I’m sitting in the dark on a Friday evening preparing my #SixOnSaturday. Storm Éowyn has cut our power, and it looks like we might loose a laburnum tree from the garden, which is currently sitting at an unpleasantly jaunty angle at the west end of the garden. It could be worse. We still have the roof on! Just nearby there have been gust of over 100mph recorded, wow. Luckily, I collect my six yesterday, so here they are. I’m going to post this early, while I still have a data signal.

First up, it was hard to record the storm by camera. Here, you can see adjust sweeping over the pond and flattening last years grasses, which were standing high.

In a quiet, sheltered corner, aconites have just appeared, sitting amidst the shoots of daffodil and other spring bulbs.

Nearby, a clump of cyclamen looks lovely, but yet again, it has no flowers. Anyone have any idea why?

Some lovely furry shoots of something are coming up in the border. Not sure what this is, possibly the hardy perennial cornflower.

This evergreen has grown waist high from a tiny cutting I was given in north west Scotland many years ago. We call it a New Zealand Holly. I’m not sure what else it is called.

Last, but very much not least. I posted a blue crocus bud next week. It wasn’t — it was a lovely iris, here it is now in full flower.

I hope you enjoyed my stormy #SixOnSaturday. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. All you need to do is find 6 things in your garden to show us. Then post on social, or add a link at Jim’s blog below. For regulars, our organiser is Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot

This week we’ve had a warm-snap, with temperatures up to 11 and 12 deg C. Some things have put on a spurt of growth, I’ve put on a spurt of walking round the garden and looking at stuff. It seems like some cooler air from France is on its way though. Before I get to the gentle wander round that this week’s #SixOnSaturday represents, here’s a bonus image for those with a geeky interest in temperature. I have combined the latter with last year’s new hobby of crochet to start a ‘temperature blanket’ — choose a pallet of colours, then crochet of row of the appropriate colour, every day, all year. So far, the first 12 days of the year are here (New Years Day was rather warm, hence the limey green). Now I need to go and add that warm snap in ‘nougat’.

For this week’s six, I will start with warm thoughts about the growing season. I thought I’d try some early greens, the first seeds of pak choi and mustard have been started in the house, now they must take their chances in the greenhouse.

Last year’s flowers are featuring still in the borders, with hebe just flowering and flowering. I had to show this close-up, what a delicate cluster of little flowerlets.

In terms of new growth, witch hazel has just begun to unfurl its tiny pale, yet sweet-smelling flowers.

Snowdrops have decided that now is the time to start flowering, although the cold-to-come should slow them down quite a bit.

One of my small-flowered roses has also started to give growth a grow, with new leaves coming amidst last year’s rose-hips.

My most joyful find of this week is the start of the crocus season. It must have got warm enough on the windowsill near the house door to start them off. Almost in flower!

I hope you enjoyed another winter #SixOnSaturday. It is midwinter, yet just a short stagger into the garden on a sunny day brings hope and joy. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. All you need to do is find 6 things in your garden to show us. Then post on social, or add a link at Jim’s blog below. For regulars, our organiser is Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot

This week we have had a cold snap, with daytime highs just above freezing and some proper night frosts (-4.5 dec C). We are well above the snow belt that is covering the rest of the UK, so there have been lots of glorious skies and wonderful winter light. I made the most of it to show you a couple of blooms, and lots of buds, for this week’s #SixOnSaturday.

A wonderful bloom, this is a simple hellebore with mostly a lime-green flower that is easy to overlook. Yet, look a bit closer, those petals have a very odd red rim. Interesting ancient-looking flower.

My second blooms is also somewhat diminutive. Tiny flowers come on the pieris at this time of year, well in advance of the new red leaf growth that will come in late winter.

As I browse around the garden, with my walking sticks crunching against the frosty grass, I see many plants coming into bud. The pear tree against the house wall is full of buds, standing out against the solid blue winter sky.

A year ago, I tried a bit of rhododendron pruning, which must have been at the wrong time of year, because the flowering was disappointing. It’s looking much better a year on.

I’m also hoping for many blooms on the little shrubby magnolia stellata in February. There’s a wonderful cluster of buds this year, with an interesting fan of branches.

Last up, I caught one of the apple trees in the afternoon sun, just before sunset at about 3.35pm, a great time to be in the garden attending to what’s new. Also good to feel the light coming back, this week sunset was more like 3.40pm….it’s getting lighter every day.

I hope you enjoyed another winter #SixOnSaturday. It is midwinter, yet just a short stagger into the garden on a sunny day brings hope and joy. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. All you need to do is find 6 things in your garden to show us. Then post on social, or add a link at Jim’s blog below. For regulars, our organiser is Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot

The start of a new year. Each time it happens now I feel old, how did we get 25% into the 21st century, and what a mess we’ve got our world into……but enough of that. The first snow-sprinkle of the year has given my garden a fresh perspective. A new year also brings new ideas for the garden, new growth, even a few new blooms. I have a new hip going into this new year (3 weeks old!), so can’t get down as far as I’d like for close-ups, but I had a try, to find lots of little gems for the first #SixOnSaturday of the year.

The VERY first persicarium flower of the year was spotted this morning, poking out from a recent sprinkle of snow. What a delight.

On evergreen plants there are often winter berries. This shrub has had lots, but only a few are hidden enough to evade the squabbling blackbirds.

This creeping oleander vine can be a bit of a spreading menace at warmer times, but just now, its little flowers glowing against the sun-warmed house wall look lovely. I have always admired the slightly spiral form of the petals.

On a winter bench, I have small tubs of species tulips beginning to appear. Last year, they enjoyed a little winter sun, came early, then got hammered by pouring rain. This year, I’ll take care to move to the greenhouse if there’s rain due when they get into flower.

My favourite winter bloom is the hellebore, and this purple specimen is my favourite of them all. Starting to flower now, with wonderful simple blooms. It is always hard to see the full flower due to their nodding habit.

A cold day today, the pond was just beginning to thaw a little to allow garden birds to come to wash and drink. The textured surface looks peacefully beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed my first #SixOnSaturday for the year. It is midwinter, yet just a short stagger into the garden on a sunny day brings hope and joy. Thanks to those leaving comments on the blog – sorry if I don’t always get back to you on time! The blog is going well, but it would be great if more folk on Mastodon, or other parts of the Fediverse got into tooting a Six! Go on, it’s a much kinder form of social media, not controlled by crazy billionaires. All you need to do is find 6 things in your garden to show us. Then post on social, or add a link at Jim’s blog below. For regulars, our organiser is Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/. And I’m on mastodon @julie3dharris@mastodon.scot