Diana Mead - Fine Artist

Plant of the Month 

Callicarpa Profusion

The small metallic purple berries of the Callicarpa are quite fascinating. I first saw this plant in a friend's garden and wasn't sure I liked it but she had teamed it with bright yellow Winter Jasmine and it looked terrific (my jasmine has yet to flower). Fortunately she views my copying her idea as a complement! 

I have noticed the berries remain uneaten on the Callicarpa for a long time each year but, things have changed, they have a fan! Every day this week a blackcap has been feeding on them, delicately taking a few each time. The bluetits and other bird visitors still  show no interest in them at all.

This Winter has ben so different from the last one, very mild but very wet. Like other gardeners I have found it difficult to complete some jobs that 

need doing. This week I managed to get out and spread a bark mulch in the fern and hellebore area before the snowdrops come up. They are already peeping through in the paeony bed so a mulch of composted manure was quickly applied there. Snowdrops are  lovely but the foliage seems to last for ever making it impossible to put some feed down later on.

Winter Honeysuckle

Mulching was done on a lovely mild day last week and I was delighted to see several bumble bees on the Winter Honeysuckle while I was in the garden. It is looking so pretty at the moment, covered with a sparkle of white flowers. It's quite an untidy shrub but comes imto its own at this time of the year when flowers can be few.

Actually flowers are quite abundant in my garden at present. I also have Winter Iris and an azalea in flower, hellebores in bud and Daphne Jacqueline Postill is starting to open