Tags
Box ball, clipped Buxus sempervirens, Eupatorium Elin, frost, Hydrangea paniculata limelight, Ilex crenata, japanese holly, Joe pye weed, Pheasant's tail grass, Stipa arundinacea, Tuesday View, Winter
Cold Pheasants tail grass
The last few days here have been very cold but settled, frosty and still. Pretty to look at. The frost barely defrosts even in direct sunlight and so little actual garden work can be done. Cathy at https://wordsandherbs.com hosts the Tuesday View.
dormant
There will be lots to do once we move into February and the weather begins to warm up. In the meantime there is lots of fireside planning, research, reading and drawing to be done. Just look at this:
west facing patio, the home of a feed store for the last occupants, the goats.
It would seem as if this would be a great place to have a seating area as it catches the very last of the sun. In reality it gets covered in sticky stuff from the trees and the birds within the trees. I am presently working on an idea for a structure that will protect the area below the trees from the ‘stuff’ but that will not block out the precious light. I do not want a Summer house (too twee) or a pergola (it will not stop the debris) but I do want something there. Any ideas? So whilst I share my thoughts with someone who can make stuff, here are the close ups.
Eupatorium Elin
Ilex crenata
This small leaf evergreen, otherwise known as Japanese holly is a slow growing plant which lends itself well to clipping and is a good alternative to Box. I have not grown it before but found a bunch of five, half price in my local garden centre. Still in pots awaiting a home, I will let you know how they fare.
cold Box
Thank you to those of you who expressed concern/ sympathy about the leak outside my gate. Thames Water advised me that they had fixed the leak despite my concerns that the hole in the ground had filled with water again. Whilst writing this, the team to back fill the hole arrived. On pumping out the surplus water the pipe cracked and the leak is back with a vengence. Efficient.
Back to the plants and breathe.
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’
digwithdorris.com 
Your garden is looking so pretty in the frosty cold sunshine Dorris! Lovely photos of the frosted plants and grasses. My view looks exactly the same as last week, minus the sunshine. 😦 I hope you find a solution for the patio idea… a glass roof of some kind perhaps? Have fun planning! 🙂
Lovely low winter light in your garden this week. An arbor covered with honeysuckle might be an answer.
When you show these pictures we can see how much you have already made inroads into what once not long ago an empty space – well done. How about a simple open structure with 4 postsand a pitched tile/slate roof, or a 3 sided brick structure with a pitched and tiled roof and perhaps old rustic beams surrounding the open front face? What a shame about the water issue – is is storm water, or fresh? Increasingly there are problems with old clay pipework in both foul and storm drains – so perhaps that’s an upside, that it’s not a foul sewer! 🙂
Thanks Cathy, I do have a tendency to see what needs to be done rather than what has been done. You are on the same wave length , I am thinking a three sided structure with a roof , made in timber and wrinkly tin.
I love that description of corrugated sheeting! 😉 Do you see Gardeners’ World magazine? There is a picture of a structure in the Feb issue which made me think of you
No I haven’t seen it, it’s one of the few gardening magazines I don’t read. I will take a look. Thanks Cathy
If you don’t get to see it let me know and I will email the picture. It was in an article about seating