Lemon yellow flowers of Mahonia – this is a later flowering variety, while my others flower in early winter…
Suddenly it’s February and the gradual lengthening of the days has become noticeable at last.
Recently we have had rain and hail and sleet and snow and gales. But yesterday for once we had clear blue skies and the temperature felt almost balmy at 6 degrees Celsius. Just for one day it felt like Spring was on its way.
The sunshine makes everything in the garden look new and prompts me to go outside and just stand there for a while, listening to the thrush’s song (hear it yourself here) and the blackbird’s (here).
A single violet in flower…
The plants forgotten over winter are raising their heads – new shoots on the herbaceous varieties and a brighter look to the evergreens. Here, in pictures, is my update…
A snowdrop…
Hydrangea starts to show its leaves…
Hemerocallis (day-lilies) in a pot…
Japanese anemone leaves…
Bells of purple winter heather (Erica carnea)…
…and the white version of winter heather (Erica carnea alba)…
It smells better than it looks – heavily perfumed Daphne…
I seldom get more than one lovely white Camellia flower – looks like it will be the same again this year…
New tips on the Hebe ‘Red Edge’…
Another Hebe…
Robust self-seeded hellebore…
My little Euphorbia has survived winter well…
A wider view of the Euphorbia, whose heads are on long stalks and quite a long way from the leaves at the base…
The leaves of the same Euphorbia plant
It’s not all good news, though! I put these little capsicum plants out when they started to look messy. They were bought as a decoration in autumn. What are you SUPPOSED to do with them?
The day ended with another wonderful glimpse of the universe in all its glory – when I stepped outside I realised it was a very clear and crisp night, so I stopped longer than usual to gaze on the stars.
My favourites are the stars of Orion the Hunter, always so recognisable in our winter sky – bright blue Rigel, bottom right, red Betelgeuse, top left, and the three matched stars of Orion’s belt, with the fuzzy patch of Orion’s sword hanging below it.
A picture of Orion, sadly not taken by me! Click on the image to go to its source on the wonderful Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) site…
I always remember that if you follow the line of the belt down to the left you will eventually end up at Sirius, the dog star, which sparkles like a diamond, blue, green and purple, on a frosty night. It is the brightest star in the night sky.
Currently the great planet Jupiter is also riding high towards midnight, but shining steadily, not twinkling like a star. It’s not far from the Pleiades or seven sisters at the moment, another great landmark (or skymark). But only on such a very clear night here in the street-lamp-lit city are they visible.
From the smallest new green leaf to the most ancient of stars, isn’t nature wonderful at this time of year?
The Squirrelbasket 
Lovely post here Pat. I love snowdrops as you say all these flowers bring a breath of spring. The daphne is one of my favourites also.
Sadly I have very few snowdrops, growing in some heavy clay soil. That’s why you will only ever see a close-up of a single one 😦
Best wishes…
If you just stand and be your can feel and hear all sorts of things that you normally miss as you whizz by life each day 🙂
Love the photos – new growth is symbolic too …
Jupiter has been accompanying us on our after dinner dog walks although it won’t be today as it is grey and overcast. Looking up as you walk makes you dizzy haha.
Unfortunately the best view of the night sky here is from standing in the middle of the road in front of the house – the back garden is too overshadowed by trees. Apart from the problem of street lights, standing in the road looking up with my mouth open makes me feel a right plonker! It’s a shame, as I loved astronomy as a child in the countryside and even had a little telescope…
Ah, dizzy, that’s what it is – on a frosty night I get a ringing in my ears, but I just thought it was “the music of the spheres“…
Best wishes 🙂
Walking the dog on the local common there is still light pollution … but we still get to see the sky and from our back garden too. We are higher than the road behind us and so our view of the sky is quite vast. Amazing to watch meteor showers 🙂
Ooh, you are lucky. Although a “vast sky” can be quite scary, especially when you can see the milky way.
I haven’t seen a “shooting star” since 1976! I remember it well as I was at a party in a dark garden in Cambridgeshire at the time. I know, I know, I just haven’t been bothering to look in the right place at the right time…
Best wishes – and happy second birthday to your blog…
Lovely photos to tell us ‘spring is just around the corner’, here in the U.K.
Thanks, Mary. But I expect we still have some snow to come…
Best wishes 🙂
Your garden really is coming on. Spring is such an exciting season.
Cardiff is very mild, usually, so we are often ahead of ourselves in Spring.
Best wishes and thanks for the comment 🙂
Yes I notice the suns seems stronger now. Nice post.
And certainly the sun is getting a bit higher in the sky these days.
Best wishes 🙂
Applied topically, capsaicin desensitizes nerve endings and makes a good local anesthetic. Pepper seeds contain capsicidins, which may serve as an antibiotic.
The fruit of these plants can have antihemorrhoidal, antiseptic, and antirheumatic properties. They are also often considered good for digestive, sinus, and stomach conditions. The dried fruit has no narcotic effect, but can be used as a powerful local stimulant by dilating blood vessels and relieving chronic congestion. Due to its high vitamin C content, capsicum can also help boost an eater’s immune system. You can crush them and mix with a body lotion or olive oil and apply to hands to relieve arthritis/rheumatoid pain..then wear a pair of gloves.can apply to knees also ( cover with pants).be sure to wash hands thoroughly and DO NOT touch your eyes…so they are beneficial..
My daughter has an herb garden pot..and grows many other useful plants…Aloe, use for burns, cuts etc..hope this was useful to you….
Do you think those particular peppers were usable and edible, then? I thought they were just decorative…
Best wishes 🙂
yes..they are edible..so much for your all expenses covered vacation in Cancun… hahaha
those peppers are worth quite a bit of $..if you purchase at Health food store here……
I guess they are very hot like chilli peppers? I’m afraid I haven’t got a taste for those, I prefer sweet or spicy things rather than hot, hot, hot…
Best wishes 🙂
Your pictures have lifted my wintry spirits. Tomorrow, when it is light, I’ll go and see if my Japanese anemones are coming up too.
To be honest, here it’s so mild that my Japanese anemone leaves hardly ever disappear completely.
I loved your light-bulb rant, by the way, and will re-tweet it…
Thanks so much for becoming a subscriber. From a quick stroll it’s clear you also are a nature lover. I’m going to go check my hellebore, which are poking their heads out. I live on the East Coast of the USA, and today it’s blustery weather, really really cold. Spring and gardening are only weeks away. I’ve already begun buying seeds. I’m now going to stroll through more of your site.
Thank you for taking an interest. We are very lucky here on the western side of Britain, as it’s usually mild and Spring comes early. Are you in Delaware? Or farther south? I was just thinking you are being optimistic thinking of Spring already with all that snow in the American North East this last week?!
Best wishes – I will stroll through your site, too 🙂
It really doesn’t feel like spring here yet, despite bulbs being up etc. However, in the last week, I have noticed specially that the days are getting lighter very much earlier. It doesn’t seem to have been gradual – more like all of a sudden.
Ah, maybe you haven’t been paying attention! Only joking 🙂
But I notice it as I am up before 6am every day and always catch the time when daylight breaks.
Best wishes…
A lovely post. Like you, I love these odd Spring-like days that we get at this time of year and can’t wait to get out in the garden to see what’s happening.
Thanks for your kind comment – and I am now following your blog, too. Keep rambling on, however occasionally!
Best wishes 🙂
It’s starting to feel spring like here too, snowdrops and celandines were flowering in the woods yesterday. I enjoyed your astronomy update, Jupiter and it’s moons look great right now through a pair of binoculars.
We have lots in the garden (but not yet). I love the way they open and close their flowers depending on the weather. I don’t expect to see them here until March.
I haven’t seen the Galilean moons for decades. As a child I had a telescope and my father helped me to hold it steady. In those days Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were just little blobs, but now we have such wonderful images of them up close, from the various missions to the outer solar system. I am always reminded of 2001: A Space Odyssey…