St Ives

We've just returned from a few days in St Ives, one of our favourite places. At short notice we managed to get room only at a hotel with parking that didn't involve having to drive in and out of the narrow town streets. We were able to walk along the coastal path to reach the town centre.

The landscape is a natural garden,

with cushions of pinks

and a carpet of other wild flowers.

I loved this small allotment that we passed each day.

Breakfast at our favourite place overlooking Porthmeor beach.

Fish for breakfast,

and for midday starters gurnard, clam and lobster sauce.

Fried sea bass with chilli caramel, pineapple and Asian salad for my tapas supper, delicious!

The sea always looks inviting

although far too cold for swimming,

but these children loved dodging the waves.

St Ives is a great place for wandering

up and down the narrow streets

never too sure exactly where you are 

or what you will discover.

A garden in Victoria Street

and two little girls decorated with garlands and posies who were going to a wedding.

The street names are  amusing and descriptive; 'Teetotal Street', 'Virgin Street' and an area called, 'Downalong' which was supplied with water from this well until the 1840's.

The patina on this old door was a work of art!

Not repainted since 1802?!!

We found a quiet spot in the harbour to read the weekend paper.

And were back at the tapas bar as the sun went down.

Easter

We spent Easter weekend in Yorkshire. It was lovely to be back 'home', albeit briefly.

I did my usual tidy-up in the garden and by the stream side.

The front garden is tiny, which is just as well since I'm only in residence every now and then. The white daffodils were just going over but there was lots of promise for things to come. I staked healthy-looking delphiniums and peonies.

The millstone that used to be set into the wall of the building had to be rediscovered from beneath a blanket of moss. The pebbles will have originally come from the river but I moved them from the stable floor before we started the conversion.

This carving of work in progress shows one of the two grind stones still in place in the wall. I would have liked to have kept them in position but it was them or windows and in the end I opted for windows!

We had a bit of weather while we were there!

And on Sunday got soaked on the moor top.

(Our own fault for not putting on our waterproof trousers.)

The First Born came up from London to join us.

Blackthorn blossom everywhere

and when we'd clambered out of our wet clothes there was the consolation of chocolate!

Auriculas

Every year I have a tussle to keep my auricula plants alive, but round about now, as they come into flower, it all seems worth while!

None of my plants are named. I can say, looks a lot like 'Rowena', 'Ted Gibbs' or 'Old Dusty Miller' and so forth but can't claim anything more specific. The names of the different varieties amuse me because they sound so old fashioned.

In the garden the yellow flowers that herald spring are fading and my two favourite colours, white and blue, are taking over.

Although this large camellia is putting on a bit of a shout. I think it would be far better to be flowering  in the summertime with all the other reds and pinks!

Growing

The weather is still unpredictable, but when the sun does shine it is glorious and everything in the garden responds with a burst of growth. The pear tree is now awash with blossom.

The temperature drops sharply at the end of each day so many things are holed up in the greenhouse for a while longer. We rebuilt the garage block several years ago. In winter when the trees are leafless the sun is low enough to shine in through the windows. As the year advances and the sun is higher in the sky then the greenhouse becomes more of a shade house and the temperature never builds up to be excessive. The only downside is that all the plants tend to lean sideways towards the light! 

We hunted around reclamation yards to find the Victorian glass tiles that form two panels in the roof. They took some cleaning as they were etched with black soot when we bought them!

This little greenhouse we had built onto the side of the house. It was a really good decision. It's a lovely place to sit with a coffee and a book.

Although just at the moment it is so crammed with seedlings that there's not much room to move!

Couldn't resist these little artichoke seedlings from the local nursery.