Today we had a bit of sunlight and it felt mild at 7 degrees, mainly because there was very little wind & was dryI and a little time so I went out to do an inspection of what I have in pots - somethings are permanent pot or container residents intentionally, others I’m a little ashamed to say have just failed to arrive in their final position. The longest pot resident is the olive tree that is planted in the large terracotta pot my sister bought me as a housewarming present nearly two decades ago. The olive tree went in immediately & was about a foot tall. Two years ago I thought it was dead as it spent a whole summer without leaves but then I removed the top entirely with the plan of taking it out of the pot, failed to finish the task & a few weeks later it sprouted a fresh and is now healthy & even producing flowers and olives.

At the other end of the scale, the newest resident in the collection of the unplanted is my witch hazel (Hamamelis). This was an impulse buy because it seemed appropriate for the Magic Garden because of the medicinal properties associated with it, although not this version of the plant.

Another (intentional) pot resident is the Christmas Box, Sarcococca confusa. Mine is a neat wee plant just coming into flower now & the scent is lovely. I have left it near the backdoor giving me the best chance to enjoy the scent.