From left to right and top to bottom we have:
Double hellebore, Clematis 'Freckles', snowdrops, Garrya, violas, hazel catkins, Skimmia, Clematis urophylla 'Winter Beauty', and single hellebore
January's Our Town provided not one, but two ideas easily achievable at home under lockdown in the form of spotting flowers in bloom at the start of the month and finishing with the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch at the end. The results for each were collated to provide collective results for the Belles.
The great thing about the flower list is that it provides tried and tested ideas for anyone who wants to add some extra winter interest to their garden in future. Between us there were 18 good plants for winter flowers, plus a further four surprises. Not bad for January! We had:
Winter bedding we've used this year (often in pots):
Cyclamen coum
Pansies
Violas
Bulbs and Perennials:
Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca 'Citrina'
Hellebores - various singles and doubles
Perennial wallflower, Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve' - often short lived for 2-3 years but can flower year-round in our area
Primroses - both native and nursery-bred (the latter in various bright colours)
Snowdrops
Shrubs and trees:
Garrya elliptica
Hazel - the catkins are the male flowers; look for the tiny red female flowers nearby
Skimmia japonica (NB may need to grow it in a pot because it likes acid soil)
Sweet box, Sarcococca confusa
Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'
Viburnum tinus
Winter honeysuckle
Climbers:
Clematis balearica
Clematis 'Freckles'
Clematis urophylla 'Winter Beauty'
Floral surprises:
Daffodils
Lawn daisies!
Mexican fleabane (Erigeron)
Rosemary - though it is known to flower in winter, where it's useful for any bees out foraging on warmer winter days
For the birdwatch we had 17 species between us, with pigeons (both wood and feral) and blackbirds the most common visitors across our gardens. House sparrows were the greatest in number and 11 species was the most seen for one garden. Seagulls flew overhead a few times, but were not included in our counts. So far, nearly half a million results have been submitted to the Big Garden Birdwatch site, and the RSPB will compare with previous counts and report their findings later this year.
Our other visitors were: blue tit, coal tit, crow, goldfinch, great tit, jackdaw, hedge sparrow aka dunnock, long-tailed tit, magpie, robin, song thrush, and wren.
As you can see, Angela had the most dramatic visit to her front garden when a male sparrowhawk came to call!
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