December already?

Here we are in December - where has this year gone?  It's true, the older you get, the quicker time seems to go.  The garden seems to have been somewhat confused too, but this is down to mild weather rather than the onset of middle age.  For instance, the winter flowering honeysuckle, which usually flowers in late January and through February is flowering now.  This could mean that 1. it's just confused or 2. it's going to die and is having one last hurrah.  I rather hope it's the first of these options.  

 In the meantime, the winter flowering jasmine is doing what it should and is brightening up the dull weather with splashes of yellow flowers.

 It has a straggly appearance, but this is partly because I don't train it properly.  I like the cheerful flowers though.

 The cheerful violas in the wall basket at the front of the house are settling in nicely and make me smile.

 Rose Blue Eyes is still flowering, despite the battering it has received lately by the wind and rain.  I have finally started to insulate the huge number of potted plants I seem to have slowly acquired over the years.  Not one of my favourite jobs, it has to be said, but it may help those plants to survive whatever the winter has to throw at them.