First Frost

A couple of hard frosts this week ( even in Ainsdale) which left a coating of crystals on the plants and shrubs in the garden including the heads of these hydrangeas in the front garden.

Contrasts

The dark leaves of the Smoketree contrast against a gold leaf of the Sweet gum tree.

Sweet Peas in November

Who would have thought that the Sweet peas would still be flowering in November even after a couple of frosty nights.

Autumn Acers.

Crab Apples

Although we had a good year for fruit with lots of apples and even a large conference pear. We haven't harvested any of them they have either been blown off the tree or succumbed to blossom end rot. These crab apples look the healthiest coming from off a tree we didn't even know was there until late spring when I pruned the Cornus and Forsythia shrubs back.

Last of the Butterflies

Summer fades.

Just like summer, the colour of our hydrangeas is fading.

Beautiful butterflies..

The garden has been full of butterflies this week with a couple of new faces in the comma and painted lady. They seem very fond of the Erigeron family. From the top left: Comma, painted lady, red admiral and small tortoiseshell.

Farewell Factory Hill

This week we said our final farewell to our cottage. It was built around 1783, mum and dad it bought it in 1948 so it has been our family home for over 70 years. It has seen many changes over the years and who knows what the future holds for it. To me, it will always be the cottage 1000ft up on the edge of the West Pennine Moors. Surrounded by woodland with a stream running along its boundary, a field and open moorland to the rear. A haven for wildlife from Robins to Roe deer ( not to mention a few cats and a labradoodle too ),

Autumn Gold

Star flower of the year in the garden is this perennial sunflower. Helianthus decapetalus or Ten petaled sunflower. 

Lavertera

Lavatera × clementii 'Rosea' - Tree mallow to be precise. We found this struggling and hidden behind one of the conifers last autumn. Potted up and give some TLC it is now over four foot tall and flowering well.

More Opium Poppies

I had no idea that opium poppies came in some many different varieties, colours and assumed that they were all singles. The doubles and semi-doubles that self-seeded into our garden this year are amazing.

Papaver somniferum

What a display these self-seeded opium poppies have been putting on in the garden.

Geranium Johnson's Blue

One of the original plants from the front garden at Daneway. I can see why this hardy geranium is so popular. Not only does it look good, but it also spreads well. It doesn't seem to mind dry shade and poor soil under the apple tree either.

Osteospermum jucundum compactum.

Allium Flowers

The end of May and the Alliums start to flower.

Cornflower

Centaurea Montana (perennial cornflower) is a traditional cottage garden perennial forming a clump of greyish-green leaves and bearing deep blue flowers with red centres, opening from dark brown buds in May and June. Attractive to bees and butterflies and good as cut flowers.

Spring Acer

Acers are perhaps known more for there autumn colours but they can be just as vibrant in spring. This is Acer palmatum 'Hino-tori-Nishiki' ( quite a mouth full ) which has been grown in a pot pending our house move. 

Cherry Blossom

Who can resist taking a picture of cherry blossom, especially these double pink flowers on the ornamental trees, it's so pretty and this year it's extra special because it belongs the cherry tree in our front garden.

The Hobbit Hut

So here it is the much-anticipated Hobbit hut. It took just under four hours to erect and came complete with Scandinavian grill, reindeer hides and a fire extinguisher.

Bluebells

The garden is now a carpet of blue and green with bluebells growing in all of the borders. The big question is whether they are native of hybrid Spanish ones. It actually looks like they are a mixture of both with the Spanish flowering before the native ones. The one pictured above is a Spanish one.

Pretty Pigeon

Hyacinth

An unexpected spring bulb thriving in the garden at Daneway. We certainly never succeeded in them ever returning the following year never mind flowering at the cottage.

Collard Doves

It is so nice to have a pair of collared doves back in the garden. They bred successfully last year I hope they bring there young into the garden this year too.

Gotcha Day

The 12th of March 2019 marks the anniversary of our 1st "Gotcha Day for Daneway. We have made a start to the garden but there is still a long way to go. These are a few comparisons of then and now.

Summer in February.

It's not much a case of spring arriving this week but summer as temperatures soared to as high as 20 degrees, the hottest February since record began. Everything in the garden has come into flower all at once, snowdrops, crocus, daffodils and these colourful Bellis perennis "Bellissima". 

Spring is in the air.

The last time I photographed this beautiful Algerian Iris it was covered in frost, what a difference a few weeks makes.

Stinking or Not

So the Hellebores growing at Daneway are not as I first thought Stinking Hellebores but in fact Helleborus argutifolius or Corsican hellebore which is a native to Corsica and Sardinia. So last week we had the Algerian Iris from North Africa this week we are in the Mediterranean with Hellebores.

Iced Beauty.

Iris unguicularis or the Algerian iris is one of the beauty's that I uncovered underneath the apple trees at Daneway.

A Sharp Frost

Whilst the snow doesn't stick on the ground by the coast you certainly get frost and this morning it was a particularly icy morning with hoar frost coating the garden. These are the evergreen leaves of the Erigeron glaucus (Seaside Daisy).