We are on flood alert tonight. Mr P is building an arc in the garage :) Even the ducks are fed up.
The sun shone for a while today and gave me an opportunity to take some photographs.
Dicentra 'alba' shines out from a shady corner in the woodland walk.
Drumstick primula will tolerate dappled shade, and the rabbits seem to leave them alone. I love the colour.
Jacob's ladder (Polemonium yezoense 'Purple Red Strain') is one of my favourite cottage garden plants. It seems to have gone out of fashion, as I rarely see it in other gardens. The leaves are a lovely reddish purple and the violet flowers are large and very beautiful. It seeds freely, it has been in the garden for many years.....
Have a lovely evening.....time to go and check on that arc.
When I was a child, my parents often took me to Greenwich Park. After visiting all the historical buildings, we would go to the formal gardens. I think that is where my dislike for tulips grew.
When we came to the farmhouse we inherited many. Most are yellows and reds....and I have learned to live with them. I never show them on my blog because I just do not like looking at them. I prefer, the paler colours (as above).......including Angelique, which Rose features on her blog each Spring.....now this tulip makes me drool :) I really must plant some in the autumn.
Last year I planted the dwarf varieties......and fell in love. I suppose, for me, small is beautiful.
Please, fellow bloggers, tell me do you like tulips ??
A fly on pear blossom, so exciting. I am happy to see any insect at the moment. They are few and far between with the continuous rain.
Crab apple blossom. I planted a bareroot tree in the autumn, she should show yellow crab apples in the latter part of the year.
The rain has worked wonders with the garden. Everything looks lush. I know we all prefer the sun and warm days.....but oh joy, to see the garden looking so pretty.
This is the natural pond at the end of the copse. It has filled to the brim......the water remains this colour due to the fact it is a puddled clay pond. Common in these parts. Most of them are very old. The rivers are also puddled clay and are now of scientific interest due to the flora and fauna that inhabit them. I believe in this area, we have the last remaining rivers of this type, in the UK.
Yesterdays brief spell of sunshine and warmth allowed me to take some photographs. We are now back to heavy rain.
Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your gardens, whatever the weather.
Two inches of rain was forecast for today. A months rain in 24 hours. It seems they will be right.
The garden is like a swamp but to a degree, it should look like this, at this time of year. The last two Springs have been dry but that is unusual for this area.
The temperature here is 7 C (44F).....it is cold, too cold for April........
The garden is very lush and green.......and the grass, well, as you can see it is out of control :)
Spring is slow this year. Low temperatures, sunshine and showers, grass frosts etc have held everything back. Narcissus 'cheerfulness' is a late bloomer, and has been in flower for a couple of weeks. It is a particular favourite of mine.
Forget me nots are out of control, but with a large garden I don't really think it matters. Apart from that, I love their little blue faces peeping through the foliage. Blue is such a lovely colour to have in a garden. We all like blue, don't we??
Dicentra loves my soil, and does so well. I divided the plants in Spring and they are all looking healthy. This is the mother plant given to me by a friend ten years ago. When they reach this size, how can you not love them.
We had an inch of rain today......I decided I was tired of being inside and gardened in the rain. I actually loved it....I was soaked but felt so very content. Nella was not impressed and took herself off to her blanket in the shed. She kept coming in and out to check on me but I believe in the end, she decided the lady wasn't shifting and fell asleep.
My favourite bloom in the garden at the moment is this lovely Euphorbia Characias, Apparently it does not like frost, and does not do well in an exposed site. I have grown this plant for ten years, the garden is in a frost pocket and is exposed. It just goes to show that the experts are not always right :-)
April showers are here, the garden looks healthy and lush. The gardener feels like dancing across the lawn and singing at the top of her voice. Perhaps I will, if the moment suddenly grabs me :)
As I age, I find I am leaning more towards a natural approach to the garden. Letting self-seeders stay, after all, who am I to decide whether a plant is in the right or wrong place.
I shall concentrate more on the soil, after all, as you know, I am a compost sort of girl.
This year will show me the way........I shall prune and thin, only when necessary to keep the plants happy.
Each season, each day, has its own character.
This space holds my dreams. Without it, I would be like a bird in a cage.
T
hursday night Mr P's mother went to sleep and never woke. A short illness took her from us. Peggy was a kind and gentle woman. When you needed a shoulder or a gentle hug, or words of comfort, it was to her we turned. Always willing to stay in the background, and let others take the limelight. Her manners, dress and conduct came from a bygone age. An elegant, graceful and charming woman.
I shall miss our daily phone calls, our weekly shopping trips.
I was honoured and humbled to spend Thursday afternoon with her. She knew the time had come for her to leave her earthly ties. She is now with 'her darling' ........her husband died nine years ago and I know that she missed him each and every day.
My heart aches for dear Riley. He adored Gt Grandma......as a family we meet regularly, and he would always hold her hand, and have a 'little chat.' I know she treasured these times.
And so dear Peggy, sleep peacefully. I have learned much from you, things I can carry forward as I climb to the top of your family's ladder. I thank you for the gift of your son, without you, it would never be .....................
I sat beneath the apple tree looking at the flowers and watching the bees. Before Poppi started school we would picnic here and read books. I would like to share an extract from a poem that we both like......If you were a fairy by Clare Bevan.
If you were a fairy, where would you fly?
To woods were the unicorns wander and cry?
To caves where the dragons lie sleepily curled?
To waves were the mermaids are happily swirled?
To castles that grow from the glistening sands?
To magical mountains? To looking- glass lands?
To a city of clouds in the blue, summer sky?
If you were a fairy, where would you fly??
Tell me where would you fly?
I would fly with the bumble bees and spend the day visiting flowers :)
