Winter wonders - Page 5

Those white and purple crocuses at the Bristol Botanic garden do not mind the February freeze.  

They are under an old oak tree.

St. Valentine's day is in the heart of winter and the crocus is St. Valentine's flower, so HAPPY ST. VALENTINE'S DAY everyone.

Thank you Marion, that is so pretty.

It is Feb.17th and still officially winter but my garden is alive with colour since the botanical crocuses and the daffodils have joined the snowdrops and catkins.  here are some pictures taken this morning.

 Heuceras are lovely in the winter.

I think it is the one called Caramel, Verdun.  It is surrounded by blue bulbs like grape hyacinths which complement it nicely later on in the spring.  Did not the snowdrops just love the winter this year?  I have a huge drift of doubles which I will snap soon.

They're all looking good Marion .  Your sempervivums don't seem to have suffered too much from the wet weather either, quite a few of mine have rotted but I always keep a good supply of "babies" in the potting shed over winter to replace any that have to be pulled out.  They have always been a favourite of mine - probably because they are so easy to propagate!

Planting snowdrops today (asif I hadn't enough), I was joined by a bird that is new to my garden which a friend has said looks like a brambling.  It is finch size but even friendlier than a robin, so i whispered to him if he stayed there till I got my camera I would bring him some seed.  And he did.  Here are the oictures i took.

I have seen a wonderful sight near dorchester ,5 cattle Egrets by a stream,just because I didn't have my camera.Lapwings to flying in the fields at Maiden Castle.

Winter wonders, indeed, flowering rose.

My little sweetheart of a brambling has returned to feed at my picnic table.  He was chased a way after an hour by a blackbird but After the blackbird had gone he was joined y another brambling and three bluetits all happy to share the seed.

News of my winter visitors.  I have two bramblings!  I thought the one that seemed to be eating all day was risking obesity but I saw them both eating together.  Now i can tell them apart as one is darker than the other.

The first of the bramblings to arrive for food tosay looks like a male to me.  It will be so exciting if the other is a female as they seldom breed in Britain.

I would love to see birds in my garden- but with five cats I don't think it would be wise to encourage them.

You need a hide like my kitchen, flowering rose but my bramblings are so tame If I kept my camera round my neck i am sure they would let me take a close-up.

I am now catering at mu back door for one robin, one magpie, two bramblings, two collar doves, two bakckbirds.and three bluetits   the bramblings are the last to go when the big birds spook the small birds and the

first to fly back again.  They share their time betwwen the picnic table and the ground.  There colour is darkening but theydo seem to be of different sexes.

When I came out of the hospital this afternoon I was amazed to see all the daffs in bloom and cherry blossom on the trees- lovely- If I had been driving I would have stopped and taken a pic