We didn't hasten into February by any means. Last month meandered along at a steady but tedious pace and sometimes felt as if it was going nowhere but all of a sudden here we are entering a new month. Time to turn the calendar page over.
Today we walked at the Wolseley Centre, headquarters of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and I found both Snowdrops and Catkins which also appear in the calendar picture above.
Such a beautiful sight.
Earlier in the week we had walked at Trentham.
In damp, misty weather.
On Thursday we had a surprise visit from the brother and sister-in-law of our next door neighbour. Mainly to keep us up to date with the arrangements for her funeral and also about the sale of her house. They brought with them a lovely gift to say thank you for all the help we had given our neighbour over the years we had lived next door.
All for now.
Happy February Rosie! I hated January with a passion being ill for most of it! I love orchids and have kept a couple before. When I had them I bought specific orchid plant food and obviously read up about them. It is my desire to have a Ladies Slipper orchid some day! I hope you have a great start to the month. X
ReplyDeleteThank you Simone. You will be glad to be in February and I hope, feeling better. I must look for the Orchid food and find out more about them. I read a book a few years ago, a historical novel about the Ladies Slipper Orchid, I've never seen one in the wild:)
DeleteI read (and enjoyed) that book too! :)
DeleteDon't water them too often, the current one lives on a sunny sitting room windowsill, and the spares (which aren't in flower) live in the spare bedroom until new buds appear, then they swap places. I feed them about every 2 months with special orchid food. Xx
ReplyDeleteHello, thanks for your advice, the Orchid has been taken out of it's protective packaging and is in the front room window which, when it's warmer gets the afternoon sun:)
DeleteIt’s lovely to see the snowdrops…I do miss them as we had a whole bank of them in our previous garden.
ReplyDeleteI do have one Orchid and I follow what the RHS says.. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/orchids/indoor#:~:text=Most%20houseplant%20orchids%20like%20bright,water%20rather%20than%20tap%20water.
Thank you Sal. I've have some snowdrops in a large pot near the back door, they are just coming up now and seem late this year. I'd love to eventually plant them out in the garden, they do need splitting so we can move some of them. Thank you for the link, I'll follow that up:)
DeleteMine survives well in the conservatory. It doesn’t seem to mind the cold nights and likes winter sunlight. I shade it more in the hottest summer months. I spray it from time to time and water a little each week in winter. A little more in the summer. B x
ReplyDeleteThank you B, it looks as if the Orchid will be moved around the house a bit as the seasons change, the back of the house gets the morning sun and the front the afternoon sun, both can be quite bright in the summer:)
DeleteWhat a thoughtful gift. Looks like you've had some lovely walks especially now the snowdrops are out and about, you can get some wonderful days at this time of year as long as the weather behaves! 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you CK. The gift was quite unexpected. We have had a couple of lovely walks this week, lets hope for drier weather next week:)
DeleteJanuary seemed a very long month! Lovely to see the snowdrops and catkins and the colour at Trentham nurseries. My neighbour bought me a similar orchid for my 70th birthday. I had never had one before either! I think I just followed the instructions on the plant for its care. I did get rid of it eventually - it lasted for yonks! But I read recently they will flower again if you look after them so I wish now I hadn't got rid of mine!. It was a very thoughtful present from your neighbour's relatives.
ReplyDeleteThank you Caroline. January has seemed long and quite bleak at times. I was so pleased to see the snowdrops as ours here are struggling to flower, I think they should have been separated last year and some planted in the garden. The Orchid is lovely and now sits in the front window, I hope it will be okay:)
DeleteSnowdrops are a real joy at this time of year and so full of hope for things to come. Thank you for sharing your photos. Rosie. The orchid is lovely too and such a kind gift. I hope you find the perfect spot in your home for it to flourish.
ReplyDeleteThank you Beverley, Snowdrops are wonderful aren't they? They do give hope as we head towards Spring. The Orchid is on the front window sill at the moment. I hope it will be okay:)
DeleteRosie, there is an Orchid Festival on right now at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, Richmond, London until 1st March 2025. I bet it is spectacular!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful, Simone. I bet there are lots of unusual plants to see:)
DeleteVisiting a nursery is a tonic in these months when the garden is quieter. Snowdrops are blooming here, too, although they are covered with snow just now. It's amazing how they survive.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lorrie, I'm always amazed as the resilience of Snowdrops, flowering in the coldest weather, they are wonderful aren't they?:)
DeleteQuite a spring like post with all those pretty flowers. Seen snowdrops on a couple of blogs so far. Sorry about the lack of comments, but still have some tech issues. Stay warm, take care & hugs.
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan, I'm seeking out colour to combat the dull grey days and dreary brown of our garden at the moment. Having said that the sun is shining this morning and the frost is sparkling over the garden. Sorry you are still having technical problems. I'm now not able to comment on my own blog if using my default browser, so I have to go on another browser to do my blogging, also my laptop is running out of time for Windows 10, so I have to have a new one soon as it can't be updated. Take care:)
DeleteI'm having problems leaving a comment on your squirrel post - here it is here instead - What a cutie! The reds are so much prettier than the greys. Good luck with the laptop, I'm sure you'll get there in the end. 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you CK, sorry you are having problems leaving a comment. I sometimes have problems leaving comments too on your blog I have to google it rather than go straight to the link I have on my reading list, all very confusing. The Squirrel post is the first one I've published on my new laptop - seems too much of a coincidence? Squirrel is so cute:)
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