nature – Page 2 – GWENNIESGARDENWORLD

February 2, 2025

ALMOST SPRING

It is still Winter but there is also a little bit of Spring. I went to the arboretum near where I live and there were already plenty of flowers, ofcourse all those flowers were winterhardy.

And the bravest of all flowers over here in Northern Europe is the snowdrop, they are not bothered by snow or ice they always are the first to show their blooms.

Cyclamen coum is also winterhardy and performs year after year after year in white, pink and purple flowers.

Hammamelis, there were many hammamelis bushes, the flowers always look like they need a bit of ironing, they come in many colours.

Pieris japonica is preparing to bloom soon but they are already looking pretty.

A couple of black swans were having fun in the big pond , they couldn’t have choosen a better place to raise a family, they will be well protected in the arboretum.

Edgeworthia or paper bush was ready to open their flowers.

Not everything was ready to open their buds, like this prunus species. Maybe next time I visit the arboretum again.

In January we got twice as much rain as normal and very few hours of sunshine but that is about to change, light frost at night and sun during the day, we are all longing for a bit of sun here and we hope to have finally a nice Spring and a lovely Summer. Fingers crossed !

Have a great week and enjoy the beginning of a new year in the garden.

January 13, 2025January 13, 2025

WINTER

We are having a bit of Winter, just a bit of frost and a bit of snow, nothing really out of the ordinary compared with what people in other countries get. I hope you are all safe and well.

I took the first pictures of 2025 as the frost made everything look a lot better.

Lonicera nitida, a wintergreen bush with small leafs but it grows really fast.

Euphorbia cariacias looking sad as they don’t like the cold.

My white camelia, already with buds.

Russian vine, taking over the garden, I think we need a professional gardener to remove it, it grows faster than the speed of light !!!! So beware and don’t plant it !!!!

Rhododendron in bud also as we had a soft and very wet Winter so far.

Viburnum tinus,a pretty wintergreen bush that can handle a bit of frost, it will soon bloom with soft white and pink flowers.

And my spineless holly who was already defrosting in the sun.

The frost makes the garden look very pretty and it brings a lot of the birds to our garden as we feed the birds and they have a bath in our pond. It doesn’t matter how cold it is, the birds want their daily bath.

Take care dear people and enjoy your gardens and balconies and keep safe !

September 12, 2024September 12, 2024

AUTUMN

The Summer that was no real Summer is gone and Autumn is already visible. It is now the 12th of September and already we have had more rain in these 12 days than we get normally in the whole month, so September is the 12th month in a row that we get more rain than what is normal. And more rain is on the way. Not that I am complaining, I’m just telling what this Summer was like. We had hot days too but never 3 days in a row and the garden suffered, the flowers never stayed pretty for long.

Here are a few Autumn pictures for you.

I hope all is well with you and to those who have Autumn, enjoy it, to those who have Spring, enjoy it !!

Thank you for visiting !!

May 21, 2024May 21, 2024

MY GARDEN IS LUSH AND GREEN

What with all the rain we have been having for many months my garden looks lush and green now, most flowers are far behind.

On the left you see a viburnum, on the right is my rosa guirlande d’amour

In the back you see my goatsbeard, it is not in bloom yet, the garden geraniums (macrorrhizum) are performing well.

The biggest green spot is from viburnum tinus, on the right is a laurel, on the left you see a bit of my syringa meyeri, a small lilac bush.

This is sedum spurium, winterhardy and makes a lovely green carpet.

This is our pond, completly overgrown, the plants just exploded, they seem to love all the rain.

Another garden geranium, geranium sanguineum, a small geranium that performs well.

They are not expecting good weather any time soon, the snails are having a party every night, for me that is the biggest worry, they have ruined a lot of my seedlings. But there are worse problems in the world, I feel for the people who’s house and everything in it is ruined, for the people who are trying to survive in the many wars all over the globe, who lost their kids and relatives….

Take care and enjoy your garden.

May 13, 2024

AN EXPERIMENT

I have been experimenting with some of my pictures, I made them from color into black and whites.

Date palm fruit stalk.

Huge opuntia bush against the sky.

Curly tree branches.

Albizia julibrissin leafs.

Tree branch.

Opuntia disk in a pot.

Have a great week !!

November 20, 2023November 20, 2023

MY FIGS

It is definitly Autumn now although the temperatures are still above normal. We had a LOT of rain and part of my country is under water. There are still a lot of leafs on the trees.

There is not much to see in my garden, I still have a few flowers, roses and fuchsia’s and my Skimmia Kew Green has many buds who are waiting for Spring.

Skimmia Kew Green has white flowers and normally it has green buds this time of the year but the buds are already white now. This shrub is by far the prettiest thing that I have in my garden at the moment.

My fig tree looks ugly at the moment, it needs a good cut but the best time to cut off branches of a fig tree is between Christmas and New Year if it is not freezing.

As you can see it is still full of figs, alas they won’t ripe anymore as for figs it is too cold.

Another view of my figs.

I cut my fig three down really hard every year as I don’t have the space to let it grow like it normally grows but each year it gives me a lot of juicy figs. And the birds in the garden loves them too. I just can’t keep them off.

I hope you are all ok and enjoying your garden.

Take care !

October 4, 2023October 4, 2023

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

September 23, 2023

JUST A FEW PICTURES

I know it’s been a while since I posted something here but I have been busy making jam from the fruit in my garden. And lots of other things too as I finally am able to do my job after my operation. Also my camera broke down and I have a new one but I have to learn how to work with it. It is completely different from the other one. The manuel my husband printed for me is a 5 cm thick book on A4 format and printed on both sides……… I haven’t got very far yet !!

This was taken a few weeks ago, every thing was still green and lush.

My roses have done really well this year, most of them have rosebottles now and are turning orange but this tiny part of my rambler showed a few last roses. Rosa Seagull.

My Verbena bonariensis did well too this Summer, they are still in bloom.

Hibiscus siriacus flower.

Fuchsia magellanica, a winterhardy fuchsia, I have several bushes in my garden, they always bloom as if there is no tomorrow, such a gem in the garden.

My other fuchsia’s did well too, these ones go in the garage where it doesn’t freeze.

Have a great weekend !!

June 4, 2023

GOOD OLD FASHIONED ELDER

Elder or sambucus nigra is a fantastic big bush that provides flowers in Spring and edible berries later on. The flowers and berries only grow on wood that is 2 years old. You can cut the bush really short if you like but then you have no flowers and berries for that year. But it regrows very fast. You can use the flowers and the berries in jam , syrup , cakes, smoothies and all sorts of food, it helps to cure coughs and kills virusses. The birds and the bee’s love it too. So what is not to like ?

The flowers, aren’t they beautiful ?!!

Close up of a flower.

And the buds.

I can really recommend this bush for the garden, at least when your garden is big enough as it grows to 4 meters by 4 meters but by trimming every second year you can keep it lower and slimmer.

Have a great week !

April 30, 2023