Daffodils

The crocuses have flowered abundantly - because of the severe cold this winter? But now they are withering and the daffodils are starting to take over.

Salamander

Spring is so nice! To see that some of the animals survived the ice.

We see lots of leaves in the pond and are dredging some out. Unfortunately, we dredge out the salamanders too. Next winter we'll definitely use a netting in fall. For now we invent a system with a tray to allow the salamanders to escape back into the water prior to disposing of the rotting leaves.

Lion's Dents?

Lion's Dents? Or Waldsteinia?

Awell, this photo was meant for the other blog, but it shows the early spring garden...

Find the frog

I am cleaning up some leaves, but then suddenly uncover this quietly sitting frog. I quickly close the leave cover again.

Winter Aconite

The Winter Aconite I dug out from the grounds around one of the demolition houses. It was actually a beautiful site, that I forgot to picture: a Magnolia, with Snow Drops and Aconites. They are obviously a bit worse for wear, but hopefully they survive for the next years.

Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite)

I am cycling with my daughter to some houses ready for tear down. And what is there? A lovely spot with a Magnolia and underneath a blanket of snow drops and Winter Aconite. I had just last week seen these on tv, see http://vroegevogels.vara.nl/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/. It is a Ranonculacae bulb flower, that manages to survive in the wild, usually around old estates.

Anyway, I went back, took the spade back and dug out some (without making a picture of the original, of course...). I planted them under the trees, because that is where they stood in the tv program. I hope I have given them a good new home...

The new Anemone survives

I was a bit afraid it wouldn't hold in the open air, but it is obviously thriving. For now...

Waldsteinia

The Waldsteinia in the front 'garden' (more like square) are starting to flower. Also the little apples are falling.

Are these flowers in the backyard then Waldsteinia too?

Another fern bites the dust

Another photo after: a fern gone and summer flower seeds in.

Crocusses

Fast is the word....

Buddleia

I remembered just in time to make the picture BEFORE I finish the work. The Buddleia was really beatiful this summer with lots of butterflies.

But so high!! Three meters? I bring the height down to a meter or so. But I need the little cute saw to do it. And how to get rid of all the chopped stuff that we have collgected in the garden by now?

Snowdrops everywhere

The Snowdrops are really taking off, walking on the lawn means meandering. I have 'marked' several sections off with bamboo - hopefully protects the flowers.

Anemone

The Anemone that I bought on Friday. I hope it will survive.

The crocuses

Lots of crocuses throughout the garden

Crocusses

It is going fast with 8 degress and a bit of sun shine.

Ideas

I went for lunchtime shopping at the garden center. I wanted to buy something that is in bloom now. But there was hardly anything there, and what was in bloom was obviously 'pulled into bloom' in a green house. Not reliable for my garden!!

The yellow flowering bush that I saw in our street is apparently a Hamamelus Molus ('Toverhazelaar' in dutch). Not that they had it, of course....

The magazines had some nice pictures: Japanese gras that turns red in fall., 'bloedgras' or Imperata Cylindrica 'Red Baron'. They showed it with a Canadian Maple and that went nice.

I now also have the name for the abundant flowers near the pond and the house. Persicaria. How about the outdoor living space.... ;) If only we had a space like that, walled in and with a roof. Where could we create a spot like that??

Further I bought an Anemone, because it flowered and looked like a small plant. And further some cheaper plants, I thought. And a water can for me (large) and for Ces (small)!! That will be cute this Summer, to water the garden with her. At the moment she enjoys watering the plants in the house with me.

The baby anjers

The baby anjers are showing. I didn't know this is how they grow. I suppose it will become a big bush this year? I didn't even know that they were winter hard.

Buds in the Hydrengea

The buds in the Hydrengea in the rear of the garden. There are so many Hydrengea's there!! Maybe ten or so. And then another six in the front of the garden. I suppose a few will find a spot in the front garden.

More blooms

More blooms, but what?

Heather in bloom

This is maybe not heather, but a type of Erica at least. It would do better in the 'winter garden' near the house. Shall I move it? In the tray near the house? Enough root space?

It is also gone a bit wild and grows anywhere.

The snowdrops opened up

The snowdrops first showed their beautiful white heads in the deep of the frost.

But today is a beautiful sunny day, and they really open up.

In the background the fungi. In the autumn they were beautiful white, but the frost has turned them brown. I suppose they'll return next autumn.

But the snowdrops are so beautiful!!

Black berries

A new surprise: black berries in the black grass!! I never saw them yet, although I think they must have been there a while.... They don't stick out, but hide a bit under the grass. I think they would be poisonous, by the looks of them.

I would like to look back through some older pictures and my red logbook: see what name they have and see if they flowered some time this year??

Removing Fern

Obviously I should have made the picture before, not after I removed the fern. In the picture you can barely see the hole in the ground. It is right there where the logs indicate the border of the border....

It was quite a huge fern and growing through the wood. I like ferns, but here it was too up front and too large. Plenty of fern in our garden anyway, and it easily multiplies, should we want more!!

Now we have some space to put some nice flowers in, or perhaps extend the lawn....

Attacking the ivy

In this quiet month of Februari - at least where it concerns the garden - we are attacking once again the ivy. A slow process to get rid of it, completely if possible. And to let sun into our house. Every square meter of ivy is about one green wastebin full. So we have to take it slow, or Peter has to drive to the waste disposal all the time.

The ivy is about 50 cm thick in layers and fixed with wire frame. While doing it we get itchy ivy in our eyes, hair and under our cloths. Yuck!!

Kiwi dropping

The Kiwi's are dropping. They give a lot of mess. A good reason to pick them all in fall for the marmelade. That is: if they will still grow after last week's cut.

Gaultheria

The Gaultheria comes from the same Christmasfair and was also very expensive. I bought it with the berries.

The Gaultheria stands next to the Helioborus, and is also good for the future 'winter garden'.

Helioborus

The Helioborus I bought at the Christmasfair at Kasteel Haarzuilen. It was very expensive, but look how it keeps on making flowers!!

I planted it near the house, so we might see it from the warmth of the house. I hope it will survive for next year and I will make this ridge a real 'wintergarden'. It never gets the sun in the winter, though.

Kiwi trimmed

A beautiful day but everything is frozen. A good chance to trim the kiwi. Can one trim a kiwi in January? I hope I am not doing any harm. After two hours of chopping and cleaning up a small dent is made. It doesn't grow over this side of the balcony anymore, now the other two sides!!

The pond is still frozen, the last four nights it has still been freezing, -3 degrees. But the yellow winter violets keep on going, since last october when I planted these.

Banana trees are down

The banana trees have not fared well with the frost. They are complete mash.

I was looking back at our first pictures of the garden, last May, and noticed I couldnt'see the banana trees either, so perhaps this is what they do every year?

In the fall I watched the BBC, where they showed how you should wrap them in stro. But then the previous owner told me she had never done that. So, well, I thought I would see if the thing is capable of dealing with our winters and otherwise give up on the idea of banana trees.

Lots of people (Frank, my mother) have commented last fall how much character the banana trees bring to the garden. So, from that respect it is a pity the banana tree is down.

In fall I had also tried to dig out some of the smaller new shoots, but it was impossible to dig them out without damage. So they died.

The picture on the left is from April 2008, last April. No banana trees!!??

Winter - Snow drops

I nearly stepped on these snow drops. I am exploring the back of the garden. I still want to use this area much more usefull, and in the winter it is easier to go around.

I want to put a lot of white and yellow stuff here, so it catches the eye. Snow drops are white, but to say that they catch the eye??

They are so pristine, no damage and after the -10° we have had! It is just as if they like the real cold!

Rose in ice

It is -10° at night, but the roses are still standing. After this they will surely quickly rot away, but I am very happy I didn't cut them down in fall. Each time I take the stairs in the house, I see them and point them out to little Ces.

More frost

And one last picture of the frost. See the sunshine reflected in the house in the background.

The bulbs in the frost

The bulbs are doing well in the frost.

Cob webs in frost

It was just this day, all the cob webs were covered with ripe. Funny that the webs were hanging there suddenly, I would have sworn that yesterday they were not there.

The garden in frost

Raking leaves and digging out Horta's

Everyday we rake leaves now. There are a lot of leaves, and it is good fun to do with Ces.

The leaves also fall in the ponds and I try to fish them out. It is a tiresome job and not very effective. Next year I want a netting in November over the pond.

It seems like the leave falling season lasts forever, but really it is only one month.

In the background you can see I have made a start with digging out the horta's. Horrible plants: full of snails and cluttering up all the space.

In the foreground the purple 'Lanterns' that I bought. I wonder if they will return next year???

Blue bushes, Caryopteris

These bushes were really unnoticeable untill they came in bloom: pale blue. There are three of them, on either side of the lawn. I think that I need to trim them back in spring: they look trimmed before.

Cat's tail? Purple Loosestrife

I am not really sure about the name of this, cat's tail? The dictionary gives as translation Purple Loosestrife. But I am not even really sure I have determined the plant well.

But it lights up really nice in the evening light. And I would really like more of this next year. Does it sow itself? I have several varieties in the garden of what appears to be cat's tail, but they are quite different. How does that work?

Coreopsis

Look at the flowers behind the girl flower.

Green terrace.

This is obviously the cutest girl in the world with the sweetest papa. But the picture also shows the terrace at the time. The ivy up above has already been opened. And the wooden plate above the door was gone - removed by Peter.

Lots of green, isn't it?

The big hole that was

And what was behind the bamboo? The big hole! Some of the planters behind the bamboo are already filled with new soil and plants on this picture.

Cutting the bamboo

Another famous 'afterwards' picture. The bamboo is nearly gone. A little bit of the ivy is still against the house.