Garden wander 18 Jan 2019

I went out to kick a hole in the frozen pond edge for small birds. The shallow edge is on the right. Perhaps I needn't have bothered: there was plenty of unfrozen water in the lane pools and in the drainage channel I dug beside the dragon hedge.

Elsewhere in the garden things are popping up. The crocuses surprised me but it turns out some were flowering at the same time last year. One bunch of primroses is out. Plenty of leaves elsewhere but no other flowers. I wonder if the twiggy protection this bunch had last year from some cut plum tree branches helped it get ready to flower sooner than its pals. Snowdrop leaves are just beginning to poke through, along with pignut leaves in many cases. Lesser Celandine is gearing up, as is a speedwell, some daffodils and, of course, Ribwort Plantain rosettes.