I thought I would give today’s Six on Saturday a miss, but the sun is shining, and after the torpor of yesterday’s Christmas lunch, I felt invigorated by an early morning Boxing Day bike ride, so here I am. I hope everyone had a pleasant Christmas day and is feeling hopeful for the new year ahead.
1 Rainbow. Hope is the theme of my first photo, taken on Christmas day, of our habitual view of the flanks of the forest. Surely a sign of better things to come?
2 Spanish bluebells. More hopeful signs on the ground. First sightings of the bluebells poking through. I know a lot of people have taken against Spanish bluebells, with some British gardeners seeing them as an invasive non-native species, which I think is a little unfair and disproportionate. They behave themselves pretty well in the garden, and haven’t colonised any other areas.
3 Fuschia magellanica seeds. The transformation from flowers to seeds took me by surprise this year. The others are all still in flower.
4 Chamomile. Lovely to see how well this has self-seeded itself along the front path. I will be making tea with this bunch in the summer, all being well.
5 Rosemary. Something has been nibbling away at it, and here is the culprit. I seem to have a lot of these rosemary beetles this year, and this unfortunate creature and accompanying grubs have been put on the bird feeder. This mild winter seems to suit them.
6 Snapdragons. I really wasn’t expecting these to still be in flower after Christmas! Perhaps it will pull through the winter? My garden is pretty sheltered by trees and brick walls, and you can see in the second photo that this little bed still looks decent. Apart from the ferns, not a lot has died back, the herbs are all fine and the Heucheras are happy here.
That’s all for this week, I’ll be back for a New Year Six on Saturday. There are still dedicated Six on Saturday regulars to be found on The Propagator’s blog, and they all go to show that there’s still plenty going on the garden, you just need to look.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy and more hopeful year in 2021, and thank you for reading!
What a beautiful bright post! I do love snapdragons, but even more I love a rainbow. Stay safe and well 🙂
Thank you! You too.
You rainbow photo is really lovely! The fuchsia berries look amazing. Do any birds come in to eat the fruits? The weather is really strange worldwide, and it has been interesting to read how some gardeners in the northern hemisphere have experienced such mild winters. I have never seen a rosemary beetle before. They are very pretty.
Thank you! Haven’t seen birds eating the berries on the fuchsia but I will look out for them. The changing weather patterns are strange indeed, worrying from a larger perspective but also interesting from a gardening point of view…things keep going so much longer!
Very pretty pink snapdragon flowers. Here it goes and it comes… Today I don’t have many of them in bloom anymore : only a purple one…
Nice shot of the rosemary beetle. I had taken a close-up on Twitter 2 years ago https://twitter.com/frdvil/status/1027977571735150592?s=20
Great close up, they are pretty. We have more and more of them.
The rainbow must be kind of a Christmas greeting comming from nature itself. Stil so much life in you garden. We also have Rosemary on our balcony and it’s blooming nicely 🙂
Thanks Rudi, I agree the rainbow is a good omen! 🙂
I hadn’t heard of the rosemary beetle, I hope I don’t meet it either. Quite a summery Six-on-Saturday, certainly not a midwinter look. That rainbow is lovely. Best wishes for the New Year.
Thank you. Those rosemary beetles are increasing in numbers, they come from Southern Europe and climate change means they are thriving further north, including the U.K. They go for sage and lavender too, but they are quite easy to pick off and feed to the birds!
My mother-in-law still has a snapdragon flowering. Very pretty. I hadn’t realised the beetles were active at this time of year – I’ll have to check my rosemary!
Check for the little grey grubs too, usually near the parent. I spend a long time staring at the rosemary, if the neighbours saw me they’d think I had a condition…!
Fingers crossed your snapdragons will over winter. Mine have occasionally and we are much further north than you. That’s a lovely rainbow picture.
Thanks – it would be great if they make it, less seeds to sow in spring 🙂
Great Six! Happy Holidays Sel!
Thank you Donna, and Happy Holidays to you too! 🙂
Thank you, Sel! 🎄
Your first shot reminds me of a very famous landscape image by Galen Rowell.
I hope your Christmas was enjoyable and that we all enjoy a better 2021. Happy Holidays, Sel!
That is a spectacular photograph by Rowell. Not wishing to detract from the photographer’s talent, luck and timing really come into it with those kinds of shots, don’t you think? My rainbow lands not on the Dalai Lama’s palace but more prosaically on a building formerly owned by a Belgian insurance company, awaiting conversion into a hotel and office complex, but I’ll still take is as a good omen! All the best to you too Steve for 2021, enjoy your holidays.
According to a story by him, he was leading a photography tour and saw this developing. Being tired at the end of a long day no one in the group wanted to take a chance but he ran to a spot and made the image. It was luck but that usually favors the prepared…and those willing to take a risk.He was a very fit individual specializing in photographing rock climbers while climbing with them so the run was right up his alley.
So maybe an insurance building isn’t quite up there with a Tibetan palace but the important part is that you got a nice shot. Maybe one of the offices will be for mindfulness training. 😀
Tis a harsh time of year for a bike ride. Invigorating though, as you mention. We’ll done you!
It’s a great way to banish the blues! Can be a tad chilly to start off with though.