How time flies, eh? It has been seven months since I last blogged, which is rather shameful. What can I tell you? I’ve been busy. Anyway, here it is with a few familiar favourites for you. 
- Crocus. I am much more attracted to Crocus than Snowdrops. I love their brightness and cheering qualities. I think they are the more beautiful too. Don’t get me wrong, I like Snowdrops and find their generosity very useful, but you won’t get me freaking out over tiny differences and spending silly money on rare examples. I will do that for records, but not for Snowdrops. Anyway, here are some that have multiplied beautifully in the graveyard (pale Tommasinianus?) with an early visitor, Tricolour in a crevice added last year and a patch of Tommasinianus that local residents planted all along my road.
2. Hellebore, Anna’s Red. I went to a talk at The Chelsea Physic Garden last Sunday (recommended) by Edward Flint. He loves Hellebores and spoke a lot about the various strains and their purity. He made me rather ashamed of my muddy seedlings, enough to fork out for this one.
3. Behind a gravestone on the South Bed the Paeony is rising. This looks a bit like a police line-up shot. I love foliage before anything is awake enough to nibble it.
4. Inspired by a recent Gardens Illustrated article, I have been tying up any roses I can get hold of. This one is Rambling Rector in my yard. The idea is you tie stems very tightly together. I have done that. Let’s see what the storm does to it tomorrow!
5. So, I planted some Coronilla valentina in this planter last year and it has been flowering away really nicely all Winter. I think the council noticed and went to look for a salt container in the same shade to place next to it. Then someone tagged it. And left a coffee cup. Nice.
6. Cyclamen coum. Self seeding plants are so useful. These have been in rough grass on a bank for years and have seeded around really nicely. I am going to dig some up and move them around in April. If I remember.
Tim Hewitt, Gardener 
7 months away to give us the best of yourself with these lovely crocus photos! Welcome back
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Thanks, Fred. Nice to return.
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I love the Crocus tricolor. I have a few in pots just coming up now. The Coronilla was an inspired planting as it smells so sweet. Even the salt bin can’t diminish its beauty.
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Thanks, Katharine,
It is a new plant for me, but I have found it very generous and easy. Good qualities.
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What’s the thinking with trussing up the roses? This sounds like more than regular tying in. The first crocus picture is the look I’m working towards, without the gravestone preferably, especially if it’s mine.
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I think you’ve got a few years left in you, Jim! The Crocus have just been there for as long as I can remember, so there is no secret other than mowing and waiting. The rose tying is supposed to give a neater appearance ( perhaps desirable with some ramblers) and increase flowering ( hard to imagine Rambling Rector flowering any more actually). You tie stem to stem very tightly. It’s an experiment, so we’ll see.
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Crocus are rad anyway. Actually, I do not understand the allure of snowdrops. I think they are nice and all, and I particularly like white flowers, but really, they are not all that interesting. Your cyclamen are rad too. I only learned recently that Cyclamen hederifolium is naturalized in a neighbors garden. I had never seen it here before. I intend to get some.
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Hi Tony, I think that Cyclamen hederifolium and Coum should both do well in your part of the world. Shady, dry woodland conditions, perfect.
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That is exactly where they naturalized, under old oaks. They have been quite happy there. I want to put some under redwoods, which is not quite as dry as where the oaks live. I had been wanting to try them for a few years, but was completely unaware that they were growing wild at the home of a colleague. I was hesitant to try them because I do not know how well they would do here. I still do not know if they will like the redwoods; but I do not mind trying them if they are just naturalized weeds somewhere else.
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Very good to hear from you again and to see the lovely Coronilla valentina – I will have to look it up. It looks perfect for street planting. Beautiful photos. I am intrigued by the tying of the roses – did I miss that article. What is the advantage?
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They say the advantage is in more versatility of shape. Instead of tying to a wire or nail, you can tie to any other stem, but very tightly. You can create more interesting shapes and by bending stems downwards stimulate more flowering stems. We’ll see!
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I’ve just read the article and as I have ‘wedding day’ in the garden I might give it a go .
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That hellebore is splendid. Your graveyard peonies are further along than mine & at that stage where they look so elegant. But a police line up will work as well. As to tying up the roses, what is the end result you’re hoping for?
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Your plants are well ahead of us in Yorkshire. Lovely six.
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Welcome back Tim, the wanderer returns! I’m with you on the snowdrops, never understood the fuss, tbh. Interesting with the rose tying, good to see how that works. I tend to spread my climber stems out.
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