2nd January. I was trying to keep my spirits up this morning by assessing what is looking good in my garden. I have variegated golden and green shrubs which always look sunny even when its dull. Some red cornus stems though they need some light to bring out the colour.
Several plants are still holding their coloured autumn leaves. A container has two very lush clumps of diascia foliage. Cant believe it has survived the frosts.
Primroses are in flower in a few places and the winter heathers are beginning to colour up. Outside my front door is a variegated holly with lots of berries, surprised the birds haven't taken those.
But no blue sky - there was a glimpse earlier but it's gone now. I have two nice winter gardens near me at Mottisfont and Hilliers Arboretum which have influenced my choice of plants over the years. Used to be favourite visits to cheer me up this time of year but both seem too daunting to attempt now.
Tessa
Hi Annette anndanv
I may have forgotten to upload or they didn't upload so I'll try now, here goes! Woody still on guard. Potatoes at the bottom of the photo. Large onions slightly to the left of centre and to the left of the onions, fleece protecting cabbages from the dreaded Cabbage White butterflies.
The bottom photo shows my wife's flowers that I attached to the wall beside our seat. She made them from aluminum cans by cutting them into strips, bent them out and finally sprayed them. I think they're great.
The pot in the centre contains a 2 year old blackcurrant bush and the bricks are old farm bricks and they're in the shape of a horseshoe with small lupins inside.
Take care everyone and stay safe.
Tvman xx
BLueberries 
Ruth
peas are doing well
Ruth
Hi Annette anndanv and fellow gardeners and non gardeners
Thanks for the praise Annette (fiver is in the post 
)
When I read about you and the girls painting stones I remember doing exactly that with our children and no doubt we'll do the same with Harry. I remember also seeing a largish stone that said "carrots" and a small drawing of a few carrots. I thought that was great because you could seal the paintwork and put it anywhere in the garden as you practice crop rotation.
I never know what my wife is going to come off with next! She spent a lot of time cutting those cans into strips and then spraying them. I had to be sprightly on my toes in the garage because half the floor was covered in half-sprayed metal flowers! Woody seems to have done his job, I didn't see any incursions by birds into the soft fruit area and believe me I have spent many hours in the plot.
For next season I'm going to harvest 8-9 ft long straight willow branches, then use them for posts around the soft fruit area and cover the whole thing with netting to keep the birds out. Woody can go elsewhere in the plot.
One thing we have noticed is the amount of birds we have seen all around the garden. The plot area is surrounded on all sides by hedging and there are 4 or 5 nests in and among the hedges. As we sit having a rest or just sitting there looking around, there is great bird activity apart from 5 to 10 yards from Woody. Even though we may sit near where the nests are, the birds are not one bit shy and frequently they fly VERY close to us, just as if we''re not there and we can hear their wings fluttering and feel the air movements on our faces. The birds are all small ones, that can manoeuver their way to the nest inside a tight hedge. My wife has a fear of birds ever since she was closed in a chicken house on their farm when she was a small girl. We haven't seen anything as big as a blackbird in the plot, and I put that down to Woody. When you consider that he is almost seven feet tall it's a good assumption.
So why so many birds? Some wildlife programmes have speculated on this too and the main reason why, according to them and us, is due to the greatly reduced amount of traffic even for us in a small country road. We can only guess that's down to the Corona virus.
Anyone else notice an increase in bird activity? I saw the little bird in the photo below, sitting quietly in the hedge. I thought it would fly away, but no, it stayed put 
Take care and stay safe everyone.
Tvman xx
