than ever but no nest and eggs this year

Wednsday 18th May - Since the last photographs the Granny Bonnets have come and are now on their way out

Fridayday 20th May - The later Rhododendrons are now blooming

Sunday 29th May - This morning we had a visit from our two woodpeckers

Monday 30th May - Two Bullfinches again today but ...

later in the day this pheasant arrived in the front garden!  First one we've noticed.
The Jay has been around again.

6th June - photos to follow

8th June

a few more of our visitors, this year is the first time we've seen the Jay

- photos to follow

15th June

photos from the front garden

19th June

3rd July - The Back Garden

Suzie's two stands of flowers on our east wall, under the bedroom windows.

The floribunda rambling rose is now blossoming in the northwest corner, above the compost bin.  Fiona potted up some tomatoes for the Farmers' Market in May but there wasn't one. These are the last few that didn't get taken up at the June Market.  I didn't want Fiona's work to be in vain so I brought them home and planted them in trays to cover up the compost bin and use the obelisk that I was wondering what to put in it this year.  I don't expect we'll get many tomatoes but they have promised us a long hot summer.

The day lilys, lychnis and one of our wild flowers

The campanula has gone mad under the magnolia tree - the small bed under the eucalyptus tree - the miniature rose under the rockery.  We've had to pollard the eucalyptus this year because all the tall branches had died off - it is full of new shoot.

4th July - The Back Garden

Astilbes, the one on the left is a present from Julia, sadly claimed by cancer

14th July - The Back Garden

Suzie's precious Hollyhock

The Front Garden

One of our rambling roses growing through our variegated holly 'tree' in the front garden

2nd August - The Back Garden - these photos were taken by Suzie.

Another of Suzie's favourites, the Bear's Britches sadly caught as it's finishing.

The Montbretia, the Day Lilies one of our wild flowers and the end of the Euphorbia

The Hollyhock, now with more flowers

The Japanese Windflower and the Hypericum berries

The flower bed, on the south side of the garden, under the old Eucalyptus tree, which is now shooting from the bottom

6th August - back garden

bullfinch

7th August

The tomatoes looking healthy.  Sadly we went away for ten days or so inSeptember and they got overlooked after that.  We did get several small tomatoes off them, some of which were green, and they ripened in the house.

What happened between 7th August and ?

31st December

Where have all the flowers gone.  Everything looks bleak but is it?

Front: the crcuses are about to break out; the is still in flower; The mahonia is blossoming

Back: The winter jasmin is in full bloom; this blue flower - much bluer in actual fact and primroses