Double Ellen Purple - January 2019

The images this week come from a combination of my own garden and dad's. We're starting off with a few flowers from my garden though, which seems to be waking up a little too early for my liking.

Contradictory to that last statement, the Hellebores seem to have been in bud for an eternity! I've been waiting patiently for the buds to open and flowers to emerge, and this week my patience was rewarded. Not only did variety 'Double Ellen Purple' show her pretty face...

Heads Down - January 2019

...but 'Double Ellen White' also arrived, although was a little more shy!

Ard Schenk - January 2019

The first Crocus, 'Ard Schenk', also decided to poke its petals above ground, although, as of yet, has not opened up.

Virginia Stock - January 2019

The Virginia Stock (Malcolmia maritima) has been flowering for months now, and has just kept going all the way through Summer, Autumn and is now well into Winter.

Osteospermum Blues - January 2019

The African Daisies (Osteospermum) have all ceased flowering, apart from this white one (with a blue centre) that refuses to take a rest!

Felicia Blues - January 2019

The Blue Marguerite (Felicia amelloides), at least, have had a rest through Autumn, but are now weirdly starting to bloom again just as we're being hit with sub-zero temperatures.

Raindrops - January 2019

As you can see from most of the proceeding images, while some of the UK has been hit by snow, down here on the South coast we've mostly had rain.

Red on Blue - January 2019

Over in dad's garden, the rain had temporarily disappeared, and there were beautiful blue skies for my Sunday morning photo shoot. The red branches of the Acer (Acer palmatum) tree looked especially nice against the blue.

Periwinkle - January 2019

The bright sunshine wasn't ideal for photographing flowers, but it was better than the dark windy mornings of recent weeks. This Periwinkle (Vinca) bloom really stood out as the sun flashed off its petals.

Crocus Clump - January 2019

Despite the sunny conditions, the Crocus still remained firmly closed, refusing to open even after several hours of direct sunlight!

Primrose - January 2019

The Common Primroses (Primula vulgaris) were a little more eager to open up, but not fully.

Budding Camellia - January 2019

I was very pleased to see some colour in the buds of the Camellia bush. The bush was magnificent last year, but had to be cut back significantly after a neighbour complained it was fouling the guttering of his garage. It's now only about a quarter of the size it was in this picture taken last year. Hopefully it will regain some of its former glory.

So this week I went with Double Ellen Purple as my Image of the Week simply because it is by far and away the prettiest flower in either mine or dad's garden...