Tree Following January.

The Acer negundo Flamingo in the Oriental Garden is my tree following choice for this year...

December 2014

...the beautiful slate blue grey branches in winter...

December 2014

...are one years growth, I have pollarded this tree for at least the last 10 years...

January 2015

...to maintain a manageable size, the lovely winter stems and wonderful leaf markings (It will sometimes revert to plain green leaves if left to grow full size.)

When you see the leaf markings in the summer you will see the value of pollarding this Acer.

To visit other blogs Tree following click on the link to Lucy Corrander's Blog Loose & Leafy http://looseandleafy.blogspot.co.uk

There's a Buzz in the air...

The weather has been beautiful today, warm with spring sunshine...

...the Mahonia has been covered with Honey Bees gathering an early spring feed.

A Black Cap and Winter Sunshine.

Welcome to Our Garden@19 for 2015.

I have posted a few photos of what is happening in the garden this weekend.

The male Blackcap arrived in the garden on the 13th December, it has taken me until now to catch him on camera, he is a very elusive bird.

The Hamamelis mollis 'Pallida' has been flowering in the Oriental Garden for a few weeks now...

...when I was pruning the climbing roses on Saturday I notice the delicate flowers of Clematis cirrhosa balearica amongst the Mahonia japonica Beali.
It has wonderful Pixy Hat-like flowers with red freckles inside.

Sarcococca confusa (Christmas Box) reliably flowers this time of year, it is by the South facing front door, producing wonderful scent from such small flowers...

...I grew this shrub from seed several years ago, when I attended a propagation course at Pershore College, this makes it particularly pleasing to see it doing so well.

I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse of Winter Sunshine and all your garden wishes and dreams for 2015 come true.

For more birdie photos please visit Tweets' Diary on the Home bar.