In previous years I have written articles in January describing all the summer and autumn plants that are still flowering in the garden in spite of the winter. The gardens at Brockhole are very sheltered and, coupled with the mild winters we have had of late, this means that many plants continue to flower well into the winter months. This year I have been scuppered by a whole week of hard frosts so that when I mooched round the gardens, camera in hand, looking for out-of-season flowers there were none!

The first true winter flowers are just beginning to show themselves. There are flowers on the Viburnum fragrans, blossoms on the witch hazel and swelling catkins on some of the willows. Snowdrops and daffodils are beginning to push up through the soil now, though curiously there is no sign of the aconites which are usually among the first to show themselves after Christmas.

Short of flowers to look at, I had to content myself with evergreens, stems and buds. Ever since having to learn to recognise trees and shrubs from their winter buds as a student, I have had a fondness for winter twigs. The sooty black buds of ash, the sticky buds of horse chestnut and especially the fat buds of fruit trees, with their promise of blossom and fruit to come, are all quite handsome if you take the time to look closely. On my latest foray round the garden it was rhododendron buds that caught my eye. These come in various colours, from bright yellow-green through to the richest purple and, as they begin to fatten up, they are attractive in their own right. The leaves of some rhododendrons are special too; the large, glossy foliage of Rhododendron macabeanum is a good example and there are many more with huge ornamental leaves. Some have a rusty-red indumentum on the undersides of the leaves, which is best appreciated on larger shrubs that can be viewed from beneath.

One positive side to the cold weather is that it brings more birds into our gardens to feed. During the cold snap, our town garden in Cockermouth was visited by siskins, a pair of blackcaps and a whole flock of long-tailed tits, as well as the more usual greenfinches, blue tits and sparrows. Remember to put out plenty of food for them; peanuts, wild-bird seed and suet seem to favourites. Don't forget to put out clean water too, then you can have the pleasure of watching them bathing as well as feeding.

January 9, 2003 11:00