A deep breath everyone, we’ve done it. Congratulations Gang, we have successfully managed to complete 2024 and have moved on to 2025, in spite and despite the festivities. Well I hope we all did.
It would be fair to say that this current spell of chilly, and perhaps snowy, weather is my fault. Last week I was bemoaning the mild and clement, hoping for something more seasonally appropriate. And my wish came true. “Sorry about that” or “you are most welcome”, take your pick. I might alternate between the two. Of course, if I had known I possessed the power of wishes, I might have chosen something quite different.
The SoS task is in its tricky stage for us in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun certainly helps with the challenge, we do our best until spring. If you wish to see some Southern Summers and Winter Wobbles then pop over to Jim’s at Garden Ruminations and enjoy. Let us make a start.
First we have a dried flower head of a potted hydrangea, an adolescent cutting from Peggy’s garden. At the moment it is loitering at the side of the house, Sun Alley, moved from its previous home to accommodate the roofer who didn’t turn up.
Each winter the blackbirds arrive, presumably from their Nordic summer homes. They love the apples we throw on the lawn for them but not, it appears, the skin. Today they have apple sorbet.
A self-seeded foxglove, most welcome in this garden, is showing how the most fashionable plants are wearing their frost this year.
Another evacuee from the shady front of the house (did I mention the roofer that didn’t turn up?) is this beautiful Polypodium cambricum. I have a little fernery, all in pots, and this is one of my favourite, presumably puzzled as to what this yellow stuff in the sky is.
The goldfinches found the teasels! Obviously, not in this particular photograph, you will have to take my word for it. I had faith and they came.
Another potted plant basking in Sun Alley is this sweet little cyclamen, name long lost, that never lets me down. The contrary is true. Each year I promise to divide and repot and as yet haven’t. This year, I promise.
There we have it, six on Saturday. Whatever the weekend brings you, stay safe and warm or safe and cool whichever best applies.
Off The Edge Gardening 
Well done fairy godmother, the blue skies were a welcome sight. Happy New Year!
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Ha, I like that! Happy New Year to you too x
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wow this blue sky!!. I’m jealous. I saw it a little yesterday at noon only. ( and cute cyclamens !)
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The blue sky has gone now, it was nice while it lasted. 😁
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Happy new year! And thanks for the weather! Good greenfly control.
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And Happy New Year to you too. Yes, we want to cut those little monkey off at the pass!
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C’mon. Concentrate on the positives. Might be a bit chilly but at least we don’t have belting rain. With luck, we’ll be able to don our thermals and build snowmen. Meanwhile, today’s origami task beckons……
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And how is the origami going? Pictures please. 😁
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Sunshine and frost certainly help things look more picturesque. That Hydrangea looks lovely. I was pleased to have colder weather too – it just seems proper somehow. Nowadays a bit of frost or a light dusting of snow seems to come with a weather warning.
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Don’t panic Captain Mainwaring!
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thank you for the winter weather…finally!!! Sorry about the lack of card this year. We dug our heels in and just didn’t send any..but I did try unsuccessfully to ring. Happy new year to you lovelies and keep your lovely SOS’s coming!! 🥰❤️🥰
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Yes to some Winter weather but I hope you aren’t badly affected by the snow. Roofers, ahh don’t get my started but mine did come eventually and to be fair the weather was lousy. I still have a ladder – thought it might be a useful hostage for any future visit but he doesn’t seem to have missed it!
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I’m ringing a new roofer on Monday. If this one fails my plan is to kidnap them all, put them in a room and chuck warm cowpats at them. You are welcome to include yours. Just rain here so far ……
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The whole of your blog made me smile, and I even laughed out loud at the introduction. ‘Name long lost’ resonates so much. Nice cyclamen dainty and sugar pink, unlike the blousy madams I posted today!
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Thanks Sis, the best compliment. x
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Just be glad you only caused seasonably cold weather! I caused Covid-19 by wishing out loud that I could have my job as is but without all the students. Sorry! A few months later, I got my wish, but it wasn’t quite how I had imagined it. Universities without students are dreary places.
I wish I had seen the blackbirds enjoying the fruit.Sorry about the unreliable roofer. I had an unreliable dry waller who I told not to bother coming at all after he didn’t show without so much as a phone call. New dry wallers came yesterday and my wall is intact again, needing only the finishing/sanding next week. I am excited as we will finally paint the dining room which I have been contemplating for 8 years. Good thing we are slow or we would have painted and then damaged the wall and had to do it all over again! Surprise Amber, a cantaloupe color, sort of. A warm color instead of the medium blue it is now. I hope I like it!
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The apple carcass reminds me of how rodents eat citrus. A tangerine tree, which is really just an American Mandarin orange, in my parents’ backyard was quite pretty with abundant reddish orange fruit, but the fruit was just hollow rinds. Rats made small holes in them and pulled the fruit out. Brent grew up with a peeled lemon tree near Los Angeles. Rats are the rinds off, but not the fruit.
Teasels are silly.
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What a fun post, and one of my favorite “Six” posts today! I think I would prefer your cold temps to mine. Our current lows are around -15C, which is normal for us. I wouldn’t mind, except that the plants don’t currently have a snow blanket, which is unusual for us this time of year. Fingers crossed that they will be OK. Happy “Six” and Happy New Year!
Beth @ PlantPostings.com
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I’m really pleased you enjoyed it. We are such wimps here, in the end it came to nothing much at all. Typical. Happy New Year to you too and thanks.
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An apple carcass! I love the name, seems like a contradiction. I love the teasel and have never seen it until I started blogging..such a great shape. Happy New Year.
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Thanks and very Happy New Year to you too!
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lovely frost. Happy New Year from a very soggy, sleety and dark Edinburgh. Holding on for spring.
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And the same back to you, keep the faith!
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Happy New Year! It’s bitterly cold here, you say you’re to blame for that? But we don’t have snow, it seems to have passed us by with only a couple of lightly frosted days. The downside is that I’ve had no lovely frosted plants to photograph. Lovely work with your photos, those teasels look great against the blue sky!
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Thank you and the same to you! We seem to have escaped the snow so far, thank goodness, pretty icy out there though. Stay warm!
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