January has been a wet dull period for most of the month here in the UK with some areas suffering from severe flooding.
Fortunately, a tour of the garden can bring some cheer with signs of spring not just flower colour but beautifully patterned leaves.
Providing a powerful scent by the front door is the Christmas Box
I propagated this one from a berry/seed on a course at Pershore Horticultural College many years ago.
What is lifting any January Blues in your garden?
brimfields.com 
Lucky you! Spring has sprung.
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There is still time for winter to return Eliza!
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It is gratifying to see that English ivy is still appreciated within some gardens. It is such an aggressively invasive exotic weed here that I have no interest in adding even the ornamental cultivars. However, I sort of miss the old fashioned needlepoint English ivy from a former garden.
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Is that a lemon cypress behind the violas? Monterey cypress grows wild near here (in Monterey, of course). It is a very big tree. An old cultivar with yellowish new foliage that fades to green was available years ago, but I have not seen it available since about 1990. There were a few specimens of it at a beach house near Pescadero, but as they matured, they became less yellow. Now, they look no different from the other Monterey cypress. I am interested to see how lemon cypress performs as it ages.
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It is a conifer used here as a winter bedding plant Tony, often discarded in the Spring.
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Oh! I should not have read that! Although it is not my favorite form of the awesome species, it is still too pretty to discard. I know it can be difficult to grow though. I see some in Santa Cruz that have big holes in their canopies where the foliage rotted out. We have a pair here that were supposed to be the same cultivar, but the texture of their foliage is more similar to that of wild trees rather than soft and ‘fuzzy’. I suspect that they will grow more like the wild species.
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If it makes you feel better Tony, I keep mine as long as I can.
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I should probably just get accustomed to their status as disposable. When you eventually need to get rid of one, what is the primary reason; or why are typically not retained for long?
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Hi Tony, there is a tradition in this country of using what is known as bedding plants. These are usually planted out twice a year they can be conifers along with bulbs and spring violas. This is then followed with perhaps Pelargoniums or other summer flowering annuals that are not hardy in our climate. traditionally, these would’ve been disposed of as they were replaced although this is becoming less sustainable environmentally these days and is slowly falling out of fashion..
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Oh yes; we use bedding plants also; but they are typically annuals or short term perennials that I can ‘sort of’ tolerate as disposable. Conifers, such as lemon cypress, are not considered to be bedding plants. The straight species is native nearby, and grows as large trees. That makes disposability even more unpleasant.
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A lot of people don’t like it over here either because it can be invasive, however, I like the ornamental forms and it is a valuable habitat and source of food for wildlife.
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All lovely, Brian (except the aconite and mahonia of course, which dothing for me (too yellow!) 🤣 I am glad there is lots for you to enjoy in your garden in January
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I just love the yellow flowers this time of the year, and thank you for the tour. That cloud pruned conifer is quite magnificent. What is the variety, and did you train it yourself?
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Hi Noel it is a Leylandii, I bought it ready done a few years ago, it was on special offer! I just trim it twice a year.
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I see you are having a dreich time of it too. The Sarcocca ignore the weather, stay healthy and fill the air with their perfume. The thought of some dry days to come is keeping me hopeful at the moment :). Amelia
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It is a beautiful sunny day here today so the Gardener’s spirits are lifted.
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