Category:

Simply..snow, sun and too many daffodils....

4/4/2021

Thalia

Jenny

Name unknown

Brilliant sunshine all day, but freezing and with a strong wind carrying the odd flake of snow.

For almost two weeks I have had what I thought was a bad cold, with headaches, and I was wondering why it was lasting so long. Two nights ago it occured to me that I had jugs of daffodils in every room in the house and that perhaps.....
I used to suffer from hay fever but it had faded over the last few years to almost nothing at all. I removed all the daffodils to the studio and! the headaches have gone and I have stopped sneezing!

I think I will just have to enjoy them in the garden. They are wonderful this year.

Simply..primroses....

2/4/2021

Thank you all for the interesting comments on yesterday's post. It's good to share with, as Gwendoline put it 'sympathetic travellers' and it's fascinating to hear from different parts of the world. Transitioning to a more nornal existence will be different for each of us, but our feelings about it may be very similar.

Today there is frost on the grass but full sun is forecast for the whole day and I will be out in the garden. There is still a lot of work to be done and I am clearing and mulching around each clump of flowers as they appear, so it's primulas, pulmonarias and daffodil Thalia today and I'll be having my meals outside.

Wishing you all a happy Easter weekend.

Simply..outdoors, indoors....

30/3/2021

Simply..Spring forward....

28/3/2021

Daffodil February Gold doesn't flower in February here, but waits till spring arrives. I love it's reflexed petals and I love having enough to pick for the house.

My plan to garden every day of March worked really well until the last couple of days, when it has been so cold and wet that I retreated to te greenhouse, but the forecast is better for later in the week and I reckon I will have averaged the one hour a dy goal that I set myself. April will be even better! The shed is being repaired and I will get the power hose onto the paths and steps...

I like when we change the clocks here in uk. It was still light at eight o'clock tonight.

Simply..imagine....

26/3/2021

..if you will, a tiny blue tit hanging on, upside down and by one leg to the last flower at the tip of this branch. I saw a photograph of just that on an RSPB site and wanted to use the photograph on the blog, but could not find it again. It seemed to represent how some of us are feeling, and it made ne smile.

If the blue tit can do it, so can I!

Simply..this....

22/3/2021

..is what gets me out of bed in the morning.

Almost the first thing I do is take a look to see what has germinated overnight,

These llittle specks will grow into four feet tall foxgloves, white with spotted dark wine coloured markings. Dozens of them. Isn't it amazing?

Of course they may not turn out to be white ( I collected the seed from one which appeared in the garden last year), and they won't flower until 2022, and I will need a lot of space to grow them on, but that's all part of the excitement....

What gets you up in the morning?

Sinply..so encouraging....

21/3/2021

It is so encouraging to look back at photos from last year and know that the garden will look like this again!

Simply..a blamk canvas....

19/3/2021

Six new packets of seed and space to fill! Sweet peas on the canes, and I'm thinking poppies and gypsophila. A tray of ammi majus have just germinated. I want an ultra pretty, frothy effect and will try a different combination in each quadrant....More delight.

Sitting in the sun with a very early breakfast today I heard a woodpecker in the forest, saw the first butterfly and watched in amazement as a red squirrel pottered around the table, oblivious of my presence.

Simply..a moment....

13/3/2021

I may not have friends at my table (yet) but I did have sunshine for half an hour this morning, and flowers.

And more to come - white campion,wild cornflower, ammi majus, dill, gypsophila Covent Garden and dahlia Bishop's Children.

It's all about the garden now....

I like that all these plants need my tender loving care..

Simply..back to winter!

12/3/2021

Fresh snow on the hills this morning, but I still gardened - though only for half an hour.

The snowdrops have been brilliant this year. Bigger than usual and long lasting. I will divide my smallish clumps soon.

Simply..refreshing....

11/3/2021

Thank you Liz! I had seen this on Gardnere's World some time ago, but didn't know this young man worked with Sarah Raven and has published a book - The Flower Yard. The 7 minute video is charming. A new voice on the gardening sccene is quite refrehing.

Another day's gardening here between rainbows. That's 11 days in a row - beginning to make a difference.

The video appears on my Edit page and disappears when I press Publish - sorry - will try to fix it tomorrow - too tired now!!

You should be able to see it here. I's love to know what you think.

Simply..what could be a better way....

9/3/2021

..to spend a stormy evening than to plan and dream about the garden and listen to Rachmaninov on Radio 3?

Remarkably we had seven days in a row without rain and I've worked hard in the garden. The fun part is yet to come, but I have scrubbed and raked and edged paths, cut back and weeded the floor of the greenhouse and thrown away junk and rubbish. Tonight the weather has changed so for the next few days I will do what I can in the greenhouse and the shed.

I am eagerly awaiting seeds from Chiltern Seeds and summer plants from Sarah Raven - lime green and pale lilac petunias and nicotiana sylvestris for the black pots. I have a number of little pots of Fired Earth paints which I used for painting picture frames and I think I will paint the canes with the mix of subtle neutral colours I have left...

Are you making plans - gardening or otherwise?

Simply..spalling....

7/3/2021

Two of my favourite pots split in this winter's frosts (known as spalling).
While browsing for replacements I came across this video from Whichford Pottery. (Scroll down the web page.)

We used to visit Whichford when we lived in Oxford, and always came away inspired by their wonderful plant combinations.

Simply..early flowers....

2/3/2021

I picked some branches weeks ago hoping for early leaves - I got flowers, with a perfect scent of May/June. They opened out fully and lasted for weeks.

Azalea lutea.

I really enjoyed this article by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett. - We've been hibernating with our sorrow, but nature won't let us grieve forever. What do you think?

Simply..the kiss of the sun....

1/3/2021

Sunshine all day! Two hours in the garden and 15 minutes in the hammock. I've never used the hammock on the 1st of March before.

This time last year I was on my way to Venice. Little did we know....I've spent the evening browsing my photos. (See March 2020 in the sidebar.)

Inspried by Susan's comment I made a quick little decoration for the front door.

Full of hope today!

Simply..gardening in lockdown....

27/2/2021

I am so lucky to be able to garden in lockdown. How peple in city flats are managing this period I do not know.

My four organising tips for garden work (which I have mentioned before, but not for a while) could of course apply to work in rhe home or other projects.

I set a time, which could be ten minutes or an hour, to spend on each point -

an ongoing task
a rescue job
something I want to do
a start and finish task

I write them down and enjoy ticking them off, feeling I have made progress, enjoyed myself, eased my conscience and have the satisfaction of finishing something, no matter how small. Feels good!

Simply..a clean sweep....

24/2/2021

Algae, mould, rust, flaking paint and chipped enamel. On a hot summer day with flowers all around they can look romantic. Shabby chic even. But on a wet dull February day they just look pllain shabby! Some of these things have been here for nearly twenty years. I've had my money's worth and it's time for some new ones.

When we can get to the shops - which may not be too long ....

I am so looking forward to getting into the garden.

Simply..I can feel....

23/2/2021

..a garden declutter coming on.

And I think maybe I have had enough of that 'distressed' look. (There's enough distress around.)

Watch this space..

Simply..sweet snowdrops....

9/2/2021

The lovely walk up the River Finart yesterday was in the hope of seeing the many snowdrops planted there but they were not in evidence yet, however I picked these few from a clump in the garden and they opened gently within minutes in the warmth of the house. They are the sweetest of flowers and even have a faint honey perfume...

Simply..self care and seeds of hope....

31/1/2021

I learned very early in my career that I couldn't take care of my baby daughter, my special needs pupils and my home if I didn't take care of myself (How did I do all that?!)

Rosemary in yesterday's comments must have picked up on the fact that I just re-ordered a book I found interesting some years ago - The Art Of Extreme Self Care by Life Coach Cheryl Richardson. I intend to read it as I did first time round, one chapter a month for the year. What better time? In the first chapter she has you ask what you feel deprived of - sleep, emotional support....and what you can do about it. The answers and solutions will be different during a pandemic - so that will be interesting!

Isn't it astonishing that these feeble looking little seedlings (sown in November) can produce such beauty and fragrance. I got the heated propagator out of the shed today and put it in the studio ...

Simply..images!

24/1/2021

I can't imagine the blog without images, but currently my photographs are in diarray
and I can't find the images I want to post, so I'm just going to select some random ones I've not shared before.....

My sister designed and made these.

Coffee in Paris

Clenatis in May

Coffee n Venice

My favourite UK city - York

Benmore Botanic Gardens

At this time of year I always wonder if it can ever look like this again!

This favourite combination coems back every time.

....but I never know with white foxgloves

Willow Tearooms Glasgow

And back to York

This is like a post-Covid wish list of placesI want to visit again....and the return of the garden.

Does the idea of a post-Covid wish list appeal to you? I coulld enjoy giving that a little thought..

Simply..keeping it simple....

20/10/2020

Viburnum davidii with hakonechloa macra aurea is a handsome combination - apart from cutting back the grass in late winter, needs no maintenance at all. I have it by the front door.

Do you have a favourite plant combination?

Simply..meditation uopn....

16/10/2020

..quince!

Simply..keeping it simple....

11/10/2020

...which is sometimes to say not a lot is happening here,

though I did get inordinately excited about the first cornflower seed which sprouted today!

Tiny symbol of hope for 2021..

Simply..normality....

6/10/2020

Blissfully unaffected by Covid, the greenhouse is a place to feel normal, and as part of my staying sane plan in this Covid-Crazy world, I am spending as much time doing things which feel normal as I can!

A good place to be if you are lucky enough to have one, and perhaps house plants or a window box, or helping someone on their allotment could provide this welcome normality for you if you don't have a garden?

A bit of a tidy up. A lot of glass to clean.

Still dome prettiness

The white gypsophila 'Covent Garden' were sown very late June to go with the sweet peas (which never materialised!) but five small pots of them prettied up the greenhouse, and made a nice addition to posies. I will do this again next year. The yellow rattle is parasitic on grasses, moderating their growth and allowing the wild flowers a better chance - worth a try.

Sitting contemplating the meadow in July it occurred to me that the blue of a few cornflowers in among this cat's-ear would be stunning. I've sown them in a tray and will prick them out into plug trays and let them overwinter in the greenhouse. Hope springs eternal! Gardeners are optimists.

A late little sprinkling of summer..