EARLY DECEMBER IN THE GARDEN - SIX ON SATURDAY
1. Rosa Rugosa Alba hip
The roses are starting to admit that the summer is over and are dropping their leaves, although a good few are still putting out flower buds that have no hope of opening.
The leaves on this Rosa Rugosa Alba have changed to a soft leathery tan.
The hips on the Rugosa are the size of cherry tomatoes. But they must not taste as good - this one has been left half eaten.
2. Mahonia You have to look up to see the flowers on this mahonia. Trapped among some overbearing yew trees it had put on lots of height but not much width. All its flowers are at the top of 10ft bare stems. I've considered cutting it back to about 2ft, a few stems at a time, but I'm not sure it would survive. I think I like it well enough in its tall state so I will leave the poor thing alone.
3. Hedera A little white edged ivy can be quite attractive at this time of year. It just needs keeping an eye on otherwise it starts to think it owns the place and next time you look it's c…
The leaves on this Rosa Rugosa Alba have changed to a soft leathery tan.
The hips on the Rugosa are the size of cherry tomatoes. But they must not taste as good - this one has been left half eaten.
2. Mahonia You have to look up to see the flowers on this mahonia. Trapped among some overbearing yew trees it had put on lots of height but not much width. All its flowers are at the top of 10ft bare stems. I've considered cutting it back to about 2ft, a few stems at a time, but I'm not sure it would survive. I think I like it well enough in its tall state so I will leave the poor thing alone.
3. Hedera A little white edged ivy can be quite attractive at this time of year. It just needs keeping an eye on otherwise it starts to think it owns the place and next time you look it's c…