My garlic that started to peep through on Christmas Day, is about 2 inches high now!  I still have a dozen or so white climbing roses flowering on almost leafless stems and my kiwi still has leaves on but the birds have almost stripped the haws off the hawthorn tree now, so that's looking very bare.

A couple of visitors on the recycling bin today....

Winter aconites in flower, nice bit of winter colour

Oh forgot to say that we have some lovely white roses, they are also in full bloom, rekon about 10/15 flowers out.

First bumblebee seen visiting the winter-flowering honeysuckle today - hope it can retreat to hibernation if cold weather now sets in!

I am finding this mild weather very frustrating.  I am wanting to get in the garden and do the early spring jobs with the warm sunshine on my back, but I just know it's too early!  I wish it would snow, then I wouldn't be so tempted! 

In my pond I've a few Marsh Marigolds, they usually bloom around March/April time, these have been in flower all year and are still in full bloom.

Edit: 4th Feb. They WERE in full bloom, this last week of frost and an inch and a half of ice on the pond has put paid to their happy life.

Frost well and truely gone now and apart from a bit of frost bruising on the bamboo everything looks dandy.
Did a decent prune at the weekend and the other half sorted out the greenhouse - onions, toms and spuds are chitting.

Looking forward to a few bonfires in the mild, dry evenings later this week.

The sun has finally reached the greenhouse in the last few weeks, time to start the seed sowing. It's a heated greenhouse for my potted palms and musa's that I bring in on frosty nights (all two frosts!).

I really enjoyed getting in the greenhouse and potting up and sowing some seeds this morning. I find this time of year so satisfying knowing we are getting more daylight. Never been a winter person.

Making the extra effort growing some herbs this year. One thing I noticed living down here is the amount of Rosemary growing in the wild. Not sure who has been busy planting them over the years!

Today I bought some blackcurrant bushes for my daughter's garden and I've kept one to plant in my garden to replace a Hebe I lost last year.  I figure I ought to make the garden as productive as I can.  I've planted my cranberry bushes and pruned all my climbing roses today.

My climbing roses have buds on, but I doubt they'll be opening any more over the next week or so of cold weather.

Banana trees are on the move now, bluebells are out.

Apple/Plum/Cherry Trees are in blossom and the bees are are buzzing around them when the weather permits.....

Lilly beetles are rife in my garden this year.  As they're fairly new to the British Isles, they have no natural preditors and are very difficult to control other than picking them off by hand.  The little blighters are canny and fall off the leaves as soon as they sense any movement, so you have to be quick as they fall on their backs and are black underneath so you can't see them. 

If you have lilly's that you've bought in pots, chances are you'll have the beetles as well as they overwinter in compost, so be vigilant clearing them away, otherwise they'll strip lilly leaves very quickly.  At first sight they look like ladybirds, but are slightly more orange, have longer bodies and no spots.

http://www.gardenforumhorticulture.co.uk/pestwatch/lily-beetle.htm

The RHS are conducting a survey to determine their distribution. 

With the ongoing extreme cold and wet weather since early April no signs of poppies growing in my garden, just old Spring bulbs and some weeds.  At this time of the year poppies would be near or just flowering and finish by July.  I had many red and large purple poppies over the past years.

loads of yellow poppies in my garden at the moment - it's the one real bit of colour currently

Next door poppies are in bud...

My climbing roses came into bud during the lovely weather in March but were checked back in April, now the buds are swelling again and there are lots of them.  My pyracantha is starting to flower too.  The hedgerows are looking really fresh and lush with cow parsley and hawthorn in heavy flower against the new green leaves.  Absolutely beautiful! 

Interesting connection - so wash your hands -

Did cleared up the soil beddings from dead Spring bulbs so only 1 purple poppy plant survived the cold and damp weather by growing next to the fence and roots in the crack of the pavement and concrete fence support bar, this may had protected from the cold.  Few red poppies in front of our drive way walls.  Just puzzled why none of them grow in our bedding areas.

Cherry tree had a lot of blossom earlier.The weather changes caused the fruit some damage.Only a few cherries left which are beginning to turn red but the blackbirds are already interested in them...Lots of leaves though...Same with plumbs and the apples...Soft fruit is doing ok so far...

Just hung hanging basket in shed as gusts might do damage as basket is hung on wall.Sweet peas now begining to climb cane tepee so they have their pot placed in shed also...