Anemone coronaria

Helleborus niger

Scilla

Vinca / Periwinkle

Fuchsia

Helleborus orientalis

After a couple of frosty days we returned to the doom and gloom. Not so much wind or even rain, but plenty of Cornish mizzle and definitely not enticing me out to do much in the garden, for one thing everything is depressingly wet and soggy. I nipped outside this morning to see if there was anything new happening.  As well as the purple and blue irises I showed you last week I also bought some little yellow ones. Iris danfordiae which have scented yellow flowers. At the moment they are just appearing, so I’ll leave them for another week and I shall make sure I get close to have a sniff when they open!

1. These Scilla have been opening for several weeks now, but only one or two at a time. They are really difficult to photograph close-up, so here’s a pitiful photo of the entire bowl. I think they must be the Scilla mischtschenkoana with their pale blue flowers and deeper veins that I grew last year. It’s quite a mouthful of a name! After this year I shall pop them under the Hazel tree.
   
2.  In my woodland border several plants are beginning to flower including this periwinkle  or Vinca (not sure if it is a minor or a major) which I have grown from a cutting I took from a plant in the lane. I know they can be invasive if not cut back, but this is a very shady area under the Goat Willow trees so nothing much grows here and the roots prevent me from planting anything substantial. The white flowers do bring a touch of brightness to the gloom. Looks like the S&S have been having a nibble already…
   
3. The dainty little Fuchsia microphylla ‘Cornish Pixie‘  is still flowering on. I don’t think it has stopped since I bought it a couple of years ago! It tends to get overshadowed by the Jasmine during the summer.
   
4. Helleborus niger, commonly called Christmas rose or black hellebore is finally in flower. Yay! I have several of these in the garden, but not all have flower buds yet. Again this is in the woodland border where there is no sunlight during the winter months.
   
5. In the autumn of 2018 I bought three Helleborus orientalis in various pink/reddish shades and this is the first one to produce buds! I am not sure whether the other two have even survived, but we’ll see. I can’t wait to see what the flowers look like once they are open. And more S&S damage I see. Sigh!
   
6. Last year I had these lovely Anemone coronaria De Caen in pots. They were stunning in bright red (Hollandia ) and a luscious deep blue (Mr Fokker). I have some more corms, but forgot to plant them, though I will do so soon as they can flower at different times of the year and it would be nice to have some in early autumn. They take 10 to 12 weeks from planting to flowering. These are obviously last year’s corms, and next year I’d like to try some of the single colour varieties. They like to be grown in full sun and need shelter from frost.
   

As always, if you want a peek over other people’s garden walls then please pop over to our host, the lovely Jon, AKA ‘The Propagator’ where you find links to many more wonderful garden enthusiasts from all over the world, though maybe not so many flowers at this time of the year.

See here for the participant’s guide.

Six on Saturday