What's looking good in January

Well, here's one of my favourite Shrubs for this time of year and it's showing off it's Catkins to the full right now, Garrya "James Roofe".

 

Thanks Mum My wife saw a Garrya many moons ago being grown in espalier fashion and we bought one, put it against the East Fence where it benefited from the spot being the site of a long established compost heap. It seems to take all sorts of weather without flinching and has always come up trumps with a great display. Surprisingly you don't see them all that often in gardens
Just to make you "happy" I'll take a shot of it with a wide angle lens to show you what it fully looks like.........''cos I know you'd like that!!.

 

This is my Garrya "James Roofe" as it stands today. I actually had to chop some of it, [sacrilege ] so I could fit my Green House in where it would near the house and in a sheltered position.

 

I had a quick amble around the garden to check on things and the roses are still flowering....that's just crazy!!



Plus while looking at the shoots starting to emerge I spotted my first...

 

Garryas always look so striking . The biggest one I've seen is in the walled garden at St John's College, Cambridge. I think it has had many years to get to the size it has.

Our garden is usually a bit behind most others because of the colder winds that come off the fields around us, but we do have some things starting to come along.

The Helleborus Corsicus are trying to break into bloom


I had a look at one of our hellebore patches and shall remove all these old leaves from them. It will help remove the shelter for the slugs and expose the flowers that are just starting.





Some of our white heather is just showing some colour


And the lilies are breaking through


The Epimedium is still hanging on to its heart shaped leaves but the yellow flowers of this one will soon come through - and the leaves will drop. Our clumps of the pink variety don't grow as large as the yellow.

 

The lovely red effect on this Elaeagnus is a bit of a cheat. They are some of the dying leaves!



Snowdrops are only just coming through now. Although it has been such a mild Autumn/Winter they are later than usual.



Our main cyclamen bed is crammed with leaf



Sarcoccoca is now coming into full bloom and the scent is stunning





No need to introduce these. They always brighten up a garden

 

Excuse me!!! , but every one's Garrya has to start somewhere!!!! Besides, shrubs tend to grown on quietly without you really noticing because you're busy doing other things. So to me it's not a case of "mine is bigger than yours" when I see other members plants whether their's is bigger or smaller than mine. If their's, or mine, is smaller it's a case of them, or me, being able to see what the future could be
I'm not a competitive gardener, I love my garden with a passion but I'm always genuinely surprised if someone likes it or a plant in it. I have other plants in the garden that I love just as much as the Garrya but the Garrya does have some good memories attached to it and it's that, to me, that makes it special and not the size.
Our Garrya posts were a coincidence, Mum, to be truthful and when I posted mine I had no idea that you'd posted as well. I have the advantage that a lot of the plants in my garden are a least a couple of decades old but there a still a lot of gardeners out there that are much better gardeners than I will ever be, and gardens that are much better than mine.