We’re cheating this month. Escaping lockdown we’ve been out and about rather than in our garden. Most of our best pictures are from parks and countryside. The one below was a must…
The Smoke Bush above, which we think is Palace Purple, is typical of the unexpected delights to be found in December. We’ve added more misty vistas below.
Misty vistas, water droplets, viridian green leaves with ice-crystal edges make it a month for photography rather than gardening.
Misty vistas
Plant of the month - Mahonia
Our Mahonia is Soft Caress but it's not yet flowering so we've pictured this wonderful Charity we came across on our rambles. Mahonia's unusual in offering flowers in December, rather than berries but this is the month to admire our evergreens and we have a good selection. Here's our winter top ten...
Top plants – when they flower – what they bring to the garden
| 1. Mahonia Soft Caress | Oct–Jan | Spiky lemon fingers on dark green |
| 2. Pyracantha Orange Glow | Oct–Dec | Festoons of apricot berry clusters |
| 3. Choisya Sundance | All-seasons | Hundreds of upturned yellow palms |
| 4. Bodnantense Dawn | All-seasons | Viburnum with fragrant pink flowers |
| 5. Cotoneaster Watereri | All-seasons | Willowy shrub with red berries |
| 6. Spotted Laurel | All-seasons | Shiny green leaves dotted yellow |
| 7. Variagated Euonymous | All-seasons | Balls of clipped silvery green |
| 8. Variagated Myrtle | All-seasons | Pearl buds open to white spiders |
| 9. Abelea | All-seasons | Eager shrub with small white trumpets |
| 10. Elaeagnus Limelight | All seasons | Glossy green and yellow lances |
The Front Garden
We’re not doing much wandering or sitting in our own garden this month. We are rejuvenating some garden beds. The Front Garden gets the vote because this month as many of the evergreens shown in our top ten call it home and it’s visible from our kitchen and study
Wild spectacle: ivy
Ivy thrives in the cold. As a result it’s hugely important for wildlife. It flowers from August to November and is rich in pollen, becoming a key plant in building up reserves before hibernation. The berries also arrive in late winter and form part of the diet of blackbirds and thrushes.
