Tuesday 8 April 2014

A code in the dose

I should be in Stratford-on -Avon with friends, looking forward to an evening at the theatre. The special couple of days away had been booked for months and eagerly anticipated. But no, here I am, home alone, confined to quarters with a cold. 
I've been doing a bit of pootling in the garden. Yesterday I cleared all the winter debris from the half barrels before the rain set in. Today they are pleasingly full of clean water. Just the sort of thing that makes a gardener happy! 
I found the camellia label and picked a few blooms. I had completely mis-named her in the last posting, she is 'E.G. Waterhouse.' You can see from the discolouration that she doesn't appreciate wind and rain.
But then, who does! Oh, isn't she glorious.
The garden is changing with every day. The herbaceous borders are filling with soft, new growth, perennial flowers
AND weeds.

All the yellow tones of early spring are starting to fade as other colours emerge. The pear trees are about to bloom. The fruits always succumb to pear tree mite so I don't get too optimistic about a good crop at this stage. Should I spray? I grow organically, so it goes rather against the grain. If you have any advice, please give it.





The potatoes are planted and I've erected pigeon barriers for the onions and sprouts. I neglected to put down slug pellets so half my sprout and red cabbage seedlings were eaten overnight. (This is just the sort of thing that makes a gardener very unhappy, not to mention mad!)
Inside the seedlings are growing leggy, waiting for the soil to warm so that they can be planted out.
We live opposite  stables and there is a fair bit of action as horse boxes and delivery vans swing in and out of the entranceway. A large trailer of straw has come into our wall with results rather like that created by a wrecking ball - short straw indeed! A tumble-down wall and destruction of hedgerow, all our privacy removed.
The young man who did it neglected to come and inform us but Himself walked down to the stable yard and found bits of our hedging still attached to the trailer. Now I am waiting, impatiently, for his father to come and put the sorry mess to rights.  (You can tell the sort of mood I'm in, a code in the dose, code, windy weather and a broken wall!)
Life's a bit up and down.
But the red peony is blooming
so I'll concentrate on the 'up'!

19 comments:

  1. Years ago, I had a pear tree and if the bugs didn't get the fruit, the birds did. I now only have ornamental fruit trees and they are magnificent in the spring and no mess in the summer. I go to the local farmer's market for my fruit.

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    1. But when it all comes right and ripe fruit hangs from the tree all the frustrations of bugs and birds are forgotten. Then I can chant my mantra - organic, no chemicals, no hands but mine have touched this food!

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  2. Oh honestly, I am beside myself looking at these pictures! We still have 6 feet of snow on all of the gardens! I have added "go to England next April" to my to-do list!

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    1. Oh, Wendy, it's too bad - yet more snow! Just enjoy looking at those lovely shoes, flicking that sassy new haircut and keeping me amused with your blogs. And if you're coming to England next April then be sure to put me on the list!

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  3. Your garden is fabulous, weeds, slugs, mites & all. Thanks, SMY, for leaving the comments at my blog today! Hope you get to feeling better very soon.

    Now! Must get offline and go outside a plant a few more seeds. Itchy fingers, here!

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  4. Your garden is lovely and your peony already in bloom, so beautiful. Hope you recover soon and the broken wall.......I hope they turn up to do something on it.

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    1. The flowering peony is in the greenhouse, those outside are still in bud. The wall has been rebuilt and topped with a couple of holly saplings so I'm feeling more cheerful - now I just need to get rid of this awful cold!

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  5. BTW, I feel your pain... I'm dealing with some lost privacy issues myself right now!

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  6. Wow, I LOVE your garden and your home. Everything looks so pretty! take care, Maryann

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    1. The camera lies, or at least fibs a little, because in real life it is rather messy (home and garden!) It seems a bit tidier when seen through the camera lens - but I love it.

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  7. Oh, sorry! SMY was suppose to be SMG (share my garden). I am clumsy with the fingers today for sure!

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  8. Your garden looks beautiful, snails I have to, and too much. I feed them weekly. And weed, goodness, dayly I work outside.
    I'm sorry about your wall, and I understand that you are in a bad mood momently. I hate it, when other people damage a part of my garden. Years ago a tree fall in our garden, and our garden is small, a bench was damaged and the borders.

    Sigrun

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    1. The wall has been put to rights and we have enjoyed such a lovely day today, warm sun, no wind, perfect gardening weather. It's impossible to maintain a bad mood!

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  9. What a beautiful garden you have and how much work it must be! But then I guess you love it.

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  10. You're right, Mridula, it does take time and effort but I do love it. I like to be out of doors and I love the optimism of growth and the sense of plenty. (I can be very boring about the vegetables that I grow!)

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  11. WOW soo AMAZING :) you have such good taste

    Check out my new post....How to decorate your home with cute fabrics :)

    I wish you a great week dear

    LOVE Maria at inredningsvis - inredning it's, Swedish for decor :)

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