Winter Beauties

What a relief to return to the rhythm of the garden on Saturday, despite dreading the 6am rise I was still eager to resume normal life and interested to see if three weeks off would take its toll (I was fine). We were exceptionally lucky with the weather which was calm and sunny, the garden birds were singing their hearts out as if it was spring and it certainly felt so as we cleared the southern border. All the herbaceous cutting back has now been completed but there is still some more mulching to do, some hedge laying where the old shed stood and maybe some attention must be paid to the fruit bushes. When these small tasks have been attended to perhaps it will be time to think about some planting and propagating? But I expect I'm jumping the gun in my enthusiasm as I've a feeling we haven't seen the real winter yet, so I shall have to be patient a while longer. Despite it being the cruelest month there are still winter beauties to be found at NC so I'll leave you with a couple of pics- A gorgeous purple Hellebore x hybridus and Chimonanthus fragrans which might not look like much but smells heavenly.
"All human wisdom is summed up in two words-wait and hope" Alexander Dumas.