In the garden

One good thing about working in the garden in December is that as things grow very slowly, once a job is done,it stays done for a few months. This weeks job was to trim the ivy which was trying to enter the window

back to neater finish away from the sill. Pulling ivy off brickwork is not easy (and ruins your nails!) so its nice to think that I won't have to do it again until spring. This time I noticed that the variegated ivy seems to be reverting to the plain green type which is a shame. I chose the variegated to add some light to a dull spot and also the green version grows more vigorously and so I will have to cut it back more often. Perhaps I will dig it up in the spring and replace it with variegated Euonymus, the golden one on the right of the window seems to be doing well.

Noticing a few more details in the garden, early daffodil shoots emerging and a few celandine leaves

and here, lots of tiny cyclamen seedlings. I am wondering whether I can move these to another part of the garden without damaging them. They look very fragile but they will need more space if they are to survive.

The sweet box is covered with shiny black berries and the new flower buds are visible. No scent yet but soon once the flowers open.

One flower blooming now, Iris unguicularis, 

is very reliable, flowering during the winter yet always seems unexpected, as if a summer bloom turned up in the middle of winter. Always a welcome sight.