3. How Does Your Garden Grow?
I found myself in a reflective mood whilst working on this week’s post. I wandered out into the garden with my camera and was completely stumped for anything interesting to shoot. Well it is December, I know, but the fact that there was so little to excite despite all our hard work this year wasn’t exactly uplifting.
This is the essence of gardening though; so much of it is transient and at the whim of the elements, you just have to embrace that fact or go crazy trying to control everything. And get a few more plants that provide Winter interest next year, obviously!
Anyway, I stopped moping and had a proper look around the garden, and there it was: a tantalising taster of next year’s flowers. Here we are in the darkest days of the year and still the buds are forcing their way in with a little reminder of the Spring to come. Hurrah!
My treasured Tree Peony, probably my favourite plant in our garden. It’s 4 years old now and growing quite slowly, but every year there are a few more showstopping blooms. Fingers crossed there will be many more photos of this beauty to come.
Our beautiful magnolia, full of bud and promise. This is the plant whose blooms I long for most at the end of Winter; it’s also my daughter’s favourite because she collects the petals to make ‘fairy perfume’.
Seeing these buds was like being told quietly, ‘Look what’s around the corner’ – a little reminder of all that’s to come. And amidst the lovely madness of Christmas that’s what I’m going to be doing too; looking forward to all that next year will bring.
Merry Christmas :)
I love Magnolia and think it would make a most excellent fairy perfume too!
I remember loving magnolias as a child too, I didn’t know what they were called but just loved how their big petals felt :)
It’s nice to see all those little buds growing. I’ve spotted a few growing on shrubs around the town. I also need to sort out some interesting plants for Winter next year. I have some cyclamen and pansies but that’s about it. Need more colour!
It’s so hard to keep things interesting over Winter isn’t it? I need to take more note of how other people have managed it when I’m out and about, and also remember to plan ahead with planting, every year I leave it too late!
My garden is rather colourless and muddy at the moment, I need some colour! But you’re right that looking closely for buds speaks of the colour to come in Spring x #HDYGG
It certainly cheered me up finding new life amongst all the brown!
Ahhh ‘Scatter Kindness’, what a lovely note to end on. As you say there’s great things to be found if you stop and look hard enough, lots of them require a smidging of imagination and anticipation. I’ve found little furry buds on trees in grandad’s garden and I can’t help but remember how lovely they looked last Summer and it keeps me going and looking forward to how great they’ll look again!
Thanks for joining in again x
Yes I do love the stark crispness of Winter but it’s lovely to find a promise of Spring here and there too isn’t it, I think we all need a bit of ‘newness’ to look forward to!
I felt like that when I went out there, too. It was uninspiring, but like you, I’ve since spotted the odd bud which lifts me and gives me blooms to look forward to!
Glad the buds did their job for you too!
I must go out and take a look in our garden, it’s been ages! Love that you found some life amidst the December gloom x
Oh thats a lovely angel. Magnolia by JJ Cale is one of my favourite songs do you know it?
It’s my favourite Christmas tree ornament so I had to put it in. No I don’t know that song, will try to find it though! Thanks for commenting :)
Just bobbed by to say how fab the blog is looking. Some gorgeous photography too. I’ve subscribed, so I can keep reading :)
Thanks, it’s all very new at the moment but I’m loving it. Need more hours in the day though! No change there….