Blooming in my winter garden and new crochet mitts

There’s not a lot blooming in my garden to be honest… but if you search carefully there are a few spots of color, and even the very first bulbs starting to appear – all without any help from me (as the poor slug eaten polyanthus will profess):

This white tipped cyclamen is gorgeous and it has a nice scent too…

Calendulas bloom all through my (sad looking) vege garden…

Early cheer, braving the chill…Poor polyanthus are slugs’ favourite feast…There is going to be a huge haul of tangelos this year…Pretty pelargoniums from Great Nana Williams and a few red rhubarb stalks that should be brought in and cooked up: Paler pink cyclamens…Unassuming hellebores; their downward facing blooms required all kinds of trick photography to share their beauty with you! Got it!And finally, delightful Daphne…Daphne is quite possibly my favourite winter flower. I don’t seem to have much luck growing it; the leaves turn yellow and once that happens they invariably curl up and die within a couple of years. I have to enjoy this bush while I can. The smell is all lemony and quite delicious – makes me want to eat it (or at least a lemon delicious pudding)!This week I made these new fingerless gloves, like shawls they are a regular make for me – especially at this time of year. I love that my hands and wrists are warm, but my fingers are free to do all the important stuff they need to! These ones are a little heavier than I would usually make, but they are super warm and cosy. You can’t quite see it in the photos but there is a gold thread through the yarn which is very pretty. This is a free pattern, you can find it here. Would I recommend it? Yes definitely, the instructions are good and the cable surprisingly easy 🙂

What’s blooming  in your garden, and what are you working on? – J xox