Hallson Gardens

Gulliver inspects the cowslips http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/apr088.jpg The hostas are coming up http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/apr087.jpg These alliums (my wife bought) are horribly invasive. http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/apr086.jpg The dicentra has survived the move. http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/apr08...

The mini daffs finished a week or two ago here, and the hyacinths have almost finished.

Hyacinths are my favourite smelling flowers.

I think that once you smell a Brug you are in trouble!!

That's me in trouble then. My greenhouse was full of brug scent last night, I even stuck my nose in the flower.

Thanks for that, we didn't get the snow, but has a touch of frost last night.

It didn't finish flowering until just before Christmas. Problem is that all the clematis are twisted up together and some have reached the top of the trellis with just one stem, at the top they branch out. Think I'll forget whether they are early or late and just cut them off at the knees soon, but ...

I hope I haven't told this story before, but I found it so funny it's worth repeating. An American robin arrived at the bird sanctuary near to where I used to work, they are very rare in the UK and twitchers (people who travel to see a rare bird) flocked in from all over the country to see it. As a ...

I saw this white grey squirrel in the office today.

We don't have them in the wild here, but people keep them as pets. They cost a fortune to buy, you're sitting on a gold mine.

Do you know what this shrub is please?

The new growth is well under way on this clematis Radar Love.

Do I hack it down to the ground or just prune off the old seed heads, or something else?

This moisture meter has a spike which you push into pots and tubs and immediately shows how much moisture there is at the bottom of the pot. I got it for Christmas and is a great boon. I now know that even if a tub looks dry at the top it may not necessarily need watering, and you can water plants b...

When others put a fat ball on their bird feeders they get sweet little tits etc. pecking away gently. No me, oh no, I get a gert great herring gull swiping the whole thing in one go! Yes, it is Gulliver, our semi tame friend. It was marvelous watching him work out how to get to the food. He flew str...

I love them, they have such a fantastic spathe. The stinkiness only lasts a day or two, they are hardy here, but they haven't done as well as I would have liked.

With the sun shining the temperature in the conservatory got up to 43C (110F). This Begonia Lucerne was getting a bit leggy so I gave it a trim. The new buds are swelling nicely. http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/janin.jpg I don't know what this is called but it grows all round the Mediterranean. http://...

The first crocus http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/jan05.jpg The helebores are blooming http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/jan02.jpg Garya Eliptica puts on its winter show. http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/jan03.jpg Last year's carnations are still hanging in there. (Maybe I should give them a hair cut). http://ww...

Similar to our treecreeper, I like the way they run up and down the tree trunks.

The siskin is a bird that I've probably seen without realising it, it's similar to the greenfinch.

I thought they were supposed to be a deterrent for slugs and snails.

The bag says to use them within 24 hours. I waited 4 days until the weekend and found they were blue with mould inside the bag.

I started this in July and it's still producing new flowers in December. This plant just gets better and better.

It may be cold and frosty outside. http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/ind4.jpg but some plants don't seem to mind. http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/ind0.jpg I prefer to turn my attention to things indoors though. http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/ind3.jpg http://www.zyxwv.co.uk/pics3/ind2.jpg http://www.zyxwv.co.u...