Missing my hens on Pancake day

It's not the right time to get back into henkeeping, but as pancake day looms, I'm really missing them - and their lovely eggs. Once the avian flu scare is over, I think we might take the plunge again. It's lovely to have them around the place - they are good pest controllers and surprisingly they have great personalities too.

Hellebore Heaven

These humble woodland plants have been improved enormously by breeders in recent years; their shy, downward facing flowers are getting bigger and they’re being made to turn their faces up to towards us.  There are even some double flowered forms now, with flouncy, peony-like blooms, but I rather like the fact that you have to get down to ground level to appreciate them.  The simpler species forms also contain more pollen and nectar than the hybrids, providing a very useful food source for early Bumble bees.

Look for Helleborus orientalis cultivars for flowers in shades from darkest burgundy through to purest white.  More unusual but just as reliable are the lime green flowered Helleborous argutifolius and Helleborus foetidus, or stinking hellebore (don’t let the name put you off). They are striking additions to the border and have architectural evergreen leaves that give some interest through the rest of the year.  The leaves of Hellebores should be removed just as growth starts again as last year’s leaves are tatty, prone to disease and can hide emerging flowers.  Hellebores are good and hardy, often flowering where not much else will and are a great asset in the garden at this time of the year.

Winter stems

This is Cornus snaguinea 'Mid Winter Fire' which has bright burning orange stems - plant in large groups to get the best fiery effects.  Now is the time to prune Cornus by cutting out some of the oldest growth right down to the ground. Check which cultivar you have, as some won't need a really hard prune. 

The pliable winter stems of Rubus cockburnianus look like a roll of frosted barbed wire and need plenty of space. This plant is related to the bramble - I'll say no more.

Many Willows have brightly coloured young stems, but need pollarding to show them at their best. Willows are very vigorous and not always suitable for a small garden. They grow best near water.

Snow days

Brave shoots and daring buds are emerging in sheltered places - at the base of trees and in the hedgerows.  It is still cold and there is always the possibility of snow and harsh winds, but we are so very nearly there... roll on the spring.

Winter water

Even in the depths of winter water is enticing. I'm not sure I can bring myself to swim in it, as lots of people do, but a walk by a pond or down by the seashore is energising and head clearing.  Plants like willows and dogwoods with coloured winter stems like to grow in damp soil, so poolside plantings work well.

Ponds are good, but nothing beats the beach.

Which Witch?

Witch Hazels are wonderful plants, lifting the late winter gloom with their scented, spidery flowers. The one pictured is H. intermedia 'Pallida.' For orange flowers there's H. intermedia 'Jelena' and then 'Diane' which has red flowers. They are related to hazels, not witches, but have been used medicinally for thousands of years and also were used as water diviners, so perhaps they are related to witches after all.