Brrrr the last few days of February are going to be very chilly indeed and the winter will last through the first weeks in March bringing some snow.  Well that is pretty normal for Scotland but there are a few brave plants that like to flower at this time of year in my garden.  The Hellebores enjoy a bit of cold weather, although the pale creamy yellow ones are doing much better than the dark purple ones.  The dark ones are planted in a raised bed and there hasn’t been a lot of rain this winter.  The snowdrops are also in the raised bed but they can grow almost anywhere.  The Iris reticulata are behind the garage and I can only see them if I venture out into the garden so I might dig up a clump once they have gone over and replant some in the front garden.  The pond is freezing over, not quite all the way, during the night but is managing to have a little space at the far edge which means there shouldn’t be much in the way of toxins building up from decomposing foliage.  Poor frogs who were probably about to start emerging for spring will have to stay put for a while longer until the weather warms up a little.  The Daffodils haven’t opened yet but there buds are there ready and waiting.  There are buds a plenty on the tress and bushes and the Witch hazel is in full bloom!  There is plenty of green in the garden with the hardy ferns, evergreen shrubs, grasses, moss, hedge and ivy. Plenty of brown still on the bare tree trunks, and some trunks like the silver birch are almost silvery white.  There are splashes of yellow on the leaf edges of some holly and on the leaf hearts of some ivy, and the pale yellow primroses are flowering too.

Hellebore

Dark purple Hellebore

Snowdrops

Iris reticulata

Hamamelis inter diane