I do feel a bit tired to be tapping a keyboard as now the weather is improving I am seriously wielding saw and loppers but there is light at the end of the tunnel even if it is only a flickering candle rather than a beaming beacon. Today we took some lower branches off a Eucalyptus and I could only just reach those with the long arm pruner at full extension, some of the higher ones need taking off but it is beyond me unless I climbed the tree and I am no koala. What did amaze me is that the Eucalyptus is flowering profusely with pretty pale yellow flowers with its massed stamens being the most obvious part, I wonder if it thinks it is in the Antipodes, sounds like a good idea as I’m sure I wouldn’t need thermals there.

I would like to finish the pruning ASAP as the bulbs are growing rapidly and it is getting very difficult to avoid crushing them but providing the weather does not get too wet or white it should be finished by the end of February and I am hoping that will include most of the apple trees too. As I speak we have also cut back and tidied the grass garden in preparation for the new growth.

In the autumn a Laburnum tree had taken a decided tilt to starboard which we dealt with by lightening the load by taking out half the branches. We had hoped that would be enough to solve the problem which we believe was started by excessive rain loosening the roots, unfortunately it is now leaning further so we will now have to remove it totally which is a great shame as it was a good specimen but it is covered in seeds and we have saved some to try to produce new plants.

We are hoping the inclement weather has not ‘done for’ too many plants, I, of course would rather that none had suffered but I think that is too much to hope for. The 1^st fall of snow did not do any noticeable damage but the fall in mid January was not so good, although less fell and it did not last long it was wet and heavy. The worst damage was to Aristotelia chilensis Variegata which is a large shrub with very brittle branches and the snow snapped several.

The snowdrops are opening slowly and should be looking great towards the end of February, the Hellebores are also starting to open and I am looking forward to seeing how the really unusual ones are doing in the newest Hellebore bed.