In the garden – What a difference a week makes

From the snow of last week the garden has been returned to normal. Sometime between 2014 going and 2015 coming in we had rain so we woke up to the New Year without any trace of the snow and ice that had covered everything. Since then we have had more rain, heavy frost, bright sunshine and strong winds but still the garden battles on. As you can see the white hydrangea has bounced back although it is still looking very leggy. To cut or not to cut?

The bamboo has jumped back up as well. You would have never known that just a couple of days previously it was pinned to the ground by the snow.

I thought the snow would be the death of the geraniums but yet they still carry on. Some even have flower buds on. I'm torn between trying to protect them (even if they look as if they don't need it) or to just enjoy the greenery outside my patio window while I can.

The buds on the flowering currant are getting bigger. This week I have noticed Mr and Mrs Blackbird have been in the garden together and look as if they are viewing potential spring nesting sites. They have nested twice behind the flowering currant but last year they got beaten to the spot by the robins.

Round the front of the house I have even more daffodils out in bloom! On dark days their bright yellow trumpets provide a welcome splash of colour.

I thought one of the daffodils would never recover from the snow attack but it has and shows no ill effects. I always find it amazing how resilient nature can be.

Now the ground is clear I have also noticed the new spring bulbs are poking through. As the daffodils flower so early by March they have all died off so we planted a selection of bulbs last year. Hopefully next month we will have a display of snowdrops followed by crocuses and narcissus. It just shows that even if you don't have the greenest of fingers a few select bulbs and plants can keep your garden going all year round.