january garden

Well, actually, it's february already... But I made lots of pictures of the garden in january. It's been winter... we had some severe snow during a couple of weeks. It made daily life difficult  (cycling to work was not an option) but it was a beautiful sight and the fresh snow smelled wonderful, especially on early mornings when it was still dark. On working days I used to start by cleaning our small terrace from the snow and feeding the birds. Apple parts, home made fat+seeds+fruit, raisins, seeds, bread, etc. They loved it. We have sooo many birds visiting our garden this year, even some new ones like the "kramsvogel", the turdus pilarus... (will not be making jokes about his name...) Kind of agressive and territorial. We call him "schrokkie (after Rocky) - one bird to rule them all..." But he is so funny! And the other birds keep coming back as well.

Meanwhile the plants have been under a thick layer of snow for some weeks and I was very curious how they would look after the snow melted. I am always surprised by the beautiful wonder of nature. After the snow had melted, the plants just picked up where the left (or stopped) when they disappeared under the snow. Even the delicate fearn-leaves and the big white flowers of the helleborus stood firmly again after a day. And under the layer of leaves the tulips, narcissus, muscari and galanthus (I finally planted some last autumn!) are growing slowly, but surely.... Last year I also planted one bellis perennis in our lawn - I just love a lawn full of daisies... and it is growing slowly but bravely as well! :-)

Last weekend, I just couldn't wait to work in the garden again. Het kriebelt!! I planted lots of bulbs in pots and I'm thinking about planting schemes, painting the walls (I don't like the yellow color of last year, it's too mediterranean) and sheds, and I started by building my own bamboo trellis. We want our walls covered with climbers. Last year I planted some hedera and ofcourse it does well. But it needed some help. So here's where the DIY trellis comes in. It looks great and is easy to make. I will continue making them for all the walls and will be planting many more climbers, such as hedera, but I also want lonicera and clematis. Ah, and this year we bought a real christmas tree, but promised we would plant it in our garden afterwards... so it is waiting on our terrace for that.

The last few days it has been very cold again, snowing and ice, and I don't feel like working outside for now. A good opportunity to think about + draw planting schemes...