Storm Goretti was probably the big news of this week as far as the garden is concerned. The Met Office red warning area fell just a few miles short of us here and we didn’t suffer any significant damage, though we were on edge for several hours. Aside from that, the cold spell seems to be over for now, we’re back to rain, having had a tiny amount of snow and a run of slightly sub zero temperatures.
Finding six things to talk about isn’t getting any easier, but that’s what Six on Saturday calls for. Six things going on in your garden this Saturday; post a picture accompanied by a few words and you’re up and running. There’s a participant’s guide here.
One.
Beaver the hedgehog had been the star turn on my trail camera up until last Saturday. He was item number one in last week’s six and responded by going missing for four nights. On Wednesday he reappeared and ate a little food; same on Thursday. I assume he did a micro-hibernation but I didn’t want to disturb his sleep so I didn’t open his nest box. He might have gone off somewhere else, though it seems unlikely.
Two.
Pretty much the only damage I could find in the garden was half a dozen canes on my big bamboo, Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Spectabilis’, blown over. It needed thinning a bit anyway, so I’m not remotely bothered.
Three.
Almost every flower in the garden was destroyed by the wind but somehow this Crocus tomasinianus escaped, probably because I have been tardy about tidying up last years growth of perennials and it had some shelter.
Four.
In a similarly positive, forward looking vein, I sowed a few vegetable seeds in the week. Mizuna, Radish and Sweet Pepper are now under way. I would have sown some onions but the seed hasn’t arrived yet. I’m not convinced there’s much to gain by really early sowing, the conditions are just not there for the seedlings to make much growth, but I didn’t think I had much to lose and if get even a week or two earlier crop from sowing two or three months early, I may well be glad of it in spring.
Five.
I think it was around this time last year that Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ got flattened by wet snow. So far this year it has stayed upright but I should perhaps be ready to support it if it seems likely to happen again. I took several pictures of it and as quite frequently happens, was struck by how two quite similar pictures can create rather different impressions of a plant.
Six.
Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Nutty’s Leprechaun’ is another echo from the same time last year. I must have trimmed it in the summer; it has new growth through which the sun is shining to pleasing effect. I shall need to trim it again quite soon, before it starts to make new growth.
So that’s it for the garden this week. It hasn’t been gardening weather and we’ve been doing other things this week. Last Sunday we were at the tip of Cornwall where we visited Botallack Mine and the Crown engine houses on the cliffs before making a fairly basic trip down a five hundred year old tin mine in the nearby Cot Valley. Very interesting.
A couple of days later we visited the south Cornwall coast just east of Fowey and on our way home took in St Winnow church which enjoys a fabulous setting right on the river bank. I found a somewhat unsettling gravestone though.
garden ruminations 
I love Cornwall, had the joy of visiting there for two days in 1975. Wish being 17% Cornish qualified me to move there! A few years ago I read and loved all of Derek Tangye’s memoirs about living on a daffodil farm there and realized I had been half a mile from his home in 1975. I didn’t know about him then or I would have walked down his lane and met him.
I am glad your storm damage was not too bad.
My six today: https://tanglycottage.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/six-on-saturday-words-in-the-garden-part-two/
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I was wondering how close you might be to the storm. No wind here, but a couple of inches of snow which has frozen on ungritted surfaces. Do your Crocus tomasinianus usually emerge as early as this? Like Noelle, you have prompted me to think of pruning my pittosporum again, so thanks. I did take some pictures today, but I was really scraping the barrel and I have run out of time, so I won’t post them – I too have begun sowing though, and was going to show some newly emerged sweet peas
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Glad to hear that things were no worse during the storm. Here’s a frosty six from my shivering Edinburgh garden
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I’m glad you weathered the storm ok. Your hedgehog is just adorable. No bears this week as they’re asleep. https://stoneyknob.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/six-on-saturday-new-year-new-plans-new-plants/
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Pleased you did not have too much damage Jim. Many thanks for the reminder regarding trimming Pittosporum before new growth starts. I shall add that to the list.
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Nutty’s Leprechaun ? looks great. I have to wonder where these names come from., storm names, too? I have always been fascinated with Cornwall and love the pictures. Not sure about a tin mine? Thanks for hosting. https://theshrubqueen.com/2026/01/10/six-on-saturday-winter-gardening-so-fla-style/
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The tombstone would make you think twice, wouldn’t it?
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I’m glad to hear the storm didn’t cause that much damage. Nice to see the surviving crocus! They have become some of my favourite flowers over the last two years.
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Beautiful views of Cornwall–wow! Thanks for keeping us updated on Beaver. 🙂 I’d say your garden has plenty of plants to celebrate in winter. Even mine does, in this cold weather. But my fingers are cold, so I cheated a bit and looked ahead to garden highlights in the coming year. I hope that’s OK. Happy “Six”!
https://plantpostings.blogspot.com/2026/01/six-on-saturday-looking-ahead.html
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Lovely photos from your travels, Jim. Thank you for sharing them. It is their spare starkness that makes them so beautiful and timeless. It is always a relief to weather the storm and find only minor damage. Reading your account of the past few weeks it appears we both are enjoying a break after some cold and difficult weather. Our C. japonicas are covered with buds, so I hope to have more interesting flowers to share soon. Pickings are slim in January, but at least there is one Camellia in bloom for this week’s Six, and a lovely snowdrop: https://woodlandgnome.com/2026/01/09/six-on-saturday-a-hint-of-spring/ Best wishes to you, your wife, and to little Beaver for a cozy week ahead.
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Despite living here for almost 10 years I have yet to visit Botallack Mine and the Crown engine houses – they are so photogenic too. Maybe I’ll pop down there later in the month, there are far too many roads blocked and debris around here. That storm certainly hit here. Hopefully things will be back to normal before long.
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Same here, the west of Belgium got some damage but nothing compared to The west of France where they had windspeeds of more than 200km/h ! I see you already have crocusses in bloom ! I wish it was Spring already !
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It’s lovely to Beaver the hedgehog again, and I’m glad to hear the garden weathered the storm ok. After a winterval blogging hiatus I’m back with a list of six for this week, including some beautiful frost ferns, hellebore and witch hazel, plus a hopeful poem and links to various oddities.
https://doingtheplan.com/2026/01/10/frost-ferns-witch-hazel-hellebore-cyclamen-primrose-and-views-six-on-sat/
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We all love your hedgehogs! What a fun mammal to have in the garden. Nice to see crocus poking up too. It is too warm here at the moment. I want my snow cover back. It is a nice insulator for the garden, because I am sure the cold is not yet done with us. Ice fishing fans are very sad, as the lakes are not adequately frozen to venture out. The bamboo is great – you will have plenty of garden stakes after the storm. Cornwall looks lovely and I am jealous that you can even think about starting seeds. I visited the horticulture greenhouses this week since I don’t even have any snow left to share!
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/january-10-2026-six-on-saturday/
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Reading the comments on your blog I see that I did get off very lightly from the storm, the West Country took the brunt of it. There’s no sign of crocus flowers in this garden so far. I will keep watch! I love the sound track to Beaver’s perambulations. Here’s my link https://n20gardener.com/2026/01/10/six-on-saturday-released/ as the hard frost finally let go.
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The name ‘Nutty’s Leprechaun’ makes me smile but also makes me wonder what on earth the person who named it was thinking about at the time. Glad to hear that your garden escaped any significant damage in the storm. Lovely to see the Crocus flowers as the ones in my six are only just peeping up through the compost.
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I’m glad to hear you got through the storm relatively unscathed. Yesterday I was looking at pictures from Trebah Gardens where unfortunately they’ve had significant damage, including trees uprooted.
Given the awful weather we’ve been having, my six is more about the future than the present https://wp.me/p88ZiK-cBp
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Very fortunate to evade the worst of the storm but wow, that crocus. Looks very unfazed! I bet finding your own name on a gravestone can be a bizarre experience.
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I’m glad the storm missed you, and even did a few garden chores. The damage elsewhere has been very sad, so many mature trees lost. The miscanthus is looking very grand and long live the crocus! Here are my six https://offtheedgegardening.com/2026/01/10/six-on-saturday-wild-week/
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That grave stone is a little unsettling! ‘Nutty’s Leprechaun’ is a great colour and nice to see Beaver the hedgehog again. Glad to hear the garden didn’t suffer any significant damage https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/six-on-saturday-10-january-2026/
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As you know Six on Saturday is not only about flowers. I got only one picture of flowers this week also. ‘Morning Light’ Miscanthus is one that we just procured here. It is still in its can. I have no idea what to do with it. (We only got it because someone else here wanted to try it.)
https://tonytomeo.com/2026/01/10/six-on-saturday-silly-succulents/
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South Cornwall looks like a superb region to visit! Yet another place I haven’t been. I also have a few bamboo canes here that have been bent, but more by the snow than the storm. https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/six-on-saturday-10-01-26/
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Now, there’s the first for my 2026 wishlist… Pittosporum tenuifolium Nutty’s Leprechaun. Thanks Jim.
Looks like ye had a memorable Cornwall trip.
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