Colours of Winter

Tackling the January blues with floral yellows and whites:

January is often such a dreary month so its lovely to step outside and see patches of colour in the garden. Even our own little wilderness is in fact full of life. We currently have winter jasmine, hellebores, daphne and viburnum in flower and the dogwood branches are a blaze of colour. Growth from daffodil, crocus and snowdrop bulbs is starting to poke its way through the earth - like a promise of spring and a reminder that winter won't last forever. The quince buds are practically bursting and the lilac, flowering currant and magnolia are covered in (leaf) buds. Its still early in what has thus far been a relatively mild winter of course, and I don't want to get carried away, but its hard not to get excited when you see things starting to grow.

It occurs to me (as it probably has to hundreds before me - I can be a little slow on the uptake!) that so many winter flowers seem to be yellow or white(ish) and I wonder why. I know certain insects are attracted to yellow (hence why many fly traps are that colour), but surely there can't be many pollinating insects around at this time of year? I look this up later and find that the bright colours may indeed be to attract the few insects that are active during the colder winter months, but am also reminded that many of our common winter plants, such as winter jasmine and Chinese witch hazel, do not actually originate from the U.K. but come from countries which usually enjoy a warmer climate during the winter months.

There is so much procrastination and planning at this time of year and I really feel I ought to do something constructive, so I pick up a hoe and start some gentle weeding of what will be the vegetable/fruit patch. Unfortunately, we will only have space for a small patch in the garden so need to be very selective about what we grow. I have decided on the following: blackcurrant, redcurrant, gooseberry and loganberry bushes (purchased last year as young plants and therefore relatively inexpensive, though it may take a few years to get a good harvest of fruit!), some raspberry canes that we inherited from the previous owner, a selection of herbs, onions and garlic (we use a lot!) and some runner beans and strawberries (delicious and fun for the children to grow!). I may also throw in a courgette plant as the yield is so high and ideally some potatoes if I can find the space.

Weeding done, I put away my tools for the day. Further preparation and planting will have to wait for another day!