greentapestry - a gardening and allotment notebook

Calendar Girls ~ January 2012

2012-01-30T19:45:00.002Z

Although there is no doubt that the autumn and winter months have their serious downsides they do have their silver linings. One of these is more leisurely internet browsing time which can yield new blogs to explore. Here are one or two that I have come across in recent months which are now becoming regular ports of call ~

The first is a blog with a delightful name which just rolls off your tongue ~ 'Wellywoman'. Hailing from wet South Wales, where wellies are often needed to wade through all the puddles, Wellywoman is a keen gardener and a fairly new allotmenteer who writes thought provoking, humorous and informative posts She grows from seed without the luxury of a greenhouse, has highlighted a few more books for me to read as well as sharing some tasty recipes. I am now addicted to butter beans and leeks! Recent posts have included observations on gardening as a career, hints and tips on growing sweet peas and a fascinating post on seaweed and its uses/benefits in our gardens and allotment plots.

My second calendar girl for January is Urban Veg Patch. Caro is one of The York Rise Growers from North London, whose "vision is to create a beautiful community space for growing herbs, veg and fruit". Again she is keen on growing from seed and shares some beautiful photography on her blog. Caro may well yet be responsible for leading me in the direction of another addition - that of Pinterest which she described in a most tempting fashion in a recent post.

If you have not already come across these blogs I urge you to visit as soon as you. I intend to make 'Calendar Girls' (or boys) a regular fixture from now on perhaps nearer to the start of the month. Have you come across any new to you blogs recently?

The 52 Week Salad Challenge ~ January 2012

2012-01-27T17:00:00.002Z

I could not resist when Veg Plotting laid down the gauntlet of growing and or/foraging "some salad leaves to to eat every week this year". Yet although it's still only January I can already hear that school report phrase "Could do better" ringing in my ears! I am somewhat slow at rising to the challenge. I think that some of this is down to the general January lethargy that strikes me most years so I can only presume that as the year wakes up so will I.

I'm rather conservative in some ways when it comes to food. I don't do hot and spicy or bitter. I also have an innate suspicion of anything with serrated leaves or sharp stalks. For some reason such greenery often gets stuck in my craw as I eat so violent coughing and sometimes choking ensues. I have nightmares of being carted off to hospital in need of surgery a la Queen Mother after her encounters with fishbones. I don't know if this peculiarity is just a family trait as my mother also suffers from it or whether other people have a similar affliction. So alas delights such as dandelions and hairy bittercress are strictly off the menu for me.

So what have I been up to? In the greenhouse my main activity some winter salad leaves have been sown. The greenhouse is unheated. The leaves shown were sown in a small unheated propagator on the 8th January. The lid has remained on throughout so far but I shake off any surplus moisture and open the ventilation shaft (not sure if this is the correct phrase) each day. I have not watered the compost but spray it with my trusty water mister when I think necessary. I do this regularly with small seedlings as I they are delicate and do not appreciate a deluge from a watering can. There is also more risk of things getting too wet at this time of year and using a mister makes it so much easier to control the volume of water seedlings get. I hope to be munching from this sowing in February and will be sowing again this weekend.

My brief flirtation with sprouting seeds back in the 1970s is about to be re-ignited. Buying the equipment locally was a challenge in itself but I now have a sprouting germinator jar and a small selection of sprouting seeds so am set to go. I will hopefully report on some harvestings next month.

What I have been enjoying this month is some finely chopped snippets of Babington's Leek (allium ampeloprasum var babingtonii) on salads and also as a chive substitute with scrambled eggs. You can see a photo above of some plants waiting for me to transport them to the allotment to join those already in residence. I took the photo in the greenhouse for convenience - the plants though have been outside all winter. This plant is native to Britain and can be found growing mainly near the coast. The leaves have a garlicy taste and although all parts can be eaten I have only munched young leaves up to now. The foliage disappears over the summer months. I grew my plants from seed obtained from Chiltern Seeds. I have a few spare seeds or to be more accurate bulbils to spare if anybody is interested.

My other activity has been the oh so most important and pleasurable business of perusing the seed catalogues for various salad ingredients. Some sowing is on the schedule this weekend Finally last night I came home from my local garden club meeting clutching two bags of seed potatoes - Belle de Fontenay and Ratte, both of which are delicious salad potatoes. I realise that the challenge is about mainly about leaves but you do need something to bulk them up. Mmmmmmmmm - my mouth is already watering at the thought.

Do visit the monthly round up of The 52 Week Salad Challenge over at Veg Plotting if you have not already signed up consider joining in the fun!

Wordless Wednesday ~ 25th January 2012.

2012-01-25T19:00:00.004Z

~ growing in The Winter Garden at Dunham Massey ~ 23/01/2012.

January Sales

2012-01-24T17:00:00.002Z

Going about my business about this morning, hood well over head to protect myself from the incessant drizzle, I was still not sufficiently incognito to be recognised by a fellow garden club member. We stopped for a brief chat, during which I was shown her purchase from the local high street florist. The word sale was mentioned so I just had to pop in to the shop for a reccie. I was delighted that I did. I came out clutching a maidenhair fern for 50p - my first horticultural bargain of the year. My track record with houseplants is slowly improving. I have now managed to keep an African violet alive for almost three years so I am keen to have a few more indoor specimens. Where it is going to go I'm not quite sure but at the price I simply had no choice but to liberate it from the shelf. Once in the shop I was captivated and had to have a good look round. I could not resist a pot of instant spring colour. This oh most prettily wrapped pot of 'Tete a Tete' daffodils will be a perfect replacement for the hyacinths that occupied my blue pot over the festive season.

Have you snaffled up a bargain in the January sales? Do confess - they say it's good for the soul.

"Avon Calling"

2012-01-20T12:30:00.001Z

The arrival of the postie with a parcel in his hands has cheered up an otherwise dismal and most wet January morning. The delivery contained three snowdrops from the excellent Avon Bulbs. If you have been visiting my blog for a while you will know that I am rather partial to these early flowering beauties. I would not call myself a galanthophile but given the financial wherewithal I could slide down that slippery route. I am very slowly trying to build up my small collection which was decimated over the last couple of years. I wrote about them in their glory days here and then about the travesty that befell them here.

Inside the package were 'drops to replace ones that I had before but lost in the big freeze ~ 'Robin Hood', the definitely different 'Blewbury Tart' and the Greatorex double 'Ophelia'. I shall be heading to the greenhouse later to pot them up. However my long term intentions are to move away from keeping them in pots to planting them in the ground. I was initially reluctant to do this because of our squirrel population, but my losses were due to the fact that the bulbs in pots could not cope with two long and hard consecutive winters. I knew that I was taking a risk by planting them in pots but still I got a good few years innings from them before winter stopped play.

As you can see Avon Bulb's packaging is excellent. I have ordered from them several times before and have always been impressed by the quality of plants, packaging and also by the lovely lady in their office, who I have spoken to on the telephone several times over the years. Tucked into the box was a sample of one of their snowdrop greetings cards ~ I feel myself going weak at the knees.

The Ten ~ Minute Diaries

2012-01-17T18:45:00.001Z

I came across this trio of little books quite by chance late last year whilst I was deciding upon my festive seasonal treat to myself. The title I finally decided on was 'Colour In The Garden' by Val Bourne. I noticed though that three other books had been published by this author at the same time. Intrigued I kept my eyes open for these in the bookshops and eventually a quick peek resulted the conclusion that I would like to read them. If you have not come across this author before do look out for her books. Not only does she write knowledgeably and from personal experience, furthermore she gardens organically - a principle which is reflected throughout these books. Val Bourne's work appears regularly in the press including the gardening supplement which is located in Saturday's 'Daily Telegraph'. I already have her 'The Winter Garden' and 'The Natural Gardener' on my bookshelves whilst my seasonal treat is now upwardly mobile in the to be read pile.

I had intended to wait to see if the books appeared in my local library as I thought that the price for each volume was rather steep for my book buying budget (£9.99 for each in hardback) They are not particularly long books and the few illustrations that appear are rather old fashioned sketches. The lack of illustrations does not however detract from the content. However when I noticed that that they were available in softback for £4.99 for the trio from The Bookpeople, I decided to send off for them and am now dipping into them ~

Although I have been concentrating on the vegetable volume up to now the format of each book appears to be similar. There are up to six suggested monthly tasks, solutions for common problems, did you know facts, organic tips and information where appropriate on varieties. The diaries revolve round Val's attractive premise "Whenever there's a spare 10 minutes, use them. Some tasks inevitably take longer but much can be achieved in short bursts of activity on a regular basis." I like it!

If the weather warms up enough tomorrow as forecast, I will be tackling one of Val's suggested tasks for mid January, which is to start preparing for seed sowing by washing those pots and seed trays. She suggests that a radio helps to ease the pain of the task. Her organic tip for this task is to "resist the urge to to use Jeyes Fluid, bleach or any other chemical cleaner. They are damaging to the environment and will harm many of your overwintering friendly predators." Excellent advice - unfortunately many other publications recommend doing quite the opposite. By the way if you have asthma do not go anywhere near Jeyes Fluid - I did once many years ago - it was an experience I will not forget in a hurry!

In conclusion, I think that these little books contain some most valuable advice and information, for both beginners and those who may have gardened or had an allotment for some time. Another set is on order as a little present for a friend.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day ~ January 2012

2012-01-15T16:30:00.003Z

The start of January saw roses still in bloom but a couple of overdue but seasonal sharp frosts have finally put paid to such curious goings on. I am somewhat relieved - it was all most confusing. A quick reccie earlier this afternoon revealed a scene similar to the middle of January 2009. There are clusters of snowdrops about to fully open, one or two hellebores already out with other buds in various stages of unfurling whilst the red flowers of the rather camera shy pulmonaria rubra 'Redstart' have been doing their stuff for some time ~

Near the house I have planted a sarcococca confusa in a pot - its little white flowers are insignificant unlike its scent which is packed with intoxicating punch . I have another older plant which is straggly and still to flower. Maybe time for the chop. There are primroses too and winter flowering heathers (himself's choice). Before I succumbed to frostbite I spotted a pot of crocus 'Firefly' close to opening. Now that does seem early but I am going to disappear into my photographic archives to investigate - much more reliable than my memory. Then time for a warming drink whilst I visit other January blooms thanks to May Dreams Gardens.

Wordless Wednesday ~ 11th January 2012

2012-01-11T18:45:00.004Z

Well almost ~ only to say that I did not grow these prize winning veg ~ something to aspire to though :)

Nipping It In The Bud

2012-01-09T08:30:00.000Z

Yesterday looked as if it was going to be one of those January days ~ the morning dawned cool, dull and the fine drizzle developed into full scale rain. Definitely a write off for any outdoor activities or so I thought but it eventually brightened up. After lunch I decided to potter in the greenhouse and to make a quick inspection of the estate. In the greenhouse the sweet peas I sowed almost in the middle of November have made a fair bit of growth. These were sown much later than normal as I had such poor germination with the first batch. These second sowings have germinated well (not all of them but enough). I was worried that it may be too late to get them going but apart from the one snowfall in December, we have had hardly any really cold nights so far. Time then to nip off the growing points as recommended to make for more sturdy and floriferous plants.

My small tray of cuttings looks happy and healthy so far - the above photo was taken in the third week of November. I did not take many cuttings last autumn - perhaps I had visions of another extremely cold winter which would involve wrapping myself and cuttings with infinite swathes of horticultural fleece. In the event I wish I taken more. However there are a few penstemons, a pretty little purple Swan River daisy, some pinks from my Mum's garden, lemon verbena which I delighted in stroking to release a whiff of delicious scent and some physocarpus opulifolius 'Diablo'. There are also a few cuttings of an edible plant which will briefly remain a mystery as it merits a blog post of its own.

I got caught up with some general tidying up in the greenhouse and sowed some seed for Veg Plotting's 'The 52 Week Salad Challenge', so in the end not much time to look at what was happening in the garden. It was exciting though to see that another three of my little named snowdrop collection may open this week - 'Wendys Gold', 'John Gray' and 'Faringdon Double'. No doubt I will be running out every day whatever the weather to check on their progress.

Challenging Behaviour

2012-01-06T17:00:00.010Z

Before the impetus of a new year ebbs away I am setting myself a few personal challenges for 2012. I don't do resolutions since the inevitable disappointments of deciding to give up smoking on previous New Years Days. Waking up with too little sleep and probably alcohol still coursing through my veins was not a recipe for success. I invariably congratulated myself on lasting out a few hours, once it was a whole day, before succumbing again to the evil weed. Resolutions eventually went out of the window but the very word 'challenge' has a different ring about it. So here's what I would like to do :

Loose weight ~ yes wouldn't we all like to but I am seriously overweight - hence no photos of me on this blog. My family, friends and those bloggers who have met me in the flesh as it were, would if they were being kind describe me as voluptuous. I would use different terminology and fully realise the risks to my health and happiness if the present state of affairs continues. I would love to have more energy for physical activities and garden and allotment would both benefit from it. What I have to loose is a secret between me in the scales. I am going to try in think of it in terms of bite sized chunks otherwise it is simply too daunting.
As part of the above I plan to eat less meat. As a former vegetarian I should be able to manage this one. It was only the lure of the aroma of bacon butties that diverted me from the straight and narrow. I will be leafing through 'River Cottage Veg Every Day' this weekend for new recipes to experiment with.
Take up tai chi again lessons. I started tai chi last year but sadly when my father was seriously ill last year had to put up it to one side. It's a gentle form of a physical exercise and a excellent for warming up before gardening or hitting the allotment.
I am going to resist buying any more books until I have read those already in my possession. The bookshelves are groaning and eventually in need of a good prune.
This year is going to be the year that I come up with a master plan for the allotment on paper before there has been too much sowing and growing. No more last minute panic as to where certain crops are going to reside or trying to remember what grew where last year.
Finally I am going to crack successional sowing, catch cropping etc etc. I will be participating in Veg Plotting's The 52 Week Salad Challenge. Feeling full of enthusiasm I called in at Wilkos this morning whilst shopping making one or two purchases to get me focused. I resisted the urge to purchase this season's blue seed cell trays.

I will report back next year as to how I fared with these challenges but on and around the 27th of each month as far as the last challenge is concerned.

P.S. I did give up smoking eventually starting on a National No Smoking Day (14th March this year) and never looking back.

The Wind In The Willow

2012-01-04T17:00:00.004Z

Part of what garden writers refer to as "the borrowed landscape', this willow, which is just outside the boundary of our garden took a nasty battering in yesterday's storms. It looks even worse in the flesh than on the photo and part of the larger damaged branch is dangling ominously near to our shed. It was still dark and lashing it down when I heard a dreadful ominous cracking noise. My first thought was that a tree may have come down across the main road but as I peered out I could see that the traffic was still moving so ruled this out. It was only later in the day when the wind abated that I could get out that this most sad state of affairs met my eyes. A salutary reminder of the power of nature. Now major surgery awaits and as it has proved difficult to establish just who the the landowner is, I have a feeling that this may be an expensive start to our new year. The lovely Karen from 'An Artist's Garden' tweeted of damage to her polytunnel yesterday and I wonder whether any other UK blogger's gardens were victims of the extreme weather. I do hope that your your good selves, properties and gardens escaped unscathed. This was not our only damage of the day - the force of the wind knocked over himself's parked motorbike which seems a large beast to me. Minor damage done but I was just so mightily relieved that he was not on it as the time.

A Poem For A New Year

2012-01-01T17:05:00.005Z

"You think I am dead"
The apple tree said
Because I have never a leaf to show-
Because I stoop,
And my branches droop,
And the dull gray mosses over me grow!

But I'm still alive in trunk and shoot;
The buds of next May
I fold away-
But I pity the withered grass at my root."

"You think I am dead,"
The quick grass said,
"Because I have parted with stem and blade!
But under the ground,
I am safe and sound
With the snow's thick blanket over me laid.

I'm all alive, and ready to shoot,
Should the spring of the year
Come dancing here-
But I pity the flower without branch or root."

"You think I am dead,"
A soft voice said,
"Because not a branch or root I own.
I never have died, but close I hide
In a plumy seed that the wind has sown.

Patient I wait through the long winter hours;
You will see me again-
I shall laugh at you then, Out of the eyes of a hundred flowers."

~ Edith M. Thomas, 1854 - 1925

Wishing anybody who passes by a Happy and healthy New Year and hundreds of flowers!

P.S. The photos were all taken by me last year ~ one for each month but alas they did not come out in chronological order or the size I wanted. Must do more collages more often!

The In Between Time

2011-12-29T10:00:00.001Z

This time of year is one to savour - the gap between all that frantic rushing around, cleaning, cooking and never ending shopping and before the arrival of an unchartered year, full of hope and promise. Hibernation is the order of the day with studying seed catalogues and reading high on the agenda along with other gentle seasonal pursuits such as playing Scrabble.

The weather here over the Christmas weekend was extraordinarily warm - on Boxing Day we sat with the window open and no heating on until darkness fell. A complete contrast to the sub zero temperatures of the 2010 festive season when snow lay on the ground. The following day saw me more than ready to venture out and about - to be doing rather than sitting. Top of the list on the jobs to be done was to remove the old foliage from the hellebores. This is one of those tasks where there seems to be much debate as to the whether to and if so when to do it. The leaves are evergreen so you could leave them on but can they become rather tatty. They are also rather large and floppy and can obscure the flowers. There is also the risk if you leave them on, of them carrying leaf spot disease throughout the winter, which could affect the flowers when they open. As to when some books recommend autumn and others early winter. It is one of those jobs best done though before the flowers buds start to open so you limit the risk of cutting them off, which if ever done brings out loud shrieks from both flower and pruner. I think that I would not have liked to do this job any later this year. Now all that remains to do is a bit of tidying up as well as give the plants a mulch. I have been saving a bag of worm compost in readiness for this but yesterday was too windy and cold to venture out whilst today is not looking any more promising so far. Oh well back to having my head stuck in a book until conditions are more favourable.
P.S. We made a last trip of the year to the garden centre yesterday morning and what should come home with me but another hellebore.

The Voice Of An Angel

2011-12-24T09:51:00.001Z

It will only be later on today when I sit down in front of the television, glass of sherry in one hand, mince pie in t'other that I will realise Christmas is really here. The candlelit carol service from Kings College, Cambridge is broadcast every year always starting with 'Once In Royal David's City'. The opening lines sung by a boy soloist invariably send a magical tingle of anticipation and excitement down my spine.

Wishing you all peace and joy at Christmas dear friends!

"Raise Your Candles High"

2011-12-22T16:45:00.003Z

'The Shortest Day'
~ "So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!!" - Susan Cooper b.1935.

At 5.30am this morning well before dawn, when I was still asleep, the winter solstice occured, bringing with it the official onset of winter and the beginning of the end of those long, dark nights in the northern hemisphere. A time to rejoice and sing as we walk towards the light! My early flowering snowdrop - galanthus elwesii 'Mrs Macnamara' is nodding her head in full agreement.

Wet,Wet,Wet!

2011-12-20T19:45:00.004Z

W IS FOR?

WATERING CANS! ~ along with old clay pots I am quite partial to the odd watering can, as seen here earlier this year in Le Jardin de Marie - Ange. So much more welcoming than modern plastic versions.

Wander over to ABC Wednesday for more on the wondrous letter W!

"DiSAHster Dahlings!"

2011-12-19T16:45:00.006Z

Just over a year ago I posted here about my attempt to embrace new technology by taking out a digital subscription to 'The English Garden' magazine. This came about from an urge to declutter as well as save some pennies. Now a good year into this experiment I would like to say that it has been a great success, but this is not the case. In the words of my favourite 'Strictly Come Dancing' judge, my verdict has to be it's been "a diSAHster dahlings!". What happens is that when the monthly email arrives to advise that the new edition is available online, I click and have a quick flick through of the contents but that is usually it. This happens even though there is always plenty that attracts my eye during that initial flick. I am ashamed to say that I have not read one single issue from virtual cover to virtual cover.

1 was always behind with hard copies of the magazine but only maybe by a couple of months or so never by a whole year! I think that the physical presence of a pile of unread magazines acted as a permanent reminder to make time to read them. Whilst they are floating about somewhere in cyber space it's not just the same! Sitting in front of a computer screen is just not as relaxing or as easy on the aging eyes as curling up on the settee with a favourite magazine. 'The English Garden' can be downloaded onto tablets which would go someway to perhaps making it more of a leisurely reading experience. It is a shame that it is not working out as it's the cheapest way of reading the magazine. There are some minor minus points eg there are no free gifts with your virtual mag but the cost of subscribing this way is a big plus. I am going to make a determined effort to catch up with the backlog over the festive season and start afresh come the new year but I am not convinced. I have a feeling that come 2013 I will return to the traditional magazine format. Has anybody else taken out a digital magazine subscription? If so I would be interested to know whether you have fared better than me. Later this week more about my other venture into the realms of new technology which has left me with a big smile on my face.

P.S. I should say that you can browse in either single or double page mode and zoom in or out.

'Dig For Victory'

2011-12-13T16:45:00.002Z

V IS FOR?

VINTAGE! ~ which was the theme underlying The Southport Flower Show this summer. There were many valiant attempts at interpreting the theme but this was the victor as far as I was concerned ~

Vamoosh over to ABC Wednesday now for more on the vivacious letter V!

'The Story Behind The Name'

2011-12-07T16:45:00.004Z

Over at 'Garden Faerie's Musings' the lovely Monica has issued an invitation to gardening bloggers share the story behind the name and to reveal how you came up with your online identity. I must admit that when entered the world of blogging I was fascinated by the names of the company I was keeping. I wondered whether there was a patient soul writing 'The Patient Gardener's Weblog' as the name suggests, who was 'Veg Plotting', and was there a real artist behind 'An Artists Garden'? I have since learned the answer to those questions but there are always others taking their place. Amongst many other mysteries I am intrigued to know ~

Whether 'Wellywoman' has a pair of the aforesaid footwear permanently welded to her feet?
Does 'Blue Shed Thinking' actually have a blue shed?
Has 'Beangenie' got a magical touch with beans or is she partial to the taste of legumes?

As for my online identity the story behind the name is is short and sweet and has absolutely nothing to do with my prowess as an expert with the needle. When I was in the initial throes of creating my blog I was really struggling to come up with a name. I looked round the study (where the computer resides) for inspiration and my eyes quickly scanned there bookshelf. There staring me in the face was the answer ~ one of my favourite gardening books, none other than Beth Chatto's 'The Green Tapestry'. I was doing a calligraphy course at the time and for some reason was taken with the the idea of merging the last two words of the title together ~ hence the name 'greentapestry' ~ as simple as that. The photo at the top of my post is what was was the header of my original blog design chosen to reflect the title. It may well return one of these days.

Do join in and share the story behind your name over at 'Garden Faerie's Musings' as we would all like to know!

The First 'Drop

2011-12-05T16:45:00.008Z

To quote from that well known seasonal refrain ~ 'The weather outside is frightful', but I still have managed to nip out between the frequent hailstone showers, to take a photo of my first snowdrop of the new season. To give her her full title she is galanthus elwesii 'Mrs Macnamara'. She originated from the garden of Mrs Macnamara who happened to be the mother - in - law of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. She is an early flowerer but seems to have arrived ahead of time this year. I think that she may well have opened fully by the end of the week if the forecast was not as dire as it is.

Regular readers of this blog may recall that I have a small collection of named snowdrops which I first wrote about here back in February 2009. I keep my bulbs in pots mainly because it enables me to enjoy them at close quarters near to the house. They brave the world when most other plants are hibernating - their frail and dainty appearance belies the fact that they are tough customers. Another appealing feature is that snowdrops have a subtle almost honey like scent, which you do not fully appreciate when they are in the ground. As getting my nose to the ground is not as easy as it once was I appreciate having the pots nearer to my olfactory organ.

Sadly the very fact that I keep them in pots has been a source of much woe as the past couple of winters has decimated my collection. I always knew that I was taking a risk but the winter weather had not been an issue in ten years or more or so of growing this way. If we have a protracted cold spell this winter they will be moved rapidly to warmer climes and if these cold winters persist I will have to plant them into the ground. Alternatively when they start to clump up I might split them between pots and the ground. 'Mrs Macnamara' is being most obliging in this department - there are some littlies coming through. Sadly I will not be able to replace all those that perished as I do not have the spare pennies to spend on plants that I had a few years ago. However I hope to slowly add to their numbers again. Having a winter birthday is quite handy as it when most of the specialist growers produce their catalogues! I do not think though that I could ever become a full blown 'galanthophile' as the really serious collectors are called. Apart from the rising cost, there seems to be very little discernible difference in the markings of some snowdrops, yet if there was a risk of me becoming addicted to one particular plant snowdrops would be in the lead. More to come on the subject as the winter unfolds.

Garden Blogger's Muse Day ~ December 2011

2011-12-01T19:15:00.001Z

To celebrate the first day of the meteorological winter and our wedding anniversary ~ a poem by Jenny Joseph ~

'The unlooked - for season'

"Love, the sun lies warm across the wall.
The wide windows and the smell of the road
Do not say Winter. Ladybirds are crawling
Out on ledges. Midday full on the land
Slows down the progress of the afternoon
Promising evening, like a Summer Sunday.

But look where the sun is. Never high in the sky it crept round the horizon. Ask anyone,
Look at the trees and the calendar - all declare
It should be winter. Within two hours
The Winter night will come up with the fog.

Since you have come and gone in the dreaded season
And left so much sunlight, I cannot think
Of now as dead time, only gentle,
With nothing to be feared, if this is winter"

The rose is 'The Fairy', which like us is a little bit ragged around the edges, is still holding on to a few flowers today.

Shear Perfection

2011-11-29T19:00:00.005Z

T IS FOR?

TOPIARY!
Trimmed to a tee, some tantalising topiary that we were fortunate to be treated to on our travels in September. Firstly above and below in the gardens at Great Dixter, Kent ~

and then this tailored allée in Les Jardins de Séricourt, France ~

where we were also treated to this tableux ~

Not quite tea for two but terribly civilised nevertheless.

Tango over to ABC Wednesday for more on the terrific letter T.

Spring in November

2011-11-26T16:30:00.002Z

My sister is away travelling in South America where it is spring. She has been taunting me with regular texts to the effect that the temperature is seriously warm, that she is on Copacabana Beach, then that she is in Buenos Aires where there is a haze of purple blossom etc, etc. On a decidedly grim and grey November day earlier this week, came an email with the photo that you can see above of jacaranda trees in Buenos Aires. "Too much information sis :) " was my rather short reply.

Yet here in the north west of England there are definite signs of blossom and spring out there. Perhaps not quite as striking as the jacaranda are the subtle flowers of Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis' or the autumn flowering cherry. Little sprigs of blossom have been breaking throughout this week which made my heart skip a beat. Providing there are no severe frosts this will flower for a good while here before having a kip and then a second flowering come spring. I first saw mention of it in Vita Sackville - West's 'Garden Book' and decided that I would like to plant this tree one day. She used to cut branches to open up in the warmth of the house "where the green buds surprisingly expand into the white, faintly - scented blossom suggestive of spring." There is both a pure white flowering version and a white tinged with pink, which is the one I grow. I have been trying to photograph my tree for the last couple of days but it has been blowing a hooley. You can see it here photographed in December 2009 but for a clearer idea of what the flowers are like Liz, over at Gwirrel's Garden has recently posted about the same tree. Liz has a superb talent for photography and if you have not visited her blog before you are really in for a visual treat.

Other signs of spring are a hellebore in flower, despite me protesting to the contrary when I read Rosie's post over at LeavesnBloom. That was before I did a spot of tidying up and spotted a flash of white from Mrs Betty Ranicar'. Then my sadly reduced collection of named snowdrops (which have been decimated by the last two winters) is showing activity. Galanthus 'Mrs McNamara' who usually appears in January is already showing white whilst the noses of other 'drops are already breaking through!

My sister returns this coming week but I now feel that I cope with those warm weather texts and emails should more land on my phone.

"Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree"

2011-11-22T20:00:00.001Z

S IS FOR?

SIESTA!
If you screw up your eyes and squint you will see the silhouettes of several sheep snoozing their way through a sunny September afternoon, under the shade of a spreading sweet chestnut tree. How many Ss in that?

Slip over to ABC Wednesday to be serenaded by the scintillating letter S!

P.S. This sweet chestnut is one of many fine trees in Fredville Park, just outside the village of Nonington in Kent. The most famous specimen there is 'Majesty' one of the largest common oaks in Europe. This tree features in Thomas Pakenham's book 'Meetings With Remarkable Trees'.

Plants That Die Disgracefully

2011-11-20T16:00:00.000Z

Some plants simply have the knack of bowing out gracefully whilst others it seems seem to attract attention to themselves for all the wrong reasons. We read in gardening books and magazines about the glowing colours of autumn foliage but are rarely made aware of plants that are grim at this time of year. I have wondered round the garden this morning where my eyes have been assailed by some unpleasant sights which I am going to share a couple with you.

I will start though with a pleasant passing before revealing the unseemly - that of a hardy geranium (wracking my brain in vain to think which one it is but not succeeding at the moment - maybe sanguineum) which you can see at the top of the page. Almost as pleasing as when it is smothered with flowers. Would that all specimens in my garden follow in its wake.

Gently leading up to the real bleugh - below is the foliage of polygonum or 'Solomon's Seal' ~

Now this seems decidedly dreary to my eyes yet I have read suggestions that you should grow this plant for its autumn foliage. I also read about it producing attractive small black berries in autumn but they remain elsusive. I am unable to understand why it should be recommended for autumn but perhaps it behaves differently in other peoples garden. Maybe somebody reading this has evidence to the contrary

As for my finale this really should carry a government health warning as I do not prune it until spring. It is clematis x jouiniana 'Praecox'. This is a late to flower scrambler which is covered with flowers from July to October. It is great to pick for small vases and it attracts bees and butterflies. The Royal Horticultural Society has bestowed an Award of Garden Merit upon it but surely not for its grim departure. Please avert your eyes if you are of a sensitive disposition ~

It look even more unpleasant on wet days and as autumn proceeds. Perhaps you have some autumn ugliness that you would like to nominate for a plant that dies disgracefully.

All photos were taken this morning on what could only be a November day.

'Mother And Child Reunion'

2011-11-15T19:45:00.005Z

R IS FOR?

REUNION!
In raptures at being reacquainted mother and child roaming in the gardens of Powis Castle, North Wales one afternoon last autumn.

If you are about to pause for refreshment and a relaxing rest, may I suggest that you might really enjoy this rather heartwarming rendition of 'Mother And Child Reunion'. It is sung by an artist held in high regard ~ Mr. Paul Simon.

Now why not race over to ABC Wednesday for more on the rather rumbustious letter R!

'Double Dipping'

2011-11-13T19:15:00.012Z

This 'double dip' autumn continues broken only briefly by the first frost last Sunday. Any thoughts of lifting the dahlias had to be put on hold as I was heading south for a few days. I have come back to find frazzled leaves but still need to lift them and find them a des res for the winter. Other than that most other things escaped damage and it has turned mild again. Before I went there was time to sow a few pots of sweet peas. The sowing I made in October was most disappointing as only seven seeds germinated out of fifteen. I am not sure how old the seed was but I picked up a packet of a new introduction 'Prima Ballerina' and hope that they fare better. I have never sown sweet peas so late in the year so yesterday I switched the heated sand bench on in the greenhouse. Maybe some bottom heat will encourage them to get going. I must order some more sweet pea seeds for spring sowing - definitely 'Matucana' but also want to try some different varieties. The catalogues have been arriving in dribs and drabs including the arrival this week of Elizabeth MacGregor's new catalogue which I am really looking forward to browsing through. Somehow online catalogues are never quite as satisfying. I have had a quick flick and am tempted by a few plants.

Himself has been busy this weekend relocating the bird box that we fitted with a camera earlier this year. We were hoping to be able to watch 24/7 live action from the nest but it was not to be. We were initially encouraged to see leaves and twiggy bits arrive and held our breath in vain for some time. Our most exciting moment was when we saw a wood louse scuttle across the floor of the box. So we have decided to try another venue next year and have finally decided on its location. The box will be spring cleaned next spring and a few starter leaves added for encouragement. Maybe there will be fledgelings to report on then.

Meanwhile the leaf sweeping goes on and on. I have been wondering when the leaves in the photo are going to relinquish their hold and where they will land. The tree - a cherry blossom belongs to our next door neighbour - it had lost all its foliage on the same date in 2009. So for all the talk of a premature start autumn is still going strong.

Just Chilling

2011-11-09T19:15:00.002Z

Q IS FOR?

QUIET!

There is nothing quite like getting your quota of quality afternoon kip. Spring 2011 ~ a pair of ducks on our lawn and a quirky gnome nodding off in a Shropshire garden ~

Quickly over to ABC Wednesday now for more on that letter Q!

'A Day In Autumn'

2011-11-05T17:00:00.005Z

"It will not always be like this,
The air windless, a few last
Leaves adding their decoration
To the trees’ shoulders, braiding the cuffs
Of the boughs with gold; a bird preening
In the lawn’s mirror. Having looked up
From the day’s chores, pause a minute.
Let the mind take its photograph
Of the bright scene, something to wear
Against the heart in the long cold."

~ R.S. Thomas , 1913 - 2000

Slightly late in the day but continuing in the tradition established by Carolyn from 'Sweet Home and Garden Chicago' here is my November muse. There is a feel in the air today that the "long cold" is not so off. Yet earlier in the week it was hard to believe that we had entered November. It was sunny and warm enough to put washing out to dry, whilst at the allotment I picked the last courgettes and a bowlful of most delicious autumn fruiting 'Polka' raspberries.

It is dry for Bonfire Night celebrations - I will not be putting my head out of the door as I am an absolute wimp when it comes to loud noises. Luckily though we can catch glimpses of the local public display. I hope that all the children enjoy thmeselves, that both folk and creatures stay safe and that the crew on duty at our local fire station just down the road are not busy tonight.

P.S. It is not yet completely dark here so the photo was taken last year. I was brave enough to stand in the porch for a few minutes.
P.P.S. The 'long cold' may well have arrived - woke up to the first frost of the year the morning after the fireworks.

Le Jardin de Marie Ange

2011-11-01T20:15:00.014Z

P IS FOR?

POTAGER! ~ we visited this oh so pretty potager in the Pas - de - Calais region of France in September, himself having persuaded me that as we had travelled as far south as Kent for a holiday, that it made perfect sense to go on to France for a few days afterwards. The weather was the pits but we still managed to fit in a couple of garden visits. This potager with its pear tree and pumpkins is just one part of 'Le Jardin de Marie Ange', a member of L'association des Parcs et Jardins du Nord/ Pas - de - Calais. The association promotes and publicises some 37 parks and gardens in the area that open their portals to the public. We bumped into the owner of this garden as we arrived - she was heading out for a painting class. Madame spoke a little English and "Je parle un petite peu de francais" but the language of plants is international. We chatted for ten minutes or so about her garden and other gardens to visit in the region. When we parted I felt that I had made a new pal. I plan to return to show you more of this this picturesque and most pleasing to the eye garden in future posts.

Please promenade over to ABC Wedneday for more on the letter P!

End of Month View ~ October 2011

2011-10-31T11:45:00.001Z

It seems as if somebody has pressed the pause button on my EOMV border as it does not seem to look that much different to what it did one month ago. Ok the dahlias are now only sending forth the odd flower but other occupants are still going strong. Geranium 'Bob's Blunder' is still flowering his little socks off along with the chocolate cosmos and verbena bonariensis whilst one of the penstemons is getting its second wind. I have transplanted the thyme division that was waiting in the wings last month but I am afraid the bulbs have still to go in. I also now have some sturdy little dianthus plants to add to the border. These have grown from slips that I took from my parent's garden earlier this year - I don't know their name but they have the most wonderful fragrance. I am not sure whether to plant them out now or leave until spring - decisions, decisions.

It is still good gardening weather. We still have to have our first frost and October 2011 apparently is going to be one of the warmest on record in the U.K. since such recordings began. On the excellent BBC2 'Autumnwatch' programme last week, one of the presenters said that this autumn has been dubbed a 'double dip' autumn which seems a most apt description. It did indeed start early but the end of September heatwave slowed its progress somewhat dramatically. However the last week or so has seen significant changes. I am now enjoying watching the leaves turning on the autumn flowering cherry which you can see in the above photo. The end of British Summer Time means that it will be soon be serious catalogue browsing and making plans for next year time so more of that soon no doubt.

With special thanks to Helen who blogs over at 'The Patient Gardener's Weblog' and who came up with the idea of an end of month view. It is a great wait of stopping still and taking stock.

My Guilty Pleasure

2011-10-25T20:30:00.002+01:00

O IS FOR?

OLD CROCKS ! ~ this pile made me go oh so positively weak at the knees when opportunely observed on a garden outing this spring. Oh to have been able to take them home with me.

Over to ABC Wednesday where there's an ovation for the letter O!

Why Willows Weep and Other Stories

2011-10-23T20:00:00.002+01:00

"How did the oak tree come to life? Why does the chestnut tree have white candles? Why does nothing grow under the beech tree (or does it?)? Why crab apples are sour? Why birches have silver bark? Why the ash has black buds?"

We are on the cusp here between some lingering remnants of colour in the garden and the changes that the first frost of autumn will no doubt bring about. We were teased by a forecast of frost earlier in the week but it did not materialise, rain pushing it considerately away in the night. So the dahlias still sparkle and I was saved the job of lifting them to morph into that sad state of tuberous limbo. I am debating whether to leave the 'Bishop's Children' in the ground during the winter and let them take their chances. They were so easy to grow from seed. Meanwhile work continues trying to clear some of the beds at the allotment. The last few beans have been picked and although they diminished quality wise they have have been good enough to lob into soup along with the never ending courgettes. One plant is still producing so I am going to leave it until we get that first touch of white. My order of garlic has arrived in the post - nice plump bulbs from Otter Farm.

Another time consuming task is sweeping up leaves which at this moment in time is one of those thankless ones as more leaves fall as soon as one lot is swept and bagged up. The main culprit in the back garden is a huge ash tree which we inherited when we moved here. I have never held it in much affection until earlier this week, when I came across mention of a book entitled 'Why Willows Weep' on the Woodland Trust website. The book is a collection of short stories by contemporary authors who have donated their stories enabling the Woodland Trust to plant five native trees for every book sold.

After listening to one of the stories 'Why The Ash Has Black Buds?' read here by its author William Fiennes, I will be treating myself and maybe a good friend to this tome by way of a soon on the horizon seasonal gift. I will also look at our ash in a more loving manner in the future and the curses will cease. Do have a listen to this story if you can as I think that like me you will be absolutely entranced!

"Not Just A Pretty Face"

2011-10-18T20:15:00.003+01:00

N IS FOR?

NASTURTIUMS! (tropaeolum majus) ~ a real no nonsense plant, which once introduced to allotment or garden, will be an almost never - ending source of not only attractive and long lasting colour but also of nourishment too. The name 'nasturtium' derives from the Latin words for nose - nas and twist - tortum, which is what some noses might well do in response to niffing them ~ not that they emit a nasty odour but they can be noticeably pungent. Nasturtiums are half hardy annuals which self seed themselves vigorously about once you have them, although after a few years mine are now diminishing in numbers. Now for a note to self - remember to include some on next year's seed list. Not only can the flowers be included in a nifty nosegay you can also nibble them too along with the leaves and pickled seed pods.

Now nip over to ABC Wednesday, the creation of one Denise Nesbitt and where the rather neat letter N is making a lot of noise this week!

P.S. I have to confess that the above nasturtiums are not grown in my patch - I nabbed a photo when we were visiting a garden earlier this year.

In The Footsteps of Miss Jane Austen

2011-10-11T20:00:00.002+01:00

M IS FOR?

MAGICAL MORNINGS ! ~ one of which we enjoyed recently as we meandered and mooched round the beautiful gardens of Goodnestone Park, Kent during our recent holiday. The author Jane Austen's brother Edward lived in a house on the estate for some time and Jane was a regular visitor to Goodnestone. It was almost possible to imagine her strolling about the grounds as we more or less had the place to ourselves. Our visit was made towards the middle of the month and just after the start of a new school new year.

Maybe some of my gardening mates might be able to help me identify a mystery plant that I marveled at - flowers and foliage below ~

It's one for my must have list when I can find out what it is. More musings on the marvellous and magnificent letter M over at ABC Wednesday and more to follow here on Goodnestone Park soon.

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes"

2011-10-10T19:30:00.002+01:00

The end of September heatwave has long since evaporated giving way to what has been now been more than a week of wind, rain and even some hail thrown in for good measure. There has been little sunshine, everywhere is soggy, uninvited leaves cartwheel in whenever the door is opened and the last of my courgettes was eaten before I got to it. Not sure what it was but it must have been a big hungry creature!

Meanwhile before the sunshine left us there was much loud noise, extremely unsociable bonfires and various goings on next door, resulting in a blot on the landscape. Our neighbours are making changes to their garden. I am not sure yet what the outcome will be but the proceedings up to now have not been encouraging. They have consisted of much pruning, some of it rather drastic including the removal of a large tree. Not a special tree by any account - just a bog standard conifer but it provided both them and us with cover and a degree of privacy. Now it has gone we can see much more of neighbouring houses and gardens, including a view of a very uneven and bedraggled boundary hedge, ugly fencing as well as next door's shed and washing line. We are now very much in public view when we nip out to the bins, garage and to the cold frame which are all at at the back of the house. Finding a solution to this is going to be problematic as our garage is too near the boundary for us to plant something on our side. Himself does not understand why I am so miffed but living as we do down in a hollow, I feel that we have lost one area where we were not overlooked in the summer months.

I know nothing stands still yet I always find it disconcerting and somewhat upsetting when views unexpectedly change overnight. Still this weekend I gained some comfort from sowing sweet peas - one of the many forward looking and optimistic constants in the gardening year. I am slightly less grumpy and out of sorts than I was a few days ago!

"There'll Be Bluebirds Over"

2011-10-04T19:30:00.026+01:00

L IS FOR?

LAKE!
Late last month himself and I enjoyed a leisurely loiter round The Pines Garden, at St. Margaret's Bay in Kent where we lingered lazily by the lake. If you look long and hard into the background you can glimpse the landmark legendary white cliffs of Dover.

A more lucid view was to be had by taking a little walk from the garden down to the beach below ~

Lots more on the letter L over at ABC Wednesday!

End Of Month View ~ September 2011

2011-10-02T19:30:00.004+01:00

Slowly but inveitably the colour is ebbing away now in the EOMV as the dahlias and penstemons wind down, although I have been pleased to note that other plants have come to the fore. What is still going strong and has made amazing growth from the little plant purchased earlier this year is geranium 'Bob's Blunder'. This plant originates from Cotswold Garden Flowers and is named after owner and plantsman Bob Brown. I have tried to photograph this plant several times but it is most difficult to capture the flower colour. Flecks of white appear which are not visible to the naked eye. I have tried in different light and this is the best photo so far. The foliage of this plant is very attractive - in fact I like it more than the flower. I am not sure what will happen to the foliage as the days get colder so it will be interesting to observe. Another occupant of the border which is still flourishing is the chocolate cosmos which still has a myriad of unopened buds. I am debating whether to leave it in the ground with some added protection for winter or whether to dig the tuber up and overwinter along with the dahlias.

Waiting in the wings to go in the border are some miniature daffs for spring colour, a little clump of thyme (offshoot of one already growing elsewhere in the garden) and the one and only plant that I bought on holiday. A reality check in the shape of himself reared its ugly head in the oh most so tempting nursery at Great Dixter. I was pointedly reminded in no uncertain terms that it would be nearly a fortnight before any plants hit base. I restrained myself made do with a pennisetum alopecuroides 'Little Bunny' which I bought in the last couple of days of our holiday. As it name indicates this is a minature grass and not surprisingly is the sort of plant that makes you want to reach out and stroke it.

With thanks to Helen over at 'The Patient Gardener's Weblog' who came up with the idea of the end of month view.

Garden Bloggers Muse Day ~ October 2011

2011-10-01T19:45:00.002+01:00

"You ought to know that October is the first spring month"
~ Karel Capek - 1890 -1938, an extract from 'The Gardener's Year'.

This muse post has been inspired by Carolyn Choi who previously blogged over at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago.

'Watch The Birdie'

2011-09-27T19:45:00.001+01:00

K IS FOR?

KOOKY! ~ as was this garden ornament which kept its beady eye on us as we crept past it one day last week.

There are many more keynotes on the letter K over at ABC Wednesday.

Brushing Away The Cobwebs

2011-09-25T19:45:00.009+01:00

Back home after a fortnight's holiday to find a cobweb festooned greenhouse, cuttings that have got on with their business silently sending out roots, the first piles of discarded leaves and gleaming red berries which have appeared out of nowhere. The allotment remains undiscovered terrain until tomorrow and goodness knows what has been going on there whilst my back has been turned. New seed catalogues have landed on the doormat along with some gardening magazines. There seems to be a myriad of jobs to catch up on but for once the weather looks as if it is going to oblige with predictions of the warmest spell of early autumn weather for some twenty five years! What an unexpected surprise. So this week feeling reinvigorated after breathing in both sea and country air I am going to :

sort out the cold frame and make sure that all pots are labeled before the onset of winter. No more guessing games next spring.
make sure that I sort out and send off my spring bulb orders. This year I am going to be restrained and not bite off more than I can chew.
get my order off for some garlic cloves.
start making some inroad into eating some of the potatoes which I harvested from the allotment before we went away.
make a list of what will need sheltering in the greenhouse 'ere the winter storms begin.'
start making inroads into clearing one of the raised beds at the allotment which has had permanent planting in up to now.
check to see whether there are any seeds that can be saved.
gently brush away those cobwebs as they can prevent overwintering butterfly chrysalis from emerging in the spring.

Think that's enough for one week. What are your plans for early autumn?

'The Garden Of England'

2011-09-19T10:00:00.006+01:00

'9kr

I have been spending a few days in the fair county of Kent (often known as
'The Garden of England' because of its abundance of orchards and hops), hence my recent silence both here and commenting on other blogs. Just happened to stray over the border into East Sussex to visit Great Dixter, which after many years of wanting to visit more than lived up to all expectations! A sneak preview above and more to follow when normal service is resumed shortly.

Has Anybody Seen My Secateurs?

2011-09-06T20:00:00.000+01:00

H IS FOR?

HEDGES!
Last September himself and I holidayed in North Wales. I hurt my knee not long before we went and was in horrible pain. As the week went on I had to use a stick to hurtle myself about. However we still managed to visit the highest garden open to the public in North Wales, which I wrote about here and homeward bound we made haste for Powis Castle and its gardens. Here I hopped about and imagined the work involved in maintaining these hedges to the highest standard!

Hurry over to ABC Wednesday now for more on the letter H!

With Thanks To The Patient Gardener And Monty Don

2011-09-05T01:45:00.000+01:00

Fashionably late as usual here is my 'End of Month View' post - in real life I am one of those people who is completely neurotic about timekeeping. Despite not wearing a watch for the last quarter of a century or so, I arrive early for appointments and am terribly impatient of those who do not arrive on time. I am working at being more tolerant.

Well here we are at the end of another month and as you can see the border is shrieking out colour wise. My senses are offended and the occupants are going, going, gone! I have realised that apart from the colour combinations that most of the plants are too tall for where they have been planted. The chocolate cosmos, day lilies and osteospernum and geraniums are staying put but the penstemons and dahlias are headed elsewhere. The dwarf French beans are just a one season wonder - surplus to room at the allotment I was reluctant to consign them to the compost heap so stuck them in the border. I have some thyme and a white parahebe to plant as well as the purple campanula in a pot which has crept into the above photo. I am looking for not too tall grasses and as yet other unidentified companions to fill in the gaps.

What may not be obvious from these photos is that there is a four foot or so drop to the lawn below, where there is another border, so the dahlias and penstemons are either headed for the lower deck and/or to grace the allotment.

With a special thanks to Helen over at 'The Patient Gardener' who came up with the idea of a critical monthly review and also this month to Monty Don, who imparted some succinct but most useful advice on 'Gardeners' World' last Friday. Deadheading dahlias has always been a bit of a mystery to me but Monty has shed light on the matter. If the bud is round it is still to flower, if pointed time for the snip. I finally now know what I am doing and am pleased to report that I am no longer feeling spent, squelchy flowers.

Garden Bloggers Muse Day - September 2011

2011-09-01T13:30:00.000+01:00

"Now thin mists temper the slow-ripening beams

Of the September sun: his golden gleams
On gaudy flowers shine, that prank the rows
Of high-grown hollyhocks, and all tall show
That Autumn flaunteth in his bushy bowers;
Where tomtits, hanging from the drooping heads
Of giant sunflowers, peck the nutty seeds;
An in the feathery aster bees on wing
Seize and set free the honied flowers,
Till thousand stars leap with their visiting:
While ever across the path mazily flit,
Unpiloted in the sun,
The dreamy butterflies
With dazzling colours powdered and soft glooms,
White, black and crimson stripes, and peacock eyes,
Or on change flowers sit,
With idle effort plundering one by one
The nectaries of deepest-throated blooms."

~ 'The Garden in September ' - Robert Bridges

This post has been inspired by Carolyn Choi over at Sweet Home And Garden Chicago. Carolyn's blog is presently closed, as she has moved from Chicago to be nearer loved family members in Carolina. I hope that the move goes well for her and hope that we hear about her new garden in the future. In the meantime as I have derived so much pleasure from Garden Bloggers Muse Day I will be continuing with a monthly muse.

Sign Of The Times

2011-08-30T19:15:00.002+01:00

G IS FOR?

ST. GREGORY THE GREAT! ~ this sign grabbed my attention this spring whilst out on a glorious day garden visiting. Why? Firstly because himself is a Gregory. Secondly because of the wording when I took a closer gander. I gazed then gasped before wondering what signs had previously greeted church goers of the parish in times gone by.

Gracefully gallop over to ABC Wednesday now for more on the letter G.

'Out On The Streets' ~ At the Fire Station

2011-08-29T09:05:00.006+01:00

Our local fire station is just down the road from us ~ near enough when we first moved here for me to jump out of my skin every time a fire engine sped by with sirens shrieking. I have become immune over the years and now take the noise in my stride. Although I have walked past the station many times, en route to the allotment, I had never visited it until last month. I had read about a project to establish a community and biodiversity garden there some time ago and an open afternoon at the fire station proved the ideal time to find out more.

The project was the concept of one of the fire fighters based at the station and was formally opened last year. On what was previously an uncultivated grassed over area at the back of the fire station, there are now raised beds, a greenhouse, a wooden shed, a 'bug hotel' type bird feeder, wildflower garden area, compost heaps as well as decked seating and a meeting area. There is an interconnecting network of fully accessible pathways.

"The aim of the garden is twofold, to provide an access project for the general community and to act as an access and diversionary project for young people at risk of becoming involved with arson or anti -social behavior." The garden was constructed in partnership with a number of different community groups working alongside fire fighters. We have recently been overwhelmed with images and reports of young people caught up in the riots but here I saw a positive measurement of what young people can achieve given encouragement, support and the wherewithal. Having worked with disaffected young people for a long time, I know that sadly many of them, especially young men, leave our secondary school system with low self esteem and low expectations. Projects such as this are great ways of harnessing energy, providing invaluable work experience, developing team building and communication skills and in some cases completely transforming young lives.

Once the hard build was finished eight of the raised beds are now being cultivated by local primary schools. Each school has grown exactly the same crops in their beds so there is a element of healthy competition. When I visited the beds were filling out with their crops of runner beans, peas, carrots, beetroots, onions and spring onions. Regularly on hand to assist the project has the assistance of an experienced local allotmenteer as a 'Garden Manager'. Other groups including a local Mencap youth club are involved in the garden. After a good wander round and chat with those behind the concept, I left feeling really excited about this project and hope to pop down in the spring with spare seeds etc.

'Out on The Streets' is a regular feature over at 'Vegplotting', where if you would like to particpate Michelle advises that "All you need to do is post on your blog an example of public planting or use of outdoor public space which has taken your notice this month. It may be good or bad ; old or new, in your neighbourhood or something you've seen on your travels." Do make your way over there and join in the street party too!

"We Love Aphids!"

2011-08-25T20:00:00.002+01:00

I went to the seaside last week but never saw the sea - instead I went to Southport to the annual Southport Flower Show. I was in the company of a good friend, the forecasted heavy rain never materialised and there was much to see so all in all a perfect recipe for a grand day out. Whilst Southport is primarily a flower show there plenty of other non - horticultural attractions and displays. This year though as I was in the company of a keen gardener I did not get to see any of them but I am not complaining. Instead we spent the day permabulating at a gentle and leisurely pace, spending the morning in the busy but uncrowded floral marquee, halting only to sit down at noon to listen to a most thought provoking talk by Matthew Wilson, who managed to persuade his audience that they loved aphids! We even stood up at one point to chant "We love aphids!" in unison. Matthew's logic being that if there were no aphids that there would be no goodies such as ladybirds etc, etc. Then onwards again, making a few purchases as we went along before a late but well deserved lunch. Onto the show gardens before rounding up the day with a reccie of the marquee which housed the plant, garden and horticultural societies in addition to the splendid entries from amateur growers.

Above you can see part of the stand from Bluebell Cottage Gardens . The display was awarded a silver medail. Sue Beesley has described her show experience here on her blog, but I think she is being rather modest about her achievement. Not only did she put some most attractive planting together but I thought that she interpreted the show's theme of vintage most thoughtfully. Sue's stand along with the display from the Hardy Plant Society were amongst my highlights of the show.

Below glimpses of the Hardy Plant Society stand which won a gold medal and best in show ~

and finally some of the contents of the most perfect basket of vegetables you could possibly imagine ~

Now why don't mine look like that ?

P.S. For those of you who do not know Southport actually seeing the sea there seems to be a rare occurence - the tide is usually out so vast expanses of beach instead.

Stop Press - I have just noticed that 'Gardeners Question Time' was recorded last Friday at the show. The programme will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Friday 26th August at 3.00 pm and then again on Sunday 28th August at 2.00pm. Well worth a listen to.

Simply Scentsational

2011-08-23T19:45:00.002+01:00

F IS FOR?

FRAGRANCE!
"Every two or three days though July and August the house has been refreshed with little pots and odd jars of sweet peas here and there on shelves, by stairs or bookcases, by doors. Their smell fades after a day or two but, of course, the more you cut the more they come, in this case the more you give away the more you get" ~ extract from 'Led By The Nose' by Jenny Joseph.

Well that was my flight of fancy back in February but it did not come to fruition this year. My sweet peas plants planted out in that dry April spell never flourished. So this year for the first times in years I am without one of my favourite flowers. However allotment friends have fared better than me and I have been invited to feel free to snip. This floriferous bunch is flooding my kitchen with their fabulous fragrance today. The fearful fencing installed by the council earlier this year, has provided the ideal framework for them to cling to and fare fantastically well.

Now with a fanfare here is a link to ABC Wednesday where you will find fun, fiction, fables and fantasy all featuring the letter F!

Warm Fuzzies

2011-08-21T19:45:00.001+01:00

Whilst happily pruning this weekend I came across some little orange fuzzies nestling on an errant rose seedling which is destined for the chop. They are as soft to touch as they look. I have no idea what they are and what they might contain if anything but thought that they looked rather sweet. Would be delighted if anybody could shed light on the mystery.

Nesting Instincts

2011-08-16T19:45:00.004+01:00

E IS FOR?

EGGS!
"And most I like the winter nests deep - hid
That leaves and berries fell into:
Once a dormouse dined there on hazel - nuts,
And grass and goose - grass seeds found soil and grew"
~ extract from the poem 'Bird's Nests' by Edward Thomas, 1878 - 1917.

Not edible and certainly not belonging to an emu ~ himself and I espied this exquisite clutch of eggs as we walked round Hampton Court Gardens, in Herefordshire earlier this year. All part of an exciting quiz for younger visitors - on examination the letters on the eggs unscrambled to reveal the identity of the bird. Rather easy in this paticular case and not quite esoteric enough for us adults but we still derived enormous enjoyment from this mental exercise.

Escape now to ABC Wednesday for even more on the evasive letter E.

Just Snacking

2011-08-14T19:45:00.001+01:00

One of the greatest pleasures of growing fruit and vegetables are the little nibbles that you sample before any of your produce even reaches the plate. Be it a strawberry, pea, raspberry or tomato or herby bite there always seems to be something slightly illicit about such munchings but the taste is oh so sublime. I also tell myself that it is of course all in the name of quality control. This year's new discovery and a ready made allotment lunch, if I have remembered to take some bread and butter, has been the delicious 'Crystal Lemon' cucumber. Himself is not partial to cucumber so I decided this year to forsake my usual 'Burpless' for smaller outdoor grown cucumbers, namely the slightly exotic looking 'Crystal Lemon' and 'Iznik'. The jury is still out on the latter ~ it is described as producing cocktail sized cues but they are still too small to sample. The former though is definitely a hit and is already on next year's seed list.

Cobweb

2011-08-09T20:30:00.003+01:00

D IS FOR ?

DREAMCATCHER!
Dangling in a dingly~ dell this delightful dreamcatcher is to be found in a Cheshire garden which you can discover more about here and here.

Do not dally but dart over to ABC Wednesday now to download more about the letter D!

On Our Doorstep

2011-08-08T19:45:00.001+01:00

It's curious how we often overlook what's more or less on our doorstep and somehow caught up with the demand of everyday life we don't always get round to visiting local attractions. This is something that we have resolved to try to remedy. So as I already touched upon in my last post, we recently went garden visiting in Cheshire. Here some further impressions and information about our walk round Mount Pleasant Gardens near Kelsall in Cheshire. This is an RHS recommended garden curently opening on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays plus bank holiday Mondays from 12.00pm - 5.00pm. Opening is from the start of April to the end of September. The gardens have been developed since 1994 and shame to say this was our first visit.

There were several distinct areas to the 10 acres of gardens including a wildflower meadow, a tropical garden, a vegetable garden, a bog garden, water features as well as a recently created Japanese garden.

We were were slightly too late in the year to see some areas at the peak of their perfection. I imagine that the view down to the wildflower meadow would have been spectacular had we come just a few weeks before. The planting we saw was dominated by beautiful blue chicory but there was evidence of the tail end of poppies and various other wildflowers. We will have to return next summer.

Not surprisingly I enjoyed peeking at the vegetable garden. I particularly liked this planting of both red and white flowering runner beans ~

and positively drooled over these onions ~

Some of my perceptions of the garden were perhaps coloured by unfair comparisons - when it came to the Japanese garden I could not help but think of its near neighbour - the subtly and superbly planted Japanese garden at Tatton Park. The Japanese garden here seemed to be too fussy and as far as I was concerned did not evoke an air of tranquility but that could have just been my mood on the day - see my last post for a photo.

What made me pause though in this garden was not the planting for once but the carvings (both in wood and stone) that were dotted throughout the garden. Occasionally they were distracting but by and large they were sympathetic to their setting and enhanced the planting. Not only is there a resident artist but Mount Pleasant Gardens also holds an annual sculpture exhibition in September, which attracts artists from across the United Kingdom. The garden extends its opening hours during the exhibiton. The resident artist also holds sculpture workshops throughout the year. I know himself enjoys having a chisel in his paws - now can I persuade him that he would like to attend such an event?

It was perhaps not the best day for garden visiting as the weather had become close and clammy. As the afternoon went on I became slightly grouchy which perhaps clouded my judgement as I wanted to speed up to get home to cool down. Hence I came away feeling that I would like to see the gardens again at other times of the year before coming to any firm conclusions. Having said that there was plenty to hold our interest and the visit was well worth the admission fee. Although we did not partake light refreshments are available. Some interesting pieces of art work were for sale and there is a small nursery sales area. I came away with a most striking blue salvia which sadly was unlabeled. Hopefully we might return next month when the sculpture exhibition is taking place.

This is the first in what I hope will be an occasional series of articles on what is on our doorstep. The next trip is already in the planning stage.

Crossroads

2011-08-02T19:45:00.002+01:00

C IS FOR?

ALL THAT WAS MISSING WAS THE CHESHIRE CAT!

"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked. Where do you want to go was his response. "I don't know", Alice answered. Then, said the cat "It does not matter". " ~ Lewis Carroll (the author of ' Alice in Wonderland' spent his childhood days in the Cheshire village of Daresbury)
~ A clear and sunny day last week saw himself and I setting off deep into the Cheshire countryside. First stop was a cheerful cafe where we enjoyed a most convivial lunch. We lingered outside chatting away as the sun gave way to clouds and it became uncomfortably clammy but this did not deter us from continuing on our way to a local open garden.

Once there we came across colourful planting schemes ~

Cascading currents of water ~

A wildflower meadow dotted with chicory and craftily placed chairs ~

As well as a collection of curious and creative carvings ~

Another chapter on this garden later this week but in the meantime this is your cue to exit stage left in the direction of ABC Wednesday, for a cameo of all matters connected to the letter C.

End of Month View ~ July 2011

2011-07-31T16:30:00.000+01:00

After spending a good part of July away from home, garden and allotment the settled weather of the last week has provided me with a good chance to catch up with a myriad of tasks. Sadly I did not like what greeted me in the new end of month of border. BINDWEED has reared its must ugly head in no uncertain terms ~ I could weep! I can cope with the clover, thistles and other undesirables that have appeared but bindweed is another matter. This thug was not there last year so my suspicion is falling on the topsoil that came in during the spring. So there is a serious war to be waged.

In the meantime despite the bindweed most of the plants which were planted in May are flourishing. I did treat myself at the time to a couple of new hardy geraniums, a chocolate cosmos and a penstemon which has still to flower. The majority of the plants were either grown from seed, established from cuttings or were gifts from friends. It has been amazing to see how much growth dahlias 'Bishops Children' have put on in during the course of three months. They are a definite to be repeated.

However the plants that are giving me the greatest satisfaction at the moment though are dwarf French beans 'Stanley'. In a moment of madness I stuck a few spare bean plants in to fill some bare earth the day before we went on holiday. They were surplus and were initially heading for the compost heap. I puddled them in well and then forgot about them. They are doing better than the beans at the allotment, which have received tender loving care from my allotment neighbours and from me when I have been about. Sometimes it seems that plants thrive on tough love.

I am looking forward later on today to seeing how the end of July is treating other people's gardens and allotments over at 'The Patient Gardener's Weblog', where Helen kindly hosts the end of month view.

Slightly Blushing

2011-07-29T09:45:00.001+01:00

One of the most exciting moments of the gardening year for me is when I see my tomatoes beginning to turn colour. Each year you begin to think that it will never ever happen and then by magic overnight there is a subtle but distinct change. Even then I have to go back for a second and even a third peek just to reassure myself. This year the first of my tomatoes began to blush a couple of days ago.

The tomato in question is 'Losetto' which was a new introduction this year from Thompson and Morgan. It is an F1 variety and has been bred with blight resistance in mind. It has a cascading habit so is suitable for containers and can be grown under cover or outdoors in a sheltered sunny spot. I must admit I did not have my full wits about me when I bought the seed on a garden centre trip back in January, as if I had clocked the price before I got to the till, I think that they would have not come home with me. At £3.49 for six seeds these are rather expensive. One of my allotment friends happened to choose the same variety to try and had the misfortune to sneeze when sowing them, blowing one of the seeds away into obscurity. She was not amused.

I sowed my seeds in a heated propagator on 28th February. From there they moved to a heated sandbench in the greenhouse, where they continued to grow except for the occasional night in the house when the temperature was very low. This particular plant has had a bit of a nomadic life going from greenhouse at home to outside at the allotment and then back to the greenhouse at home.

I will have to reserve judgement though until the first tasting, which by the looks of things will not be too far off in the future. Have you grown any new to you tomatoes this year - if so any recommendations as yet or are you like me still waiting to have that first bite?

PS I am pleased to report that when I got to the allotment this morning I saw that its siblings are turning colour too.

"Don't Worry, Be Happy"

2011-07-26T20:10:00.005+01:00

B IS FOR?

BEES ! ~
"The only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee...The only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey....and the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it."
~ Winnie the Pooh in A.A. Milne's 'The House at Pooh Corner'

The atmosphere has been positively buzzing at the allotment this last week with the arrival of a bevy of bees - approximately 20,000 of them. These busy creatures were out and about in bright sunshine on Saturday afternoon so hence not a particularly brilliant photo.

Three plotholders have taken courses in beekeeping via the British Beekeepers Association and now with the council's approval, have located two hives on the allotment site. The hives are situated in a closed off area at one end of the allotment which is going to be especially landscaped for them with a pond, wildflower area and other planting to get them off to the very best start.

The bees can fly up to five kilometres from the hives so there is a chance that I may well see some of them flying about in my garden. Next year hopefully we can look forward to munching bread, butter and some beautiful local honey.

Be prepared to be bewitched and bewildered by the letter B over at ABC Wednesday.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men .....

2011-07-20T20:20:00.001+01:00

A IS FOR?

AFTER EIGHTS! - not as in the chocolate kind but as in dahlia 'Twynings After Eight'.

Alas my attempts to have an artistic arrangement of dahlias at the allotment this year have gone abjectly awry along with a lot of other aims. I do have some new to me dahlias though albeit still in pots at home. This particular variety is most appealing I think with its white flowers occasionally streaked with pink and its dark foliage.

Away to ABC Wednesday for more adventures featuring the letter A.

P.S. Again this time around I am going to attempt to keep to a horticultural theme but may occasionally go astray!

"Hi Lily"

2011-07-12T19:20:00.000+01:00

Z IS FOR?

"ZING, ZING, ZING WENT MY HEARTSTRINGS!" ~ when I saw my new lily finally open up its flowers for the first time on Sunday. I fell for Lilium LA Hybrid 'Eyeliner' when I came across mention of her on 'The Patient Gardener's Weblog' last year. Helen has posted about this delightful lily here and more recently here. Not wanting to risk the possibility of being disappointed I placed an order last autumn with Harts - a nursery specialising in the sale of lily bulbs.

Three well packaged bulbs arrived in a cardboard box in the depths of February. Duly planted in a pot (note to self - must plant in a bigger pot next year) there were soon signs of growth. A one woman vigilante patrol was mounted against the dreaded lily beetle, which was successful on the whole, bar one or two little nibbles of the foliage of one bulb. I caught two of the little beasties in the act of munching but no more damage thereafter. I was convinced that the buds might open whilst we were away on holiday but they teased and teased a while longer before revealing their true colours. I am quite smitten.

Zip over to ABC Wednesday for more on the letter Z!

Peeking Over The Fence

2011-07-05T21:30:00.002+01:00

Y IS FOR?

YELLOW! - there were lots of enjoyable opportunities to peek into other people's allotments on our recent holiday. Here a vivid splash of colour from some most attractive looking courgettes. I would have liked to meet the plot holder to ask what variety they were and to have found out was lurking in that green bin but there was nobody about to ask.

If you would like to find out more about the letter Y you should visit ABC Wednesday post haste.

End Of Month View ~ June 2011

2011-07-04T09:45:00.002+01:00

A brief report on the state of affairs as far as the end of the month view goes. After ten days away which typically coincided with the best spell of weather here for an age, we arrived back on Saturday as the sun was going down. Just time for a quick reccie of the garden including the very recently planted border which was showing more colour than we left home. Unfortunately the day lilies which were glowing in the twilight lived up to their name and the flowers dropped overnight. There were buds on the points of opening yesterday but they have not obliged yet. Instead a couple of current star performers in the border. Firstly above a glimpse of a penstemon which is one of the cuttings I took last year. So glad I did - the original perished in the winter. Not sure of the name - maybe 'Apple Blossom' - suggestions welcome.

Secondly one of the dahlias 'Bishops Children' which I have grown from seed and will definitely be on the seed list again. They were planted out about a month ago when I was amazed to see little tubers already forming. I like the dark foliage. This is the first to open - others look as if they will be similar in colour whilst some are orange in bud.

In my absence a number of weed seedlings have sprung up in the border so time so urgent culling is called for. Meanwhile I am sad to report that the transplanted castor oil plant has turned up its toes - oh well it was worth a go but was not to be.

For more end of month views from flower gardens and veggie patches do visit The Patient Gardeners Weblog.

A Postcard From France

2011-06-28T20:00:00.003+01:00

X IS FOR?

EXTRAORDINARY! - so has been the heat we have encountered here in France where we are spending a few days. We are hoping that tonight's thunderstorms will mean that the temperature has peaked. It was even too hot today for me to explore the greenhouses at the local nursery - now that is an extremely serious state of affairs.

For more on the letter X take yourself to ABC Wednesday.

" Small Is Beautiful"

2011-06-21T19:30:00.002+01:00

W IS FOR?

WHAT A WHOPPER!

When it comes to the world of fruit and vegetable growing I find that there are constant sources of wonder. The above strawberry to which himself's finger points was certainly a winner as far as size goes. I was almost lots for words when I saw it. I picked these at the weekend with a few raspberries and they were a most welcome addition to our tea. Not surprisingly though its wee companions were much more tasty.

Why not wither over to ABC Wednesday for more on the letter W?

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Shed

2011-06-20T19:15:00.001+01:00

Whilst southern family and friend talk about drought conditions, it seems to have done little else but rain here in the north west of England for the last month or so. Not only rain but there has been wind too - in fact May bought more typical autumnal weather than it did balmy spring days. Progress at the allotment seems to move at snail pace this year. I seem to have spent much time in my shed peering out in vain for gaps in the seemingly endless procession of rain clouds. This last Saturday afternoon was no exception. I arrived at the allotment just after 3.00pm with a specific action plan in mind. Despite the promising forecast I clocked some ominous looking clouds so made strawberry and raspberry picking my priority. I am glad that I did for within an half an hour or so the skies opened, unleashing what turned out to eventually be some very heavy rain. Slowly my fellow plot holders drifted off until there were only a handful of us left on site. I was stuck having arranged for himself to pick me up later in in the afternoon. So marooned in my shed I made the most of the time listening to my tin pot radio whilst doing some more tidying up. I don't think that my shed has so been so spick and span ~ tools all in order, pots stacked in order of size, carpets swept and shelves tidied. Eventually the rain eased enough for me to venture out where I managed to complete a couple of jobs one handed whilst the other held up my umbrella. Time to exchange a few words with my previously invisible fellow plot holders who had also taken refuge in their respective sheds, time to take some sambucus cuttings generously offered by another plot holder and then home clutching strawberries for a sticky evening of jam making.

'"What's In A Name?"

2011-06-14T20:30:00.004+01:00

V IS FOR?

VRAIMENT! ~ the potatoes that I picked at the allotment this afternoon were veritably delicious when cooked and served with a frittata and green beans. They were the very first pickings of the season and I had to have a good furtle underground to find enough to dine on. These spuds go by the most dull name that any potato could have the misfortune to bear ~ 'BF15' which makes me think of laboratory experiments. The variety was bred in Brittany, France being the offspring of 'Belle de Fonteney and Flava.' The valiant Monty Don describes 'BF15' as the best boiled potato he has ever eaten. I'm not sure about whether I would say that but there were decidedly good.

You will find more on the victorious letter V over at ABC Wednesday.

'The Twilight Zone'

2011-06-12T16:15:00.004+01:00

There is something special special about pottering about in the garden on summer evenings staying out until as late as you possibly can, until you can almost no longer see the end of your nose but before you snip a finger off with your secateuers . However I must admit that until now I have never consciously given thought to planning any aspect of my garden with the lateness of the hour in mind. I may well be having a rethink on this score.

Lia's Leendertz's latest book 'Twilight Garden' presents a compelling argument to make your garden somewhere 'that comes into its own at night', so that for many busy people, gardeners or not, it becomes more than a chore to be fitted in between the demands of work, parenting, traveling, shopping, cleaning, and cooking etc. After all as many people only see their garden in the evenings, we should keep this in mind when planning this extra room in the house ~ for some it can become somewhere special to provide quiet sanctuary and breathing space to be themselves, for others a place to entertain family and friends and for others that cherished gardening space.

First impressions ~ calling into my local library to pick up my reserved copy of this book 'Twilight Garden' the librarian commented on how inviting and attractive the cover of the book is. The above photo does not pick up on this but the illustration of silver and white foliage on a blue background shimmers most reminiscently of a moonlit evening.

Part One ~ 'Making Your Twilight Garden Reality' covers planning and design including using colour, scent, lighting and water. There is also a section of wildlife in the garden, tips on using space and a section which ponders on what style of night- time garden you might want to achieve. It rounds up with a section on entertaining. I must admit that I only skimmed through this. It contains 'recipes' for various outdoor themed parties and to my mind seemed almost to belong somewhere else.

Part Two ~ 'Plants & Planting' was the section that I lingered over and I am sure I will return to. There are what Lia describes as the 'star plants', 'the supporting cast' and 'backstage beauties'. There is basic information on the ideal growing conditions for each plant, their height and spread, how to propagate them and an indication of their flowering period. This is further supplemented by an explanation of why Lia has included them as candidates for the twilight garden. Many of these plants have not surprisingly white or pastel coloured flowers or silver foliage so they are more visible as darkness falls. The majority of them are also highly scented and in some cases their aroma intensifies as the clock ticks on. There are many useful ideas and suggestions to be found here, which you feel are inspired by both personal observation and practice. One or two that I have taken particular note of ~

I have realised for some time that petunias, especially lilac and purple ones are scented but I am not always able to readily get my hands upon them. Lia suggests that if that's the case that you could consider growing either the more highly scented 'Tumbelina' or 'Wave series from seed and she provides detailed sowing instructions. Result ~ definitely a must have on next year's seed list.
The ultimate test of how hardy you are ~ yes ~ the plant to tempt you out on a dark winter evening ~ the snowdrop. Lia suggests that this might be the ultimate magnet to pull you away from the warm indoors so that you spend some time, albeit a brief few minutes savouring the twilight winter garden. It will be interesting to find out whether their honey scent is discernible on a cold evening. Result ~ I will report back but should I disappear come one freezing February evening please launch a search party in my snowdrop patch.
Zaluzianskya ovata ~ yes that plant with an unpronounceable name although its common name of night phlox is a lot easier to get your tongue round. This is one of those plants that I have often considered sowing but have never got round to it, mainly because I was under the impression that it is an annual. Thanks to Lia I now realise that it is a South African perennial so half hardy in our climate. Although it is short lived it can be propagated from cuttings. Result ~ an experiment. I have bought some seed and will be sowing some later today. It is possibly too late in the season but I might get some plants sturdy enough to overwinter, which will provide me with some delicious scent next summer. Nothing to lose as I will only so a few seeds so if it does not work I can try again come spring.

I must admit that I was surprised by the inclusion of some plants such as phyllostachys nigra or black bamboo. I was initially flummoxed but then all made sense. As well as providing a dark background to illuminate paler flowers, Lia points out that this is a 'noisy' plant ~ not in an offensive way but one that might block out less desirable noises floating in from outside the garden. In a similar vein she also mentions how the sound of the trickle of water from a fountain can have a similar effect. I can certainly vouchsafe for the latter technique. We have a trickling water feature outside the front door which masks the noise of the nearby busy main road.

In conclusion I thoroughly enjoyed the unique subject of this book which other books touch upon but have not gone into such depth, as far as I am aware. I can certainly say that you can ignore that familiar adage of "never judge a book by its cover". This book starts with elegant style and continues with thoughtful content. My only slight criticism is that I would have welcomed the inclusion of a bibliography or some links e.g. the sections on wildlife and using scent left me wanting more. Some references for further reading, details of wildlife organisations etc, websites would have been much appreciated. I only wish that the book had come out sooner, whilst I was still working as I would have definitely given more thought to my own twilight space. I have since received a review copy of the book from the publisher and am delighted to now have my own copy in my bookshelves to refer to again.

'Twilight Garden' by Lia Leendertz is published by Pavilion.

IBSN : 9781862059115.

Details of other books written by Lia can be found here.

You can also enjoy Lia's writing on her blog ~ 'Midnight brambling'.

Simple Pleasures

2011-06-07T19:15:00.001+01:00

U IS FOR?

UTILITARIAN! ~ but still a undeniable source of pleasure this last week or so has been the beanpoles which came home with me from the Malvern Spring Gardening Show. This is a product which I am unable to find locally. I only wish that I could have made off with more than the two bundles that my hands could cope with at the time. One lot is providing excellent support for my clematis 'Petit Faucon' whilst the other bundle will soon be put into use at the allotment. I am hoping that if I take the beanpoles up at the end of the season and overwinter them in a cool dry spot that they should last a few years. Meanwhile guess what's at the top of my shopping list next time I visit a horticultural show?

Why not visit ABC Wednesday now for the ultimate close up and personal on the letter U?

End Of Month View ~ May 2011

2011-05-31T09:45:00.001+01:00

My May end of month view is from a different part of the garden than I normally feature . I am starting off a border almost from scratch again. The ground cover - a rubus that I allowed himself to plant turned into a monster which swallowed all in its path, so its back to bare earth again apart from a clematis jouiana praecox which resides at one end. Whilst I ponder over a permanent plan for this bed, which is in the only really sunny spot of the garden, I have stuck in some odds and ends. These have been lurking in the cold frame and include some day lilies, a couple of hardy purple leaved geraniums grown from seed, another couple of hardy geraniums, dahlias 'Bishops Children' again grown from seed as well as some penstemons that I took cuttings of last year. There are some verbena bonariensis seedlings waiting on the sidelines until they are big enough to plant. I am also going to plant some allium sphaerocephalon which I planted in pots last autumn. I had intended to transfer the latter from pot to ground yesterday but rain stopped play. This planting will be temporary but will at least give a bit of colour this summer and will be a change from my usual colour palette. Meanwhile there are embroynic plans for more permanent planting - hardy geraniums, osteospernums, alliums, thymes, oereganum and grasses are swirling round in my head. Any other suggestions for sun lovers would be more than welcome. I am rather a shady lady.

The 'End Of Month View' is the idea of The Patient Gardener and is an excellent method of garden recording.

P.S. It is with some disbelief that I report that the fatsia japonica that was lurking in my end of month border has finally been removed. We have replanted it - to say that it is looking sickly is an understatement!

Déjà vu

2011-05-30T10:30:00.002+01:00

Earlier this month I set off for the Malvern Spring Gardening Show with a relatively modest shopping list of five plants. Now why did I come back with only one plant on the list but more than I intended? I realised by mid morning that the contents of my horticultural shopping basket looked rather familiar. I was buying plants that have been in the garden before. Firstly there was the delicate foliage and white buttoned flowers of ranunculus aconitfolius 'Flore Peno'. I much prefer its common name of 'Fair Maids of France'. I had this beauty some time ago but then it fizzled out. The fact that the foliage disappears reasonably quickly after planting did probably not help. I am sure that it has already had a second coming so hopefully this reincarnation might be a case of third time lucky. How many times do you persevere with a must have plant? Maybe it could be a category in 'The Guiness Book of Records'. Then there was Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus with its striking magenta spikes. Again I have grown it before only for it to disappear to that giant plant catalogue in the sky. I have also attempted to grow it from bulbs only to be cruelly thwarted by squirrels who stumbled on a gourmet lunch. This time round I received what might be some potentially crucial advice from Avon Bulbs, that they would only sell it to me if I promised to plant it it deeper than it was in the pot. They must have taken one look at me and sensed my track record.

On the herb front a 'Morrocan mint' - yes I know that mints are hard to see the back of and a small angelica archangelica. I have not actually been responsible for the demise of the later (yet). It is growing in statuesque splendour at the allotment just now. It's huge flower heads are covered by bees who seem to settle and doze upon it. However from what I understand that the plant will disappear after it flowers and sets seeds. It may self seed but I thought that I would have a stand by at hand. It can be difficult to transplant as it has a tap root so I ignored the larger specimens for sale in favour of a diddy one.

Finally on the have been there before scenario another attempt with Brunnera macrophylla 'Looking Glass' as my previous attempt turned out to be an impostor. My fault for not being more observant and for always believing what I read on a plant label.

Ticked off my shopping list though was tiarella 'Appalachian Trails' which you can see in the above photo. I am still trying to find a nook or cranny for it to fit into. Not only do I like the foliage but it really does have a trailing habit so would look great in a container. In a talk to our garden club in 2009 Vicky Fox from Plantagogo, indicated that there was some exciting breeding work taking place with tiarellas. I wonder if this is one of the results.

I did buy a couple more new to me plants which I am really pleased about but more of them another day.

'Here Comes The Sun'

2011-05-24T19:30:00.002+01:00

Simply singing out on a sunny sultry day ~ we screeched to a stop to take a snap of these sunflowers one afternoon last summer.

Saunter over to ABC Wednesday now for some savvy posts on the sassy letter S.

Whodunit?

2011-05-22T19:30:00.004+01:00

Whilst I am looking forward to another episode of 'Vera' (a television detective series based on the novels of Ann Cleeves and set in Northumberland) tonight there have been rum goings on nearer to home earlier today.

The Scene - in the recesses of my greenhouse.

When? - between 10.30 am and 2.00pm.

The Crime - some creature unknown has pulled out some of my climbing French beans which had just germinated and left them like amok as you can see in the above photo.

Who Could Be Doing Time?

A bird perhaps deciding to have a bit of a nibble - so why did it turn its beak up at such fine fare?

Mr or Mrs Duck who occasionally venture into the garden. No - they are much too sweet to do anything so dastardly.

Big Ginge - the cat who treats our garden and its contents as his own. I have seen Ginge in the greenhouse before but I think that he just sees it as somewhere warm and cosy for a nap. Surely he would turn his nose up at my French beans. Besides which both himself and I have a soft spot for this regular visitor and I like to think kindly of him.

Could it be the rat which I spotted recently which may be taking revenge on me for contacting the pest control officer?

Top of my short list though is one of the squirrels which are constant pests in the garden. I am also blaming them for chewing off the top of one of my tree lily bulbs. This also happened quite recently. I have never seen a squirrel in the greenhouse but I suppose there's always a first time. I am just hoping that this is a one off incident rather than the start of serial crime.

The Verdict

There will be murder should I catch the culprit!

Stewed Apple And Custard

2011-05-17T20:15:00.002+01:00

R IS FOR?

RED!
~ as are these ruby hips of rosa rubignosa. This rose was formerly known as rosa eglanteria and is the eglantine in Shakespeare's famous lines from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream"

"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk - roses and with eglantine."

I have two of these rose plants ~ one of in the garden and one at the allotment. It will be a while before the hips appear ~ the rose has still to flower. However it has been a source of great pleasure in recent days. After weeks of dry and warm weather we finally have had some rain and in mild, damp conditions the leaves of this rose smell like ripe apples, their scent carrying through the air ~ all that's missing is the custard!

N.B. I had a rare senior moment last week regarding the sequence of the alphabet and published this in error in case some of you think that you may have read it before :) I was just about to post to ABC Wednesday when I realised. I must have a mental block about the letter Q - that's my excuse. Race over to ABC Wednesday now where you can really relish the letter R!

Malvern Spring Gardening Show 2011

2011-05-15T18:45:00.003+01:00

Once again the magic of The Malvern Spring Gardening show worked its spell on me ~ my feet may still be aching, my purse is somewhat diminished but my soul is greatly refreshed. As usual on arrival I made a beeline for the grand floral marquee which was jam packed with colour and fragrance. The psychedelic giant allium you can see above was the stunning centrepiece of the Avon Bulbs stand. Apparently the standard of exhibits in the marquee was so high that a record number of gold medals was awarded by The Royal Horticultural Society. I spent most of the morning mooching in the marquee, pausing only to make an attempt to find the plant creche, when my hands became full with purchases but decided not to join the queue as I was leaving the showground briefly at lunchtime. Time then catch up with some fellow garden bloggers albeit too briefly, before meeting up with himself in the camper van for a most welcome picnic lunch and a breather.

Back for the afternoon session we initially went in separate directions. I stopped off to see the various societies which were providing information and advice on a variety of plants and gardening matters. Then it was off to see the show gardens. Like other bloggers I was most taken with the exhibits of the two gold medal winning entries Hannah Genders's 'My Very Local Veg Garden' and the Graduate Gardeners Ltd 'A Garden For Life'. I spent more time lingering over the former ~

The garden was created as its title suggests from locally sourced materials and plants and to my mind despite its modern appearance was most reminiscent of cottage gardening, when before the age of mass travel people grew their gardens from what they could lay their hands on near to home. Hence this garden featured a wigwam of French beans, the wigwam made from locally coppiced wood and the beans grown from seed that had been harvested and saved from year to year, over a period of a quarter of a century.

'A Garden For Life' was most striking and original. I would have liked to have spent longer looking at it but the skies were beginning to threaten so my my progress had to gather space accordingly to fit all the other show gardens in ~

The garden featured an A framed building designed for family use. There was an entertainment area for adults and a secret den for children in the upper area. The garden incoporated several 'green' concepts including a solar powered water feature. There was a beehive and a wormery, a fruit and vegetable garden and a mini greenhouse. Ornamental planting included alliums, aquilegias, irises, alchemilla mollis and thalictrum. You can find some excellent photos and detailed descriptions of the garden here, here and here as well as a most comprehensive set of the Graduate Gardeners's own photos posted on flickr.

I managed to get back under cover in time before the first rainfall of the day which was fortunately short and sweet in duration. Time to rendezvous with himself for a final wonder round the marquee and then into the food hall to find some goodies for our evening meal. What did I take away with me with apart from plant purchases, seeds and beanpoles? Well I am determined to track down one of these ladybird bird feeders ~

I have been inspired to try out this colour combination which positively zinged out under rapidly darkening skies ~

Not quite so sure though about the inclusion of the stainless steel bread bins.

A peek into the education and schools activities area left me with a smile on my face and a feeling that the future of gardening is in good hands ~

and finally I have concluded that a day at the show is simply not long enough!

Misbehaving Badly

2011-05-09T08:45:00.001+01:00

Aquilegias which are well known for their promiscuous and perfidious behaviour are certainly living up to their reputation in my garden this spring. I can only recall planting one aquilegia in this border - the delightful two toned 'Nora Barlow' which is said to come true from seed. Yet this spring I have a pink tinged double white, a blue tinged double white, a dusky single pink, purple ~ both single and double as well as a most dubious two toned purple and white. I know that the all purple has probably drifted in from around the corner but as to the others I am left guessing their parentage. I think that 'Nora Barlow' is probably sulking as she is behind the others and has still to open fully. It may interest you to know that the Nora Barlow who this plant was named after was Charles Darwin's granddaughter. She was a keen gardener and lived to the age of 104. She studied genetics at Cambridge and attempted to hybridise various flowers including aquilegias. However the 'Nora Barlow' aquilegia was almost certainly not the result of one of her own experiments, since a similar form was known going back to the sixteenth century. 'Nora Barlow' grew in her own garden though and a friend was to pass on seed to the nurseryman Alan Bloom of Bressingham with the suggestion that he might like to stock the plant. A condition was that the plant was named 'Nora Barlow'.

If you are a fan of aquilegias and can travel to the Swansea area you might like to visit 'Touchwood', the garden of Carrie Thomas, who holds a national collection of aquilegia vulgaris and aquilegia hybrids. The garden is due to open this month ~ see here for details. Carrie also welcomes visitors by appointment at other times. She also sells a range of aquilegia seeds as well as seed of other cottage garden plants.

End Of Month View ~ April 2011

2011-05-06T08:30:00.003+01:00

Rather late in the day but my efforts to take photos on the 30th April were thwarted by a rather gusty wind. At long last it calmed down enough yesterday for me to get out with my camera but I decided on a change of scenery for this month. I am sure that like me you are also getting fed up of looking at that overgrown castor oil plant that has been awaiting transplant for an age. So instead I am taking you back to the hellebore bank which I blogged about earlier this year here. Now I am using artistic lisence and extending the garden boundaries slightly for this post. As I wrote in my earlier post "Our garden is bordered on one side by a surface water stream - on the other side of the stream there is a sloping bank which rises up to meet the main road. This area is about 500 square metres and contains some twelve mature trees which were there before us". I am slowly trying to plant this unadopted area up ~ earlier in the year there are snowdrops and I am also introducing some hellebores. However every year completely unaided and unabetted by me there is a scene which takes my breath away, when for a couple of weeks the area is covered with a foamy sea of anthriscus sylvestris, commonly known as cow parsley. The odd bluebell is thrown into the works. I can almost imagine that I am living in the country instead of just off a busy main town road.

The end of month view is hosted by The Patient Gardeners's Weblog each month and is a excellent way of keeping track of the seasonal changes in your garden.

Peek - A - Boo!

2011-05-03T19:15:00.002+01:00

P IS FOR?

Polygonatum odaratum ~ or to give the plant it's common names of 'Solomon's Seal', which I am sure that you will agree is much easier to pronounce.

This is one of my all time favourite plants and is flowering in my garden now. The pendulous white flowers tipped with green dangle gracefully down from arched stems. Pure perfection in the plant world as far as I am concerned.

Please pop over to ABC Wednesday where there's a promise that you will find more on the letter P.

Garden Bloggers' Muse Day ~ May 2011

2011-05-01T19:15:00.002+01:00

'May Night'
'The spring is fresh and fearless
And every leaf is new,
The world is brimmed with moonlight,
The lilac brimmed with dew.

Here in the moving shadows
I catch my breath and sing--
My heart is fresh and fearless
And over-brimmed with spring.'
~ Sarah Teasedale, 1884 - 1933

Mull over more May muses over at 'Sweet Home and Garden Chicago'

The Waiting Room

2011-04-27T19:15:00.003+01:00

O IS FOR?

OVERFLOWING!

As is in my coldframe and I am off to a plant sale at the weekend!

You can ogle more Os over at ABC Wednesday.

32 Across,39 Down

2011-04-26T09:45:00.002+01:00

''In Northern England, a pudding made at this time of year from the young leaves of the bistort plant" (6 - 6)

Easter has passed in a most pleasant mish-mash of gardening, greenhouse time and allotment time. The weather has been warm, almost too warm at times, so in an effort to remain pale and interesting, I have also been indulging in other favourite activities - reading and doing crosswords. My mother and I both try to complete the same weekly general knowledge crossword and compare our respective progress over the phone. Sometimes we provide each other with answers, especially if either of us is being hampered by one stubborn clue, as was the case when she asked yesterday if I could help with the above clue. She had already made more inroads than me but had reached an impasse.

Although I have spent all my adult life in the north of England and have done my fair share of pudding eating the above clue had me foxed. I had an inkling that the first word was probably Easter but it was the second part of the clue that was puzzling. I finally had to concede defeat and resort to the internet to find the answer. In doing so I came across a fascinating website - Historical Foods, which I have bookmarked for some serious browsing in the future. As well as festive recipes there are regional recipes from the U.K. and Eire, North American recipes and recipes from certain historical eras. There is also a fictional feasts section which includes recipes inspired by 'The Hobbit'.

I tend to think of puddings as sweet concoctions but this turned out to be a traditional savoury pudding. It is made in Cumberland and Yorkshire from the young leaves of the bistort plant with the added ingredients of onions, oats, barley, butter and eggs. Bistort or to give it its Latin name persicaria bistorta is a perennial plant, which usually flowers from June to October. It's the younger, tender leaves and shoots which are used in cooking from April onwards. The roots can also be eaten but take much more cooking. The plant can be found growing wild in moist meadows, by waterways and on damp grassy roadsides as well as in open woodland. Apparently many local villages in northern England hold competitions to find the best tasting pudding - that held at Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire being the most well known.

Now just in case you have not already guessed the answer is Easter - Ledger, although the pudding is also known as Easter Ledge Pudding, Easter Giant Pudding, Dock Pudding, Herb Pudding, Passion Pudding and of course by the more prosaic name of Bistort Pudding. I am not sure about the reference to Ledger/Ledge and would like to know where that comes into the equation. Maybe more research later today but then will I ever finish the crossword? Do please let me know me know if you have tasted this delicacy or have more information about this particular pudding.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-19T19:45:00.001+01:00

N IS FOR?

NO WORDS NECESSARY!

~ well almost ~ nip over now to ABC Wednesday for much of note on the letter N!

"If You Go Down To The Woods Today"

2011-04-14T16:45:00.006+01:00

Himself and I took to the hills last weekend where we went walking and garden visiting . The weather was simply glorious. We walked part of Wenlock Edge in Shropshire, where we came across various wild flowers including violets, celandines, primroses, cowslips as well as bluebells which were just beginning to open. What took my breath away were the carpets of wood anenomes, which I have never seen in such numbers before ~

'Wood Anemone'
"The wood anemone through dead oak leaves
And in the thickest woods now blooms anew,
And where the green briar and the bramble weaves
Thick clumps o'green, anemones thicker grew,
And weeping flowers in thousands pearled in dew
People the woods and brakes, hid hollows there,
White, yellow and purple - hued the wide wood through.
What pretty drooping weeping flowers they are:
The clipt-frilled leaves, the slender stalk they bear
On which the drooping flower hangs weeping dew,
How beautiful through April time and May
The woods look, filled with wild anemone;
And every little spinney now looks gay
With flowers mid brushwood and the huge oak tree"
~ John Clare,1793 -1864

More from Shropshire to follow.

Note To Self

2011-04-12T20:10:00.001+01:00

M IS FOR?

MORE!
I have decided that I simply must plant more tulip bulbs this autumn. I have never been a great fan of the leaves which I think are most manky, but oh what magnificent flowers. Mine are all planted in containers so that I can hide them away once the flowers are done and dusted. They seem to be a couple of weeks ahead of last year. In the above photo are 'Couleur Cardinale, Havran and 'Prinses Irene'. In other pots I have 'Spring Green', 'Passionale', 'Mount Tacoma' and 'Bruine Wimpel'. Would like to know which tulips other folk are growing this year.

You will find more on the letter M over at ABC Wednesday!

Catch Me If You Can!

2011-04-09T19:45:00.001+01:00

It seems that all of a sudden that the traffic lights have turned to green and that everything has accelerated at once. No time to press the pause button now. At the allotment the newly planted apple trees are settling in - more leaves have unfurled each time I visit. I think that I could see blushes of potential blossom today. The garlic is shooting up and the green tops of shallots have now broken through the soil. The raspberries and white berry are already showing their first sprigs of potential fruit. I have planted the first lot of potatoes - one row of Nicola, whilst the rest of the bed is planted with the most unromantically named BF15, which I am hoping tastes better than its name. The rest of the beds are cleared and are awaiting planting up as spring progresses. In the greenhouse I have pricked out the tomatoes this week. Cucumbers and courgettes are through, whilst beans and basil are sown but have still to show signs of life. Time for a full inventory soon just to remind myself where I am up to. For once I have managed to keep up with labeling until this afternoon, when a rather loud buzzing near my ear distracted me from the task in hand. Result : I now have two different types of tomatoes suffering from an either or identity crisis. Now that I've gone off the straight and narrow there are bound to be more incidents.

There has been a similar spurt of growth in the garden too at ground level and above as the trees are flushed with that delicate magical growth of early spring. So much happening all at once and this weekend the first plant sale and garden visit of the season. Before I disappear into a veritable all consuming haze of green, I would like to point you all in the direction of Allotment Heaven, where the lovely Maureen has a great giveaway on offer. This would be of particular interest to any rose lovers as it is a copy of David Austins new book 'The English Roses'. Good luck!

'Most Efficacious In Every Case'

2011-04-05T19:15:00.004+01:00

This week I am planting some luscious lily bulbs and looking forward longingly to their lingering fragrance come late summer. I am growing spotty dotty 'Muscadet', watermelon pink 'Robina' which is described as a tree lily, then last but not least tempted by Patient Gardener I am planting the alluring L.A. 'Eyeliner'.

Leap over to ABC Wednesday now for the lowdown on the letter L.

End Of Month View - March 2011

2011-04-04T09:45:00.001+01:00

Like last year March entered like a lamb and exited in a somewhat leonine manner. Despite the dry month growth is more advanced than last year and there is more colour in the end of month border. It remains a work in progress with plants being extracted and plants being inserted. Hence various pots are lurking with intent.

At the far end I have a tangle of the thuggish lamium galeobodon to sort out, whist at the near end I will need himself's assistance to remove the fatsia japonica which has simply got too big for its boots. I have added more of the most cheerful little 'Tete-a-Tete' narcissus which are just going over now. Brunnera 'Jack Frost' which was planted to near the front of the border has been lifted. I was amazed that it had flourished as well as it did as it was planted in almost rubble like conditions. It thoughtfully fell into two clumps as it was lifted - the smallest of which I have replanted, whilst the bigger division is in a pot waiting for a decision on its future. The two hellebores which I planted last year did not flower but they are looking healthy enough. I was delighted to find a few hellebore seedlings on close inspection - maybe they might be the offspring of the beautiful 'Mrs Betty Ranicar' ~

Plants waiting to go into the ground include a white flowering pulmonaria and lathyrus vernus. The white pulmonaria was from the local Country Market but was nameless. The lathyrus a recent purchase to make up for the seedlings that I lost during the winter ~

Meanwhile I am mulling over what to plant for interest during the latter part of the year. Hopefully this issue might be resolved by the end of April. This post was inspired by Helen The Patient Gardener's invitation to share our end of month views.

Garden Bloggers' Muse Day ~ April 2011

2011-04-01T08:55:00.000+01:00

'I come, I come, ye have called me long
I come o'er the mountains, with light and song.
You may trace my step o'er the wakening earth,
By the winds which tell of the violet's birth,
By the primrose - stars in the shadowy grass
By the green leaves opening as I pass'

~ Felicia Hemans, 1749- 1835, an extract from 'The Voice of Spring'

More April musing can be perused over at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago.

A Creative Plant Photography Workshop

2011-03-30T08:50:00.004+01:00

Back in the depths of last summer I attended a most enjoyable creative plant photography workshop at Bluebell Cottage Gardens/Lodge Lane Nursery in the fair county of Cheshire. The gardens and nursery are in the excellent hands of Sue Beesley. I blogged about the morning session here and promised to come back with what happened after lunch. Well here at long last with apologies for the delay is the second installment. The afternoon session was a chance to be practical and to get out in the garden and take photos. Andrew Williams, the workshop leader suggested that we might like to come up with a theme. I had a few ideas floating around but eventually decided to focus on the various sitting areas that are dotted about the garden. Looking back on it now I would have approached this slightly differently and would have taken some close up shots too. Whilst we wondered round snapping Andrew caught up with everyone individually to discuss our proposed shots in more detail. This was most useful for me and was a welcome chance to get to grips with some of my camera's bells and whistles. Here are some of my photos on the seating theme ~

Gardener at work ~

In the shade ~

Two's company ~

Mirror images ~

Pondside ~

Finally the best seat in the house or should I say garden ~

It was rather hot in the garden, so it was pleasant to eventually get back indoors, where we were invited to share a few of our photos with the rest of the group. We were all I think slightly reluctant to do this but in fact it turned out to be most a constructive exercise.

I left feeling enthusiastic and eager to put what I learned on the day into practice. We were provided with a comprehensive reading list, which I hope to make my way through in time as I certainly want to learn more about this subject.
Books
Plants and Flower Photography
Photographing Flowers' - Sue Bishop

'Garden Photography - 'A Professional Guide' - Tony Cooper. I have been unable to find an online U.K. source for this out of print book. However I bought a copy very recently for the grand total of £2.00 from the Chester outlet of Publishers Book Clearance.

'Photographing Plants and Flowers' - Paul Harcourt Davies

'The Art of Flower and Garden Photography' - Clive Nicholls

I have yet to read any of the above apart from the last title which I came across in our local library. Another book not on the list as it is a new publication is 'Better Plant And Garden Photography' by Philip Smith. I am keeping my eyes open for this one.

Macro Photography
'Close Up Photography' - Michael Freeman

'Close up Creative Techniques for Successful Macrophotography' - John Brackenbury

'Close - Up and Macro' - Robert Thompson

The book list also included recommendations under the headings of creative photography, landscape photography and panoramas which I can forward if anybody is particularly interested.

I would thoroughly recommend this course or a similar one to anybody who would like to get to know their camera better and to take photographs in a garden setting with a professional at hand. There are courses at Lodge Lane this May, June and September - full details are here. You can search for other RHS recommended photography courses over at the RHS Event Finder.

I be back shortly with a final installment on the practical hints and tips that I picked up on the day, including the lowdown on equipment. This time I mean shortly!

Tales Of The Hellebore Bank

2011-03-25T09:45:00.001Z

I have been engaged in a little bit of guerilla gardening this week as we have enjoyed some perfect for gardening weather. I am usually a law abiding citizen but now and again I do stray from the straight and narrow. Our garden is bordered on one side by a surface water stream - on the other side of the stream there is a sloping bank which rises up to meet the main road. This area is about 500 square metres and contains some twelve mature trees which were there before us. I am on a mission to give this area some interest during the early part of the year before the leaves are out on the trees. I planted some snowdrops some time ago, which are slowly clumping up and being added to. Now I am bringing hellebores into the mix which as you know can be relatively expensive plants to purchase. A couple of years ago I decided to take pot luck and I acquired some hellebore seedlings via Ebay. Some of these flowered for the first time last spring and after seeing them in the flesh as it were I purchased a few more last year from the same seller.

They have all lived in pots until their first flowering after which the majority of them are destined for the bank. One or two are earmarked for the garden. I planted the first few last year on the bank and was disappointed that with one exception they did not flower this year. However they are very much alive as there is healthy new foliage appearing so I suppose they are just biding their time. In the meantime a solitary hellebore (a seedling from the garden) probably planted about four or five years ago has now made a decent sized plant. Next year it should have some company including this trio ~

Now what do I do about the uncultivated field behind us? Food for thought.

Frothiness

2011-03-22T20:25:00.002Z

J IS FOR?

JUMPING FOR JOY!

~ is what I have been doing this week as spring has well and truly arrived bringing with it much frothiness of blooms including cherry blossom . "Just perfick" as Pop Larkin would have put it.

You will find more on the letter J over at ABC Wednesday ~ I jest you not!

'The Lullaby Of Spring'

2011-03-20T09:45:00.000Z

In celebration of the welcome arrival of the vernal equinox ~ one of my favourite songs ~

"Rain has showered far her drip
Splash and trickle running,
Plant has flowered in the sand
Shell and pebble sunning.

So begins another spring,
Green leaves and of berries,
Chiff-chaff eggs are painted by
Mother bird eating cherries.

In the misty tangled sky
Fast a wind is blowing,
In the new-born rabbit's heart
River life is flowing.

So begins another spring,
Green leaves and of berries,
Chiff-chaff eggs are painted by
Mother bird eating cherries.

From the dark and wetted soil,
Petals are unfolding.
From the stony village kirk,
Easter bells of old ring.

So begins another spring,
Green leaves and of berries,
Chiff-chaff eggs are painted by
Mother bird eating cherries.

Rain has showered far her drip
Splash and trickle running,
Plant has flowered in the sand
Shell and pebble sunning.

So begins another spring,
Green leaves and of berries,
Chiff-chaff eggs are painted by
Mother bird eating cherries."

~ Donavan Leitch

A Garden Festival In France

2011-03-15T19:45:00.000Z

I IS FOR?

INTERNATIONAL GARDEN FESTIVAL!
Inspirational, invigorating, individualistic, innovative ~ all that and more were the impressions we took away with us after visiting the International Garden Festival at Chaumont - sur - Loire in France last July.

This garden festival was unlike any that I have visited in the U.K. The event it does not last just for a few brief days. Instead once installed the gardens are left to mature over a period of six months. The exhibits are selected from entries from all over the globe submitted by landscape architects, garden designers and artists. Entries interpret a different theme each year. In 2010 the theme was 'Body And Soul'. There were over 300 applications for last year's show but only a small number were selected for inclusion. The displays were also illuminated for some special evening openings. This year the theme will be 'Gardens of The Future Or Happy Biodiversity'. There are also permanent features including 'Vallon des Brumes' or the 'Valley Of The Mists', 'Sentiers des Fers Sauvages' or 'The Wild Iron Pathway' as well as patches of permanent planting from previous festivals. The event has run since 1992.

On a practical note admission charges were most reasonable especially in comparison to the prices involved in visiting the major Royal Horticultural Society shows. There were a couple of restaurants but like a lot of visitors we enjoyed a picnic taking in the views from one of the plentiful benches. Although busy it never seemed unpleasantly crowded. There was very little in the way of merchandise for sale apart from a shop on the way out which sold some horticultural sundries, books, stationary, calenders and a few plants. In itself this made for a pleasant change and allowed visitors to concentrate on and think about the gardens.

Before we reached the festival itself we savoured the castle, various outbuildings and the idyllic setting. Arriving early in the morning I followed in the footsteps of himself the intrepid expedition leader. You can see that by the end of the day that he had the idea to indulge in some idle contemplation..

All in all there were some 25 individual gardens to wend our way round in what were ideal conditions for such activity ~ dry with sunny intervals and a slight breeze. There was of course what struck me as the weird and wacky entries but I will save them for another day. Instead in this post I am concentrating on what we were enchanted by ~

Finally a few images of the gardens that made the most impression on me of the day which included a most imaginative and simply breathtaking floating garden as well as a decidedly quirky vegetable plot. For me this visit from beginning to end was the ultimate in self indulgence!

If you would like to investigate the letter I further you are invited to visit ABC Wednesday forthwith.

Lurking With Intent

2011-03-14T09:45:00.002Z

Spring has definitely been lurking with intent for some time but this weekend I felt that it is definitely knocking loudly on the door. The snowdrops are now going over and hellebores, irises, little daffs, pulmonarias and primroses are now stealing the show. The ducks are paddling and quacking on the little surface water stream that borders the side of the garden. I have spied bee and ladybird. At long last the autumn flowering cherry ~ prunus subhirtella autumnalis has a sprinkling of flowers. This has never failed before to blossom both in autumn and then again in the following spring. This autumn ~ zilch! The bitter early cold snap in November cruelly frosted the flowers just as they were emerging, so they are even more of a welcome sight than usual.

I had my first proper session of the year at the allotment. I know that it's nearly the middle of March but I must confess to being a fair weather allotmenteer. The site lacks basic facilities which I can put up with during the summer months but not in the depths of winter. Hopefully this situation might be rectified in the future, as the allotment association intends to apply for funding to instal a composting toilet. With a growing number of women and young families with children on the site achieving this has become an important priority. My first task was to do some much needed tidying up. Hopefully I will return later in the week to plant my garlic which I have started of in modules at home and also to plant shallots. The perimeter fencing is still to be completed. Although I am not keen on its appearance it has dawned on me that it has potential as support for climbing plants which could be a blessing in disguise.

This year I am making a deliberate effort to try to reduce the volume of seeds that I grow. I do not really need thirty plus tomato plants. So far tomatoes, sweet peppers, nicotiana mutablis and dahlia 'Bishops Children' have germinated. These firstlings are now spending their days outside in the greenhouse but are stil resident in the house at night. I have sown broad beans, 'Kelvedon Wonder' peas and beetroot in modules in the greenhouse. I plan to sow leeks, parsnips, chard and spinach later this week and something else which escapes my memory.

I have been fiddling about with my blog this week and would welcome feedback about the size of photos. Are they now too big? I am undecided.

Finally a big thank you to everyone for their ideas and hints on looking after my reptilian like hands. There were some excellent suggestions, which I think that I will try to knit together in a separate post at some time in the future. I was surprised to find out how many of you are fellow eczema sufferers so I would like relate this information back to you.

'Brief Encounter'

2011-03-12T19:45:00.000Z

I had a voucher for 15% discount from a DIY store which was valid for this weekend only, so this afternoon I hotfooted it there for a good mooch round. The gardening section is quite small but I was pleased to come away with a couple of always useful pots and a little African violet. The assistant tucked the African violet in the pot for me to take away and I was taken with the combination. It was but a short lived acquaintance as the violet is much to little to reside in the pot just now but maybe one day in the future......

This is a slightly belated entry for Blooming Friday at 'Roses and stuff' which is kindly hosted each week by Katarina. The theme for this week is 'Feeling Blue'.

The Hands of A Gardener

2011-03-08T20:00:00.002Z

H IS FOR?

HORROR SHOW!

Yes it's that time of year when my hands begin to take a hammering and my battle with eczema starts its yearly cycle. They are already the victim of years of neglect. My mother's advice to protect and moisturise has gone unheeded and now I look down at them and don't recognise them as my own. They are more horribly wrinkly ~ crinkly than any other part of me. I hate wearing gloves to garden - I think that they can be a hindrance. I dislike the feeling of barrier creams. There is also the additional complication of the eczema which with age seems to be hitting my hands. As a child it was the back of my knees and the inside of my elbows that caused me endless grief. The condition hindered me from swimming once I got into my teens and became more self - conscious.

I am sure that I have worked my way through every possible cream, lotion, potion and ointment known to the medical profession and the pharmacy counters. With the passage of the years the condition has cleared up somewhat and since finishing work my legs are symptom free. I put this down firstly to less stress but more down to the fact that I no longer wear tights everyday. However the hands still hurt so any tips, recommendations for relief from fellow sufferers would be more than welcome ~ please let me know what works for you.

To ease the horror I photographed my hand near a hellebore. These beauties are just coming into their own and had H been a week or two later they would have had the upper hand.

P.S. Contact with hellebores can cause allergic reactions but I assure you that my hands were not harmed in the course of taking this photo.

Hop over here to ABC Wednesday now for more on the letter H.

'I Don't Care What The Weather Man Says'

2011-03-04T09:45:00.003Z

~ well I do really. Following a Twitter conversation yesterday with Patient Gardener and Yolanda, I realised how fond I have grown of my little weather station, which himself insisted on treating me to last year. We did not go out with the intention of buying one but it leapt up at us from the depths of a certain well known German supermarket.

It sits in the dining room where it records a myriad of information which keeps me fascinated. Temperatures both indoors and outdoors, maximums and minimums, a uncannily accurate weather forecast, atmospheric pressure, time, date and phases of the moon are all conveniently delivered in the blink of an eyelid to a most compact screen. I suspect that my yearning for additional information such as wind speed and direction as well amount of rainfall is a little greedy. I will have to resort to the old handkerchief in the wind technique and perhaps come up with a makeshift rain gauge.

However this marvellous machine in danger of being usurped in my affections - it now has a serious rival competing for attention - yet again a visit to the aforesaid store was responsible. This time a little camera came home with us - initially designed to get close up views of a birds feeding table but himself has adapted it to fit in a nesting box for robins. The box has been put to good use before when it hung up in what we called 'The Temple', where it was immersed in a tangle of ivy. 'The Temple' is no more and we are not sure whether the new location will attract occupants. However it's a case of wait and see. We have robins in the garden and are avidly watching so far still life shades of grey images on a small television screen with bated breath. Real sitting on the edge of your seat stuff! I am not sure whether the novelty will wear off soon if there is no action. Will keep you posted. Meanwhile the outdoor temperature here last time I looked was 3.2º centigrade and rising .........

Garden Bloggers' Muse Day ~ March 2011

2011-03-01T09:50:00.003Z

G IS FOR?

GARDEN BLOGGERS MUSE DAY

~ when garden bloggers from all over the globe gladly get together to post muses on matters seasonal and green. My offering for this month is this grand poem by Eleanor Farjeon, 1881 -1965 :

'First Gathering'

'Child, take your basket down,
Go and find spring,
Earth has not lost her brown,
Nor wind his sting,
But in the morning
The thrush and the blackbird
Sing to the sleeping town,
And the waking woods,
Sing:
take your basket down,
Go and find spring!

Now where the ground was bare,
Only last week,
Now where the flower was rare
And the hedge bleak,
Reach for the catkin
And stoop for the primrose,
Seek if you want your share
Of the first gathering,
Seek,
where the ground was bare
Only last week'

Garden Bloggers' Muse Day is hosted each month by Carolyn Choi over at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago.

Go over to ABC Wednesday for more on the glorious letter G!

'Walk Like An Egyptian'

2011-02-27T19:55:00.005Z

Well this week my little 'Egyptian Walking' onion also known as a 'Tree Onion' made the long journey from Devon up north to the banks of the Mersey. It is now catching its breath in the greenhouse. As I am not sure whether it has come from being under cover or from the great outdoors, I am erring on the side of caution and will gently reintroduce it to the elements. In case you are wondering about the name the plant sets forth air born bulbils, each one which having the capacity to root and produce another plant ~ hence the walking. Along with it arrived a Japanese wineberry, some shallots and seed potatoes with the most romantic name of BF15. Now if one picked potatoes by name only this surely would remain on the shelf. However it is meant to be a tasty morsel - its parents being Belle de Fontenay and Flava . All these goodies will be making their way to the allotment sooner or later. We paddled our way down there this morning but it is much to wet to do anything other than observe the progress of the new fencing.

The cuttings which have overwintered in the greenhouse seem to have put on a spurt of growth in the last fortnight and are ready repotting. Some of the penstemon cuttings look a bit leggy and in need of pinching out. A task for the forthcoming week.

It still seems as if we are very much in between the seasons here. Some of the snowdrops are now going over and giving way to irises, little daffs and hellebores. I was pleased to see this hellebore open for the very first time earlier this week ~

It is one of the hellebores I bought via Ebay a couple of years ago as a plug plant. It's perhaps more spotty than I would prefer but considering it cost relatively little in hellebore terms, I am more than happy with it. Weather wise though apart from a beautiful mild day on Thursday, which I had the misfortune to observe from a train window, it is still more like winter than spring. There has been a good deal of rain and wind this week but it has been possible though at times to get out and do. Tomorrow there will be the grand ceremony of the switching on of the heated propagator and then all systems go!

The title of this post was inspired by the most catchy ditty of the same name by 'The Bangles', which I will be singing regularly to my onion to encourage it to grow, go forth and walk.

P.S. For Mey who commented on my last post wanting to contact me by email I am unable to reply to you directly. You can contact me at thegreentapestry@googlemail.com
Look forward to hearing from you.

Flight of Fancy

2011-02-22T18:45:00.002Z

F IS FOR?

FOLKLORE AND FOXGLOVES!

There is a wealth of fascinating folklore associated with many of our favourite flowers. Some of these fables are fanciful whilst others are factual ~ all are great fun to read.

Each year I look forward to the fabulous markings of digitalis purpurea or the foxglove to use its most well known common name. The generic name derives from the Latin digitabulum 'a thimble' ~ a reference to the shape of the flowers, whilst purpurea alludes to their purple colour. It is thought that the common name is from 'fox's glove' but another version is that the name is a corruption of 'folksglove' i.e. the glove of the good folk or fairies who occupy woody dells alongside the flowers. Foxgloves have a number of other names including 'Our Lady's gloves', 'fairy fingers', 'fox fingers' and in Wales 'elf fingers'. Its more sinister names include 'Deadmen's Bells, 'Bloody Fingers' and 'Witches Gloves' which remind us of the plants highly toxic properties.

The foxglove is apparently unlucky if sighted in the house or on a ship and those who hear the 'Deadmens Bells' ring will not be for this world for much longer.

If you fancy reading more on this subject 'Discovering The Folklore of Plants' by Margaret Baker is full of fantastic information.

Why don't you fly over now to ABC Wednesday for further information and frivolity featuring the letter F ?

For Your Delight And Delectation

2011-02-21T08:30:00.004Z

It was back in the depths of February last year when Jodi over at Bloomingwriter encouraged other members of the Blotanical blogging community to extend a welcome to new bloggers and hopefully build up their visitors. At the time I thought that this was a brilliant idea and intended to do something positive to highlight new blogs that I came across. Unfortunately my good intentions did not get off the ground but here we are ~ another year and a chance to put the theory into practice. So here are my two selections for February reading ~ both of which I discovered relatively recently. If you have not already come across them I urge you to visit as soon as you can.

Scott gardens in Portland, Oregon, in the U.S.A. His blog Rhone Street Gardens contains some glorious photography e.g. a unique perspective on snow here, inspired planting combinations especially for late summer/ early autumn colour and recently he has been putting together some fascinating posts on a year in the life of a number of plants.

Over on this side of the pond is the equally enjoyable Plantaliscious. Janet writes with great love about the plants in her garden and of propagation. She has just got an allotment and is looking forward to her first growing season there, which she will be sharing with other bloggers. Visits to Janet's blog though are doing more than just making my plant wish list grow ~ I think that they may well make my waist line grow as Janet's other passion in life is baking bread. She kindly shares her recipes and techniques on her blog. After reading her posts I have got the bread making urge again ~ perhaps when my bread looks quite as good as hers I will share a photo with you ~ that is if it lasts long enough to photograph.