It’s just the first week of February but we are having a warm spell and the birds are excited. This cardinal was on my front walk this morning. Nearby a robin was digging for breakfast and a bluejay was calling out. The birds seem to know something is afoot.
2. I noticed some new growth on the Knockout roses. I think it’s too early to prune, but I’m putting March 1 on my calendar as the date to start this annual chore. The new foliage is spectacular.
3. I checked the helebores. Not open yet, but lots of buds on this particular plant. Others may be hiding under the leaves, but it’s still very squelchy in the beds and I don’t like to walk in them more than I must as it compacts the soil.
4. When my mother was 75 my brothers and I gave her this teak bench for her birthday. When she moved into a retirement community and couldn’t take it with her, I was gifted with it. Now it is a reminder of a place she sat to rest when she worked in her acre of azaleas in a beech woods. She is always with me in my garden. The lichens on the bench need to be scrubbed when it warms up, but for now they make a lovely patchwork. The squirrels have gnawed on the front leg. Little buggers have no respect for heirlooms!
5. Daffodils are Goliaths in my garden — resilient and strong. In the upper right corner of the photograph, they are pushing up a large chunk of mulch. Nothing says “Spring is Coming” more than the the daffodils.
6. And just because I can’t believe I didn’t kill an orchid here is another picture of my phalaenopsis orchid which is continuing to open. To my local friends…if you have an orchid you are going to put in the trash, give me a call. I’d like to try and resurrect it.
And I couldn’t resist adding this photo of the beautiful markings on the throat. They look like an insect from a distance and a Georgia O’Keefe painting close up.
That’s my Six on Saturday, a meme started by The Propogator, a UK gardener. It’s the beginning of February and as spring approaches there will be new things to share. This is the link to the rules if you’d like to join in.
You are further along that we are…no hint of buds on helebores here. Love your bench, and you are correct, squirrels have no respect for anyone else’s property, probably because they consider it all their own. Your photos give me hope that spring is on the way, and the fact that we have our FIRST sunny day in February!
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I first saw hellebore buds six weeks ago and still waiting for some open blooms. We had a couple of sunny warm days. Just enough to let us hold on through these last cold, overcast days of winter.
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Mala, wow on that orchid! it is lovely! I really pruned my Knockout Roses back hard……….just last week. It may have been too much…….I’ll see!
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I honestly think you can’t prune the Knockout too hard. I take mine back to about 6-8 inches and they are 4 ft by the end of summer. I prune them back mid summer as well to give me longer bloom time and because I don’t want them to be 6ft tall.
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I planted a couple of clumps of daffs in the autumn that I hope will be resilient and strong. It’ll be first if they are, they mostly fizzle out after a couple of seasons. You’ve just reminded me I meant to water our Phalaenopsis today, thanks.
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I have been enjoying peering at my emerging rose foliage, it does all look so fresh. I have high expectations of my roses this year. We shall see.
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I love your bench and its story. I rather like the lichen but I guess it can mark your backside when you sit on it!?
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I think it would. I really need to scrub it this spring with some bleach water. We’ve had more than twice the usual amount of rain this year so the lichens have spread.
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Lovely bench. I have one that looks like yours but is built of teak. Always a pleasure to take time to contemplate the garden and observe the birds …
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Mine is teak as well. A couple of years ago I had the guy who pressure washed the siding on my house pressure wash the bench. It looked like new.
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Oh that Cardinal is such a pretty bird. We have nothing like it across here. Also the lichee. Adds something to that beautiful bench.
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No cardinals in the UK?
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Nope none unfortunately
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I miss cardinals! Our years in Virginia were graced by a multitude of those beautiful red birds. Also, I have the same or very similar bench by our pond. You are right about the pressure washing. A friend gave me my first orchid, also a white phalaenopsis, two months back when my mom passed. It has almost finished blooming. Help, please?
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Watch some youtube videos about caring for orchids. One I watched yesterday showed that the blooming stalk has buds and recommended cutting back to above one towards the bottom and another blooming stalk will come out there. That’s after it’s finished blooming and all flowers have fallen off. My orchid is a year old and I didn’t know to do that so I just let the stalk dry and then cut it. A new blooming stalk emerged from between the leaves. I also used to put any orchid in a relatively unsunny place which is probably why I killed them. One of the videos talked about how they need a cooler temperature at night.
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Love that you kept the bench!
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I just saw a sign for an orchid festival yesterday locally. Never grown before but tempted to go along.
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I suppose local growers would have great tips on how to succeed.
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I just commented to someone else how much prettier hellebores in gardens in other regions. I never liked growing them, but clients would buy as many as I could grow. They do not do so well here. I really do not understand the allure. I think they are popular because most people here are from somewhere else where hellebores are popular and do well.
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The Cardinal looks so exotic! It almost seems a shame to remove the lichen. How many years has it taken for them to grow?
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I guess it was four years ago that I had the house pressure washed and the bench at the same time. It looked like new. We have had twice the usual amount of rain this year so the lichens have loved the wet.
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