Snow is still with us here, high on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire. It arrived about a week or go and despite it showing signs of melting now and then, another lot comes along. It's been a dreary winter so far. If it isn't raining, or blowing a gale, it is freezing, or snowing. Sometimes winter holds surprises, for example
some (not all) of the bacopas in my four hanging baskets (on an east facing wall) are still green and strong. I thought bacopas were supposed to be tender. Some, and I'm not sure if they are
Bacopa Scopia Double Ballerina Snowball or
Bacopa Scopia Great White, or a mixture of both intertwined, are full of healthy green leaves. They've survived sub zero temperatures, blasting gales, and snowfall. They should be long dead and gone, shouldn't they?
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| Bacopa Scopia - outdoors winter survivor - Jan 2018 |
I had left the hanging baskets in place (through laziness), expecting everything within them to die back over winter.
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| Bacopa Scopia - outdoors winter survivor - Jan 2018 |
I have always been astonished at how tough some of the
penstemons are. Despite the weather, some are full of leaf and some were in flower until recently despite freezing temperatures. Right now they are heavy with snow but still standing strong, and green.
We've had little sunshine lately and the
garden Room has remained too cold to enjoy. Today I baked bread for me and made more
fat balls for the birds, and I put out plenty of husked sunflower seeds for them and the squirrels. The wildlife in my garden is a joy to watch.
