Asters in the snow

Snow!

Lots of snow this year in December.

Kiwi

Picked and un-picked sides.

Rose in November

The things that flower in November.... In the background the Persicaria.

Aster

They look nearly dead all year, but when the flowers appear!! Due to the rainy weather they wilted fast.

No grapes

The grapes are horrible this year. Moldy and shrivelled. Too much rain no doubt. We've not had a beach day since mid July, for example. I have not eaten any grape. All for the sparrows this year!! We pruned the plant, and cut off the first branch, the one that is out of reach. With a bit of sunshine next year...

Yucca

Rock garden bloom

The pond still with reed

This picture can't be made anymore. Peter has removed the reed. I found it blocked the view too much, and it is hard to keep under control. There is still some free growing stuff. Let's hope it doesn't overtake the pond...

Rock garden

Malva and Coreopsis

Pink climber rose

The new Jasmin

The new Jasmin looks happy. While in Greece on holiday, I saw many Jasmin varieties and large bushes. It obviously loves heat, this is a hot spot.

I was looking for a Kalamata olive tree, but that was not possible: not the time of the year.

Robin Hood

I have no idea what plant this is. It just came up after we had removed the hosta wilderness, it must have been there all the time. This year for the first time there is a flower: purple cover with a near black spike. It lasted for a couple of days and then whithered.

Bottle Brush

My Australian pride, the bottle brush. Bought in Switzerland at the Coop. I have learnt in Australia, that Australian plants always have their toes in the underground wet layer: that is how they survive the dryness. So, I ensure this plant is always in a wet layer. I failed sometimes last winter, when it was upstairs. So, this winter it will be in the living room, even though that is a warmer spot.
But the winter harsness has not harmed the flowers.

Violet

Dry, dry, dry, but the Violet keeps going.... and not in a dry spot...

Salvia

New Salvia. I am not sure if she stands in the right spot: not visible from the house. And so abundant! She stands in the new curved area.

Pink Rose

This Rose stood under the Elderflower tree, and was wasting. Now she stands in a sunny spot with space. Interesting colour.

farmer Jasmin

Rock garden in bloom

Anjer, Armeria and other flowers.

Pink Malva

This pink malvais more like the wild one. It is abundant and great.

White Malva

White Malva near the gold fish pond. Nice effect of the shade on this photo. Ever since I saw the first white Malva here two years ago, I have tried to propagate it. With good succes: it is now a good bush.

Eggs in the nest

Peter is once more attacking the Ivy, this time because the neighbour requested it. But we find these eggs, little green eggs, haven't seen a bird near it for ages....

Garden in flower

Flowers everywhere, and lots of growth everywhere. Are some too large after three years?

Pulsatilla

The Pulsatilla was beautiful when it flowered, but it is still nice - as the book said - just as seed fluffy things.

Lis

Isn't this a beauty? It is common in the little canals, but still, who cares?

The black background is the water of the pond. It doesn't appear muddy, but visibility is very low. I suppose that sounds contradicting..... It definitely looks different than last year.

Cotton gras

In the pond's shallow grows the cotton gras. My mom recognised it immediately, right after we moved into the house. Last year it was not much, but this year it is splendid. Would it be the low water level last year? Or the high level this year?

It has a beautiful pearly shine, that I was hoping to catch on the photo.

Banana's in memoriam?

This is where the banana's were.... I see some big holes with rotten roots. I doubt it will come back, but I won't dig for a while yet.

Alium

These came back great! About six of them. One of them I cut to give to my mum for a vase. Well, perhaps that saves the bulb and gives more flowers next year??

Apparently Alium is great for bees, that is important too!

Aquilegia, winter Aconite and Campanula, who wins?

Here the Campanula is winning! But perhaps they are all winners in their own season. First the winter Aconite, then the Aguilegia, and later the Campanula. Do you see the seeds on top of the Winter Aconites? Good harvest!!

Flower garden

I haven't done much work on this spot yet, it more or less grows like it does. There is the Polemonium caeruleum ('Jacobsladder'), red Varian, Aquilegia (in dark pink) and some first yellow spots of Alchemilla mollis. The Dicentra just stopped flowering.

I planted some small tomato seedlings (bought) in here. It is a sunny spot, let's hope they give some fruit! The cucumber didn't make it, and the tomato is getting quite overgrown by now....

The row of trees

I have not made this picture yet, while it gives a good view of the row of trees. On the left, barely visible, the cherry tree, then a bird cherry, unvisible a prunus squeezed in between the bird cherry and the pear tree. Then a pine and that is all.

In the Summer they block the view of to the houses of the neighbours. Their houses are standing quite close, as there are on small gardens in between. The trees are quite necessary for the privacy in the garden! But the tricky thing is their distance to our border of course. As they are quite old, they are undisputed, but we will have to keep them moderately trimmed. Some task....

Aguilegia

Forest Aguilegia, it is the Aguilegia, that I planted in the 'forest' area. It is definitely surviving.

Click on this picture and zoom in: it's got great resolution and definition.

Azalea

We have just watered the garden because of the drought. This azalea stands in teh most sunny place of the garden. That doesn't seem right, but it surviving.... And flowering beautifully.

Anemone, they are back

They have survived, and well too. Lots of babies, too, seedlings.

Dotter

The first leaves of spring!

And suddenly they are there: the fresh green leaves!

And a spring visitor to go with it.

Surprise

What's this in the garden!

Daffodil

A gorgeous daffodil with lots of petals. It is so heavy, it hangs to the floor!

Land scaping

I want make a path here, so that Ces can run circles and so that visually the garden becomes more one whole, and not two halves.

But after an afternoon of digging, it doesn't look like much. I am a bit disappointed, but perhaps it will get better in spring. It needs more work.

Crocusses under the Jasmine

Crocusses under the Jasmine near the house.

Crocusses

Another nice clump.

Crocusses

With a first bee. Good to see that some are alive after all the stories about viruses with bees.

Akonite

They are back and have really opened up. I will need to move the campanula's - they are too close. But what a joy that they have settled. I have seen the place that I dug them out from, further down our street from a derilict house, or the house from the water management association. The mothers there are still there, I saw, under the Magnolia tree. But hidden behind a pile of cut shrub.

Crocusses

Flowers!

Crows in the trees

Ces wanted me to take this picture. I have been trying to get birds on the photo, but it is not easy.

Blackbird

We also get some birds, here a blackbird close by the kitchen window.