Does Absence Make The Heart Grow Fonder?
Modern day air travel may have much to commend it but to be lifted out of a record heatwave only to be deposited into bleak midwinter does come as something of a shock. Not least when it then gets cold enough to snow.
Galanthus nivalis, the woodland snowdrop
Fortunately there are compensations. The snowdrops were already fully open when we arrived back mid January and probably the best I’ve ever seen them too, carpeting the woodland floor in places. Deep and crisp and even. The trip away was carefully timed to spare us the darkest months of the year, enabling a return as the days are getting longer and signs of Spring burst forth in the strengthening light. With everything that’s happening in the garden at the moment it’s a plan that worked out better than I ever dared hope.
Galanthus plicatus ‘Byzantius’
But you know me, I hate the cold. And I was dreading coming home to it. Without trying to milk the situation, heaven forbid, a small conciliatory purchase didn’t seem inappropriate. It’s the first time I’ve had a puckered petal snowdrop and isn’t she just gorgeous. Now I want them all. Oh dear.
Galanthus x hybridus ‘Merlin’
One of last year’s specials. ‘Wendy’s Gold’ was out as well but sadly just going over before plant, photographer and camera found themselves in suitable alignment. I have learned something about snowdrops this year, namely that there is shade.. and then there is deep shade. The first specials to grace chez duck didn’t do so well but these last two have enjoyed a few more rays of sunshine since planting and they’ve fared much better.
Of course no scientific discovery can by fully accepted into fact until it can be reliably replicated. And with a larger sample size..
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’
The winter garden isn’t just about snowdrops, glorious though they are. The witch hazels were occupying my thoughts on the plane home too. For weeks I’d been seeing photos in other bloggers’ gardens. Would I have missed my own? Almost, was the answer.
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Robert’
But they’ve clearly had an exceedingly good year. Though they may be fading now all have been covered in blooms.
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Primavera’
The earliest Chaenomeles for me is always an inherited red one. I have no idea of the name.
Hydrangea petiolaris
We’ve certainly had our fair share of wind and rain over the last couple of months but amazingly the garden is much as I left it, with the dried blooms and seedheads from last year still holding firm.
Phlomis russeliana
Panicum virgatum ‘Squaw’
Even the taller grasses are for the most part still upright, wafting gently in the breeze and providing essential structure in borders that would otherwise be laid bare.
Inherited Erica hybrid, against a backdrop of lower growing Sesleria autumnalis.
Is there anything that grasses don’t enhance? Even the humble heather looks trendy again once suitably entwined. I see this combo at eye level from the kitchen window and it will go on providing cheer for months yet. The flowers darken as they mature.
Erica carnea ‘Nathalie’, underplanted with crocus
Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’
Cyclamen coum, quietly spreading out under the Davidia tree
Helleborus ‘Penny’s Pink’
First out of the traps in any ‘normal’ year. Not this year though..
Helleborus orientalis ‘Anja Oudolf’
This year the prize must go to Anja. And she’s usually one of the last. Hellebores do take a while to get established. ‘Sleep, creep, leap’ applies particularly well here. But when they do get going there’s really no stopping them.
I hope that eventually hellebores will join the snowdrops in covering the woodland floor and make a real winter impact. Note the daffodil, bottom left, almost in bloom. In this garden, normally, I never see a daff this side of March.
Helleborus orientalis ‘Harvington Double Chocolate’
Presumably in support of the cause this lovely thing leapt into my basket at the same time I bought the snowdrop. Much as I always appreciate such a gesture it can make life difficult on the walk back to the checkout. The trick is to wait until time is short or (more likely) Mike is itching to leave. That way he won’t have the patience to wait for stowaways to be returned to the bench..
Wherever you look now there are signs of good things just waiting to happen, like this Pieris preparing to bloom.
Tetrapanax papyrifera ‘Rex’, planted last autumn.
Way to go to reach maturity perhaps. But it’s still alive. Always a good sign.
Magnolia x loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’
Masses of buds! So does absence make the heart grow fonder? Perhaps. Winter may not be over yet. But with the solstice behind us a corner has most definitely been turned.
And finally..
Stakes in the ground.. woo hoo!
Keeping busy. That’s the key.
Linking to Sarah, Down By The Sea (here), who has plenty of winter colour of her own.
And in the meantime, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to the roaring fire!
Looking very lovely for winter weather.
I was pleasantly surprised. I’d been watching the weather forecasts and seen all the wind and rain happening back home, so I half expected everything to be flattened!
It would have been a shame to miss your winter treasures, they raise the spirits even when the weather is terrible. Have you got Galanthus ‘Jessica’? Once you start on snowdrops it’s a slippery slope. I love ‘Harvington Double Chocolate’, it’s new to me.
I should have ‘Jessica’ shouldn’t I. Will look out for it, very pretty on the google image search. It is a slippery slope. And now I’ve discovered where the specials seem to thrive how can I not try more?
Sorry about the cold, but we are selfishly pleased to see you back presenting your beautiful garden
Thanks Derrick. Yes, the cold is taking a bit of getting used to. But there couldn’t be a better time to be back.. Spring is in the air. Sort of.
It would have been a shame to be away and miss these treasures.
It would. The winter garden is really starting to develop and long may it continue.
Absence doe make the heart grow fonder and also more appreciative. Could you stand the heat of Australia all year round? I know it is cold here, but there are compensations as you have shown. Today we have a really good day, every sign of snow has disappeared, the sky is blue and the sun keeps popping out brightly from behind the clouds – what’s not to love when you have a pretty snowdrop with such a delightful seersucker effect on her pure white petals – Galanthus plicatus ‘Byzantius’ is gorgeous.
A few months ago I’d have said I could stand the heat, but it really has been very hot this time and I could easily see how that might be debilitating. Perhaps instead of having winter as the off season it would be summer! Taking refuge with the air cooler rather than the roaring fire.
Maybe I shouldn’t tell you that it’s going to be almost 70 here today (I suppose to make up for last week’s winter vortex). Enjoyed your tour, especially the eye-catching hamamelis and cornus.
Wait until you get to Washington!
It’s started to get a little milder here but it will be a few weeks yet before we’re rocking the 70s. But it has happened in March before now so a heat loving girl can still dream.
It all looks wonderful. And I am learning that snowdrop/shade lesson as well. It means planting them further from the house so I will have to walk out to see them. But in one season I could see the difference. I am hoping to find ‘Midwinter Fire’ this spring. What a color!
I am amazed the difference just growing the snowdrops a few feet away has made and, as you say, in just one season. Previously the shady side of the path, now the dappled side. I think I will be making more room on the latter.
Snowdrops and hellebores – both beautiful in very different ways.. The Harvington Double Chocolate hellebore is a wonderful colour:)
That hellebore is almost black in bud. It’s going to be a challenge placing it, somewhere it will show up amongst the other plants, probably close to the house where it will get frequent inspection!
If I ever had any confusion about the massive affection snowdrops engender on your side of the pond, your photo of the woodland display has cleared that up. How wonderful they are en masse like that! The idea of having a woodland full of them and hellebores fills me with envy. Heck, having a woodland area in itself fills me with envy. I’ve always admired witch hazels but I’m well outside the range of all species I know of. Erica, on the other hand, is another matter and I may have to try one of those out. Do the stakes signify the setting for a future greenhouse? If so, I’ll have yet another reason for envy.
But you’d hate the cold that comes with all those plants, honestly you would!
Yes, it’s a greenhouse. I hope. A lot of water to pass under the bridge yet.
Oh my! Really looking lovely.
Thanks Susie. A nice welcome home just when I needed it.
Oh, how truly beautiful! I would put up with any amount of cold (and I dislike it too) to have a woodland area such as yours with all those treasures obediently popping their flowers out each February. They are all delightful.
They do get better every year, the snowdrops spread beautifully and the hellebore clumps get larger. Something ate many of my hellebores last year so I’m hoping whatever it was doesn’t have a good memory!
Welcome home Jessica, we’ve missed you and the garden. Xxx
Thanks. It’s an exciting time to be back in the garden. A whole new growing season.
Welcome home to the Northern Hemisphere! It’s lovely to see all those Snowdrops, Witch Hazels, and Hellebores in full bloom!
I hope your weather is improving, it sounds horrendous over there. And that your own treasures are safely tucked away under the snow awaiting their moment.
Your woodland snowdrops are looking wonderful and I’m so glad that you are now into your specials! Your garden has certainly been busy while you’ve been away, how wonderful to come back to all this colour.
The specials are rather addictive aren’t they. I’ve been quietly increasing them at a rate of one or two a year. I’m now looking to see if the poorer performers return at all this year so I can move them to more favourable positions.
I’m sure you must appreciate the beauty & greenery of the UK after some of those long dry drives you went on in Australia! . It was really interesting seeing Australia through your eyes. Lovely to see your garden again… & a big hi from the cockatoos 🌞😀
Hi cockatoos! I miss them already. And the kookaburras.
There is one more post to go, I am still running behind. But it’s started raining again so that will have me housebound for a bit.
Australia will always hold very special memories and I hope it won’t be too long before we can return. After all, there is still a lot left to see.
Nature gave you a lovely welcome home.
It certainly did.
So nice of your garden to welcome you home with some beautiful colours…and yet still let you go back to your roaring fire for a while.
It was lovely to go round and see what was flowering or putting on growth ready for Spring. I did a lot of planting last autumn, thankfully most of it is still alive!
Thanks for joining in this month. That’s so clever that first image looks so like part of Britain! Wow your garden gets better and better every year doesn’t it? That display of snowdrops is fantastic I remember you showing us over the years the snowdrops and the special varieties that you have bought also the same with the witch hazels.It’s lovely watching them develop over time over the internet! Sarah x
It isn’t until you look back you realise how much change there actually has been. It’s one of the most satistfying aspects of having a blog, for me anyway.
Well, that really is a beautiful selection of treasures to come home to! I am with you on the cold – one reason I have been very reluctant to move back where I am now! But even I will admit that the precious little flowers that brave frigid January and February are particularly special.
It will be very different gardening where you are, but possibly with greater scope? The lovely thing about winter blooming plants is that many of them are fragrant and some quite powerfully so. Daphne and sarcococca can stop you in your tracks.
What a great Welcome Home! Those puckered petal snowdrops are exquisite. After the heat of Oz you will need to wrap up for a few weeks while you acclimatise. As always, it is great to have you back.
Thanks Virginia. I am really feeling the cold. I dread to think what the heating oil bill will be this month. Enjoy the rest of summer!
Back from your trip those woodland treasures must have been a wonderful sight of welcome. 🙂
Absolutely. Everything is so early this year, I didn’t expect half the display I was treated to.
Anja and Chocolate – two unusually beautiful colours.
Yes indeed. Anja is getting better every year. Hopefully Chocolate will do the same.
What joys to return home to Jessica. They must have helped you to warm up. It looks as if you’re finally succumbing to the snowdrop bug 🙂
I’m afraid I have properly caught the snowdrop bug. And there is no known cure is there.
So much color and beauty to greet your return, simply stunning photographs !
Welcome home, you were missed 🙂
~Jo
Thanks Jo. I was lucky that we’ve had such a mild winter so far, everything is very early. I almost missed the witch hazels!
J & D > Not necessarily. But returning from a long absence may well do. J > My mother used to say that, having moved to a new home, it was the going away from that new home and returning to it that engendered a love for that home. Some might say, that depends on the home and where one has been away to ; but, in our experience of many moves of home, my mother proved to be correct, even though a couple of our homes were far from ideal.
The garden is always the thing that anchors me again. A gardener is always planning and looking forward, there is no other way. And then there is the joy of putting the suitcase back in the attic. Living out of one for any length of time, especially if you are touring and constantly packing and unpacking, can get very tiresome.
Lovely seeing so many blooms, especially those carpets of snowdrops. I empathize re you coming home to such cold weather, hubs and I struggled with that over the last three years. I really enjoyed reading of all your adventures in Oz, what a wonderful adventure.xxx
One more Oz post to come plus a stopover that you’ll recognise. It seems the weather changed just as we arrived back, for the colder!
What a wonderful show of snowdrops Jessica….. my sister bought me some for my birthday as they are my birthday flower. I love them. Your garden is so colourful in the Winter ….. we have one witch hazel which is looking lovely { our garden isn’t as big as yours !!! } and the long, lime green catkins on the other hazel were so special as we have never had catkins on it before. My friend is in Oz at the moment, visiting her son ….. she isn’t fond of Winter either !!! XXXX
A snowdrop is perfect for a birthday flower, for me it always signals the start of a new year. Perhaps I should adopt it too, although my birthday being a little earlier that yours I would have to make do with shoots but no blooms!
Glorious photos, and well done for achieving such a wonderful carpet of snowdrops. It really is worth the effort of diving clumps and spreading them around further as it doesn’t take long to make an impact. I am glad you have still been able to enjoy your witch hazels – as I am planning to open my garden in Feb next year too I have been monitoring when mine flower and some are definitely past it now, which is a shame – but of course it could be different next year. I have made a note of H ‘Anja Oudolf’ – she is Gorgeous!
It could be very different next year, I do think everything has come out much earlier than usual. Perhaps now we’ve had a cold spell it will all slow down. The snowdrops in the wood have spread unaided by me but I do think I will move some this year, so that I can start them off in another part of the garden. Anja is gorgeous!
I hope the weather warms up a bit for you. I don’t think it will reach the temperatures you’ve become accustomed to but at least maybe a little sunshine and warmth can lure you away from the fireplace for an afternoon!
We’re back to rain. Which is almost worse actually, given that the garden has become a quagmire again. Hopefully it will improve this week, I can’t wait to get out there again.
Very exciting that the stakes are in the ground for your greenhouse! Your garden certainly greeted you beautifully upon your return.
Well it certainly won’t be as large a greenhouse as your wonderful example Peter but I do hope it will hold some treasures. As ever, I shall look to you for inspiration!