August flowers

Hi again! Welcome to August in my garden. It's been up and down weather-wise... we had some warm sunny days at the start of the month where I threw all the windows and doors open and got the house aired and dried to its bones. We had winter storms and snow flurries, heavy rain and frost. But no matter what the weather's doing, the earth and the plants know the date, and everything is counting down to the spring awakening.

As I showed you in my last post, the wonderful hellebores are blooming and they really are lighting up the garden. Even with the frost and rain, their petals are firm and unblemished. Winter blooms continue with camellias and daphne, and the first early risers of spring are unfurling their petals - some delicate anemones, the long lasting blooms of paper daisies, one-minute-wonder crocuses and the first brave daffodils.

Last weekend it rained, I was travelling and then got sick as well. This weekend there is less on the agenda and I need to get stuck into the garden. Suddenly all those jobs that I thought I'd tackle at a leisurely pace when I got round to it have piled up... and they all need to be taken care of before the mad growth of spring kicks in! If you need me, I'll be in the garden...