If there is a lesson to be learned about the rose above, 'Phyllis Bide', it is not to overlook what is in front of your face. Planted outside the front door a few years ago to replace, on a whim, the bright pink 'Pink Perpetue', the bud that this bloom opened from must have been in evidence before I noticed the fully open flower on Thursday, but I hadn't seen it. Not that I was expecting to see any roses in bloom halfway through January, although it does sometimes happen - and admittedly it tells me that this is a rose I had forgotten to prune when I did my climbers back in the late autumn! The front of the house is in full sun for most of the morning, so the sunshine that accompanied some bitterly cold days this last week has clearly given Phyllis a boost. Overall, however, she has still been outperformed by her predecessor, and needs to pull her socks up to justify her front-of-house position.
Today, I remembered to catch up with the progress of the potted hyacinths that have been tucked away in the dark for several weeks, and it was a sorry sight - as you can see from the photo below, the flowering spikes themselves had begun to emerge but were already rotting. Although judging the right point to bring the bulbs into the light can be tricky, I have got better over the years, but have failed dismally this time... Not only had I forgotten that the room I placed them in is now heated, I had also placed the pots in black bin liners to keep the light out, so the poor bulbs will have been sweating all this time. There were three pots in total and although the bulbs in one were not quite as advanced and at a stretch may still produce blooms, I have composted all but a couple of the other bulbs... Definitely lessons to be learned for next year!
Number three of my six contributions for Jim's Saturday meme is a little unusual. I was pruning roses last weekend when I was aware of something flicking towards my face as I snipped a stem, and into my eye. Immediately retreating to the house, I washed my eye thoroughly and did the usual manoeuvres with my eyelid to try and dislodge the intruder and although I could sense there was something still there, I couldn't see it. During the week it remained a minor discomfort so I repeated these exercises periodically until today, when I wiped my finger gently across the outer corner of my eye and pulled out this rose thorn! Although tiny, just a few millimetres long, the point was still sharp, so how it remained hidden and without causing any pain I cannot imagine - although I can imagine it scratching my eyeball or getting stuck into the delicate skin around it, but would rather not think about those scenarios! Protective eyewear may be advisable for rose pruning in the future...
With temperatures a little milder today than of late, any of the named snowdrops in bloom have been picking themselves up and holding their heads high, making it easier to see any distinctive markings, like 'Fieldgate Prelude' below:
With the working greenhouse largely fully-functioning again, I took the opportunity of sorting my seeds into sowing order and making a start on the early sowings, setting up my usual contraption beside the constant heat of the Aga. Seeds are sown into quarter seed trays which are then placed into zip-lock plastic bags and placed onto the shelves, which hold fifteen trays in total. As soon as germination takes place, the trays are taken out of the bags and taken to the greenhouse, a process that will continue into April with additional second sowings as required - exciting times!
Finally, whilst popping into our local garden centre for basic garden sundries, I spotted a sales corner and snapped up two half price hellebores, looking no sadder than those in my own garden who have not enjoyed the recent negative temperatures but who will bounce back very soon...like many other plants, one can never have too many hellebores, and I may go back for more...
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