A very happy new year to all garden bloggers. I would like to thank so many of you for allowing me to visit your gardens, even if only virtually. I have enjoyed walking around gardens in all parts of the world, experiencing spring (and every season) twice a year thanks to gardens in the southern hemisphere. I have relished reading about woodland gardens, shady gardens, and tropical gardens; admiring plants I can’t possibly think of growing myself.
I have been fascinated by all the incredible wildlife that visits your gardens from humming birds that I have never even actually seen to friendly robins.
I didn’t want to write a long review of the year, I’m sure you are all far too busy at this time of year to want to read about my plans for the garden in 2012 so I thought I would just give you the images that I’ve like enough to use as my screensavers; Sometimes I’m lazy and I don’t change it every month or I like the image so much I don’t want to change it.
February, tiny violas found under the olives
I love the winter sunsets - February
Frosted leaves, yes we do get frosts in Italy!
Tulips- my favourite flower?
more tulips
Tulips with Euphorbia
I kept this as my screensaver for ages, I was so pleased with it
Early May
Of course Nature does mass planting best
Mid-May the garden is full of flowers
I wish you could smell these
Lavender and Perovskia
A bee enjoying the Hamerocallis
The view from my kitchen window, early July
Late August and light is the protagonist in the garden
September sunset
Early October, subtle colour and texture
Early November and there's still a lot of colour
December 11th last screen saver of the year
So there you have it, My Hesperides Garden in 2011. I know that 2012 may be a difficult year for many of us in many different ways but I hope that for gardeners and bloggers everywhere it will be happy and full of all the plants and flowers you would like.
Thank you for all your comments and help with identifying plants and I look forward to reading about your gardens and the plants and wildlife they contain in 2012. Christina
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
Such a beautiful retrospective of 2011. i like November the best. Happy New Year.
Very nice! Such lovely photos!
Best wishes for the New Year!
Lea
Mississippi, USA
What a wonderful selection of photos showing us your beautiful garden through the year. I agree, it is lovely to see all the fantastic plants that we can’t grow, in other people’s gardens, even if we all had the same plants, we would put them together differently. Thank you for sharing your garden with us all, looking forward to 2012 in the Hesperides! Happy New Year to you Christina and happy gardening !
magnificent photos a lovely end of year gift to all of us. Sept. sunset looks like the evening we were there for dinner. The tulips are also my favorite flower.
The poppy field is what I would love as a screen saver… Happy New Year …
I’ll send you the image of the poppies. Happy New Year Christina
Happy New Year Christina,all your screensavers are beautiful, but I love the October grasses best.
I tend to change my screensaver with each post – reminding me of what I am currently hooked by. I need to find a way or a place to store my chosen screensavers.
Happy New Year from the mediterranean to The Mediterranean!
Hi Christina! Nice review, I post pone mine to next month, I have loads of pictures to browse and no time to do it!!!
I’ve been amazed by the november pic: it looks like early spring!!!
We absolutely have frost in Italy, maybe even more than UK sometimes! I have the feeling that people think we actually live in Africa sometimes… It’s not true! 🙂
I wish you a happy and healthy 2012
I agree that where you live there is certainly more frost than in the south od England and much colder for most of the winter. Happy New Year to you too and good gardening in 2012
Great photos I can see why they were your screensavers this year. I really like the violets in the top picture, the stems look almost purple
Best wishes for 2012 and thanks for joining in this year
It looks like 2011 was a great gardening year for you. The butterfly photo is stunning. Happy New Year!
hello Christina, beautiful photos can’t chose a fav they are all good, my screensaver is a folder with photos of grandsons though the occasion garden scene enters it, the snowy Alps in the north of Italy should clear any doubt as to Italy being at times colder than the UK, your on high ground aren’t you?
wishing you a very happy new year and all the best for 2012, Frances
What a wonderful display – I simply LOVE the one of the two butterflies. What a capture!
I wish you a very happy New Year and fabulous garden in 2012!
I love see ing your favs of your garden…Happiest of New Years in 2012 Christina!
What a lovely post!
It cheered me right up, and made me think immediately that I need to change my screensaver to something more cheerful. Your photographs are gorgeous, a real celebration of your garden. Happy 2012!
Wonderful post! So many pretty views from the year. And I have enjoyed it all along the way! The autumnal photos, the dark pink rose with the Gaura, and the red flowers in the field are my favorites.
I too have appreciated our interactions this past year. Looking forward to reading more about your garden in 2012. Happy New Year!
Julie
You really live in a beautiful place and your photos show it so well. Happy New Year Christina.
Great you have kept producing your blog. A lovely record. Fine photos. Ken
I really enjoyed looking back over your gardening year via your screen savers! All are wonderful photos, but I agree, the two butterflies picture is fabulous! I appreciate your support of my blog, and I am looking forward to following your own posts in 2012! Happy gardening!
Beautiful photos that have really cheered me up. The weather here has been particularly stormy and I am pretty fed up with winter now. Wishing you a great 2012 and I look forward to more posts from your garden.
Lovely series of photos for 2011, Christina. And what a great idea to use them as screensavers. Happy gardening and blogging in 2012.
A belated Happy New Year Christina. I’ve enjoyed your blog and experiencing you garden through your writing and photographs and look forward to more this year. Wonderful photos of the gardening year! Jason.