December garden decay and bloom

Since we moved into our house earlier this year every month has been a small voyage of discovery to see what is growing in our garden here in West Sussex. Now that December has arrived I’ve noticed it’s all about decay and bloom. Since the first frost arrived many of the flowers – like my evening primrose – have stopped in their tracks. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that a few roses have managed to withstand the cold and wind.  The most wonderful surprise was to discover that a large shrub is actually winter- flowering honeysuckle and is now covered in delicate and fragrant flowers. Meanwhile we’ve been busy this week providing nourishing winter treats for the little wild birds. We already need to replace the toilet roll feeder!

So here’s what I found as I wandered around this morning in our December garden…

December garden honeysuckle shrubWinter-flowering honeysuckleDecember garden winter jasmine honeysuckle

Winter flowering honeysuckleDecember garden evening primroseEvening primroseDecember garden pink flower buds

Hellebores
December garden decaying hydrangeaDecaying HydrangeaDecember garden Silver lace Helleborus

Silver lace HelleborusDecember garden Mahonia x media charityMahonia media x charityDecember garden colourColour!! Erysimum Bowles’s MauveDecember garden Japanese quinceJapanese quinceDecember garden seeding Japanese anemoneSeeding Japanese anemonesDecember garden shrubGarrya elliptica

December garden tree budsTree buds flowering
December garden pink rose flowerA December rose!December garden dead rose budsAnd as you can see not all the rose buds are surviving in my winter garden.

11 thoughts on “December garden decay and bloom”

  1. There’s something about flowers that are dying (I can’t bring myself to say ‘past their best’ but you know what I mean). Especially when you see colour nearby. My neighbour has a fully blooming hydrangea with flower heads bigger than my actual head still pink and white and looking great – I must get a photo of it for you!
    Thank you for joining in and sharing Kriss, looking forward to heading back over later on this evening for a proper catch up x

  2. Even after being in our house for 13 years I still find things in the garden which I never planted! It’s a ever constant journey of discovery.

  3. I cannot believe how much colour there is still to be found and wonder what winter has in store for us in the New Year. I even saw a butterfly yesterday although in fairness night time temperatures over the last 2 nights have given us a slight frost, enough to finally finish off my tomato and pepper plants. Popping by VERY late from #HDYGG

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