In a February Garden

Bravely pushing up through a blanket of white, a patch of reddish heather (Calluna vulgaris 'darkness') adds colour to an otherwise snowy landscape.

Native holly berries (Ilex verticillata) brighten up another area of this Chester garden. Both these photos, as well as the winter sunrise shot (following below), were submitted by Sandy Dumaresq, a member of Chester Garden Club.

The Club's first meeting of 2010 took place on February 15th when guest speaker, Iris Burke, who runs a very hands-on nursery (Not Just Irises), gave a knowledgeable talk about getting one's garden to produce more flowers. Her helpful hints about encouraging plants to bloom were a welcome diversion from a general preoccupation with winter weather, and members are once again looking forward to another gardening season.

The Club's next meeting will be held on March 15th, which also happens to be Bloom Day so we hope that some members will send in garden photos taken that day (or near that day) and we will post them on the blog.

This sunrise photo was taken in early February, looking across the water from Chester's peninsula to Quaker Island.

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