It Shouldn't Be So!

 

November days have come and gone,

The light of summer spent,

The winter solstice fast approaches

And Christmas, too, is nigh.

 

Well my friends, the weather is atrocious. This first photograph was taken on this week in 2016. What a difference! If it wasn't for the tree being so bare it could be a beautiful summer or spring morning, but no, this was taken in late autumn six years ago. 

Fast forwarding to the present and I cannot state strongly enough how much I am already fed up with the hand dealt to us by the weather this past week.   It's been wild, wet and windy every day, with those dreaded little black circles on the weather map indicating winds constantly well over 45 and 50 miles an hour, torrential downpours, and plenty of hail.  It certainly hasn't been weather for going outside, and the two lovely people who have been helping me with my garden I've had to cancel for it is not fit for man nor beast out there.

 

Appalling weather aside, all is not well in the garden. Things are in bloom and flowering that shouldn't be for a few more months yet, in fact they shouldn't be in flower until May or June.  As for finding strawberries in fruit I think that's unheard of.  this is the price we are paying for climate change.  Everything is out of kilter everywhere.

Here are just four photos of things that should not be in flower now. Violets, Verbena bonariensis, a neighbour's Cordyline palm, and some strawberries.  Madness, utter madness!

On a happier note, the pink camellia seems to be absolutely chock full of blooms, I don't think I've ever seen so many so come January and February I'm hoping it's going to be spectacular!  The buds are plentiful and look healthy and strong.

Until next time

Stay safe, stay well

Debbie xo

Flowers of Spring

Hello Friends!

I love the seasons, each in their turn, each with their own special attributes and merits, but sometimes I think this is my most favourite time of year in the garden. We joyfully greet the return of the light with longer days; we welcome the arrival of some gentle warmth as the sun climbs higher each day; and we await, with eager anticipation, the daily changes in our gardens.  Trees and shrubs are in full leaf, and all the countless shades of green provide an oasis of calm as Summer waits in the wings. The precious flowers that brought colour, joy and hope during late Winter are now a distant memory, the fierce heat of Summer days is yet to come, and now the gentle breath of Spring brings the jubilation of a floral symphony in colour and scent.  Birds flit and fly, seeking out grubs that take shelter on the stems, and underneath the leaves, to feed their growing broods that soon will be seen as they fledge into a new and waiting world.

Here's what's blooming, and scenting, in my cottage garden today.

Capturing a Golden Wedding rosebud before it opens, with a spectacular orange flare that is not seen once the golden petals open.

A very special, old fashioned, highly clove scented pink. Did you know that this flower apparently came to Britain with the Norman Invasion, an opportunist along for the ride, and that the name of the colour pink is actually derived from this very flower? So, the flower came first!

Oriental poppies in the most beautiful coral shade, surrounded by purple geraniums, what a contrast, making each other pop, a delight to see this combination. Notes have been taken!

The rosa rugosa, filling the corner with blooms of delight, and filling the air with a deep, rich and spicy fragrance, second to none.

Borrowing from next door's garden! Why not? This beautiful laburnum tree, the pendulous drops of brightest golden yellow sway and dance in the breeze, bringing colour and motion to my garden!

The clematis continues to delight

and you know me, when the Oriental poppies are in flower, I just cannot resist snapping the incredible display of stamens and pollen inside the bloom. I think Gertrude Shilling would wear this with pride!

and a last glimpse, for today, of the divine Oriental poppy "Coral Sea" bobbing in the breeze above the geraniums.

A garden is a joyful place to be. It is a place to work hard and reap many rewards; to sow and plant; to simply potter or dig and delve; to learn patience and appreciation; or to sit, relax and enjoy the reward of your work while sipping a Pimms.  I am not growing food crops at the moment, but they will come again in time. For now, I am repairing my garden,  growing for pleasure, for the simple beauty of plants and flowers that bring me peace, joy, solace and hope.  In this time of grieving, restoration and healing, I am planning a very special addition to my garden. It is a thought in progress, to create a Friendship Garden in which will be plants that I hope to garner from friends, either cuttings or seeds, and of course include the plants that have been gifted to me and my parents over the years.

Until next time
Deborah xo

The Joys of Spring

Hello Friends

It has been a week or two, maybe even three since I last stopped by for a chat. Time marches, ever on, and the flowers in my garden once more come into their own. Those that took a battering from Storm Hannah have done their very best to recover, and those that kept their precious heads below the parapet now flourish and flower, giving their most beautiful all.

Here's a little of what is blooming in my corner of The Shire this week.

Of course, it wouldn't be Spring in Wales without the rain, and the rain brings out the snails, so look who I caught, red handed on my lovely French tarragon. Shortly after this, it became a tasty snack for a nearby beady eyed bird!

My peony, an offspring of the one salvaged thirty years ago by my late father from a fate of going to landfill ~ he rescued it, brought it home, planted and nurtured it well, and it rewards me still.

The delicate clematis, the Lazarus plant, for it returned from the dead years after we thought it was lost, is slowly opening, bud by bud by precious bud

Each day I eagerly await and monitor it's progress

and beneath the towering clematis sits two of the many self sown columbine or aquilegia in many shades of purple and pink

 A few days on, the clematis is doing very well indeed

and opens out in all its glory

a little arty play with some filters

These two patio roses were bought by my dearly loved mother over ten years ago, and I had given up on them! They were pushed into a corner, neglected for nearly three years while my attentions have been elsewhere. I wish I had taken before photos, for they were in a truly sorry state, dry dead twigs with no sign of life and I held no hope, but still I decided to try again.  The best "before" I have is this, where you can see how poor a condition they were in after resuscitation commenced.

I cleared away the thick and choking weeds, refreshed the compost, added some Richard Jackson's Container Magic to the compost, and put them in a warm and sunny spot. For over a month I have tended with water and regular feedings of Richard Jackson's Flower Power, and just look at them now!  You would not recognise them. {I am not receiving any remuneration from Richard Jackson' I think the product speak for themselves}

The exceptionally fragrant Rosa Rugosa is in bloom, and soon the air will be filled with exotic scents of Summer

A Golden Wedding, the yellow rose of friendship

I do hope to come across the adult Red Tiger moth that will emerge from this beautiful, big caterpillar.  It will be a stunner, for sure.

and finally on our little tour around the garden, the Arum lilies are opening out in all their simple elegant beauty.

Soon, we shall step out into the countryside once more,

Until next time,
Deborah xo

Dear Little Robin ~~~

Hello Friends!

When I was a child, I remember my dear mother singing a lullaby to me, and later I would sing it myself. I wish I knew the name of the tune, and maybe you know it yourself, here is the opening line ~~~

Dear Little Robin waiting so patiently, outside my cottage door ~~~ 

So, imagine my utter joy and delight upon opening my own cottage door to discover a Dear Little Robin waiting for me!

He's quite the obliging poser, don't you think?  He is a juvenile, one of this year's fledglings, and such a happy chappy. You can just see the beginnings of his red breast feathers coming in ~~~

but then, I think he'd had enough! "what do you want" said the cute little fellow, before he flew away ~~~

I look forward to many happy hours with him alongside, routing around in the freshly turned soil as I dig and pull out earth~bound juicy worms and bugs for him to feed on ~~~ they are such friendly, trusting souls ~~~

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

Glam Rock Rules the Garden

Hello Friends!

There’s been a proper mixed bag of weather in the Shire of late!  After the bad weather I spoke about in my last entry {two weeks ago ~ where does the time go?} we had our summer! Parts of the UK had heatwave conditions, but here in the west it was not unbearable, as it was tempered by the now nearly constant sea mists that lightly swirl around the high cliffs, feeding from a deeper sea fog that sits further out to sea and helps keep us cool most of the time. So thankful!  I know that 70 degrees is not hot, but I can no longer take the high 90’s that I could in my youth!  The last few days have been quite overcast with outbreaks of rain, and just generally dreich. We get what we get, we can’t do much about it, but we still love to chat about the weather, don’t we?

Since we last chatted, we’ve had the Summer Solstice. Each year, I long for, and dread, this day in equal measures, for I love the long days that stretch into the late, balmy evenings of early summer, but I also do not look forward to the darker, longer evenings as night draws slowly in as we lose daylight in our journey towards autumn and winter. Once we get there it is not quite as bad as it seems looking at it from a distance, for there is something quite comforting about closing out the night as we draw the heavy drapes across the windows, snuggle by the cosy fire, and sip on hot chocolate while reading our favourite books and magazines. Then, in January, as the days are once again lengthening, the seed catalogues start to drop through the letter boxes, excitement mounts, and we start to plan our gardens once again as the wheel of the year continues to turn.

Here are a few of the blooms that survived the nasty weather of two weeks ago and have recovered in the few days of summer since {details under each one} ~~~ I'm always amazed at how nature recovers ~~~

Field Poppies ~ I'm honoured they picked my garden!

Glam Rock Hydrangea ~ new bloom which has a very green tint to the centre

Glam Rock blooms at different stages, I'm wondering what the final colour will be!

Glam Rock is supposed to transition in colour and end up a vivid blue ~ still waiting to see some blue!

Pink Petunia

A beautiful, unusual striped Verbena

Mixed pot of annuals ~ seeds to be harvested!

I think this is called an Echeveria. It looks as if there are blooms getting ready! 

Finally, I found a few straggling succulents in a pot, so I put this terracotta plant pot tower together. The found succulents are in the bottom two tiers, and I bought a new one at the local, small independent garden centre that specialises in perennials, herbs, succulents and more unusual plants. I went back and bought three more the following day as I have a plan for them too ~~~

It does come as quite a shock to the system, though, to be eating my favourite comfort food of a bowl of hot tomato soup with a summer twist of fresh picked basil and a meltingly delicious grilled Cheddar cheese sandwich made with Caerfai Organic Cheddar cheese in July. This is normally my winter comfort food, so it is strange to be cold enough in summer for this delight, but I’m all for it.

Speaking of comfort food, a favourite breakfast of mine is “Eggy Bread” or French Toast.  I love taking two organic, free range eggs and whisking them really well, then soaking two slices of Sourdough bread until all the egg is absorbed, and dropping them into my sizzling cast iron pan, with just a smidge of melted butter for flavour. I adore my cast iron pans, and properly seasoned they are the healthy alternative to non stick cooking.  You can cook pretty much anything in them, and I love that they go from the stove top to the oven as needed. I’ve baked and cooked pretty much everything in them, and I find food tastes amazing when cooked in cast iron pans. Even high sugar foods, such as sweet onions or carrots don't stick, and Halloumi cooks to caramelised perfection without leaving any behind in the pan. Well cared for pans can be handed down for generations, so even though they can be a bit expensive at first, in the long run they are an investment to cherish.  

A quick and simple healthy, low fat stir fry with tofu and vegetables

breakfast sizzling in the pan

home made cinnamon and brown sugar

perfectly cooked without sticking one scrap

sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, gently melting in the heat

ready to eat!

So, Dear Friends ~~~
Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xo