Friday 24 April 2015

In the garden

We have awarded ourselves the afternoon off after another hectic week with scarce time to draw breath, and having spent the first hour after breakfast out in the paddock, cutting up the ash tree we felled last month, and moving the logs and brash.  Early action was needed as rain was due and has come on in a desultory way since 10 o'clock. The bank where we dropped the tree is slick underfoot with Celendine leaves, and what with that and the brash, getting a footing was precarious sometimes.  Anyway, we made good progress, but my OH's wrist is even more painful now.  He has done something to the ligament which doesn't seem to settle down despite resting and icing it, and as we HAVE to get this tree out of the way to reach another, it's a case of biting the bullet.


The garden is starting to look colourful.  I have lots of Cowslips about the place.


Some have x-pollinated and gone a pale pink.


Above and below: my lovely Auriculas, which haven't made it to any sort of Theatre!


Some more hybrid colouring as I had these marked down as Goldfinch - the pure yellow.




I've uncovered the veg plot and have started digging it over and weeding it.  It will be a hands and knees and a trowel job around the Autumn fruiting raspberries to the left.  As you can see, the uncovered bit has a huge pile of woodash waiting for redistribution, and a grassy corner. . .  The usual state of play each spring here!




These tulips are so pretty - you can see why I fell  for them.



A few more photos.


Beautiful Amber-cat, who hasn't been very well recently.  She stopped eating for about 4 days and I thought we were going to be saying goodbye to her, as she must be 16 plus (not sure her exact age as she came to us when Next Door's mother went to live with her daughter, and all the cats were just abandoned.  Of course they all came here - Amber, Snowy 1 and Timmy.  The two latter are sadly no longer with us.  Anyway, Amber has perked up again and has been soaking up the sunshine in the garden.


This is Ghengis, aka Moonface (which was his first name) although now he could easily be called Fatty Arbuckle as he lives high on the hog and is an absolute P.I.G.  He has his breakfast and then goes round finishing up what everyone else has left!    He loves me very much and follows me wherever I go, but he is still a bit of a bully especially towards Lucy and Amber, who are Old Girls now.  Fluff, also an Old Girl, won't stand any nonsense from him.


This was the beautiful Lace-cap Viburnum that A's daughter bought me yesterday.  Isn't it gorgeous?


Yestgerday evening's job, after we got back from Hay-on-Wye.  Clear all the glass and slates, and remove ALL Nettles, plus rehoming the babiest of the Autumn-fruiting Raspberries.  I am loath to move the well-established Raspberries as they fruit so well in this spot.


Looking along the former soft fruit bed (all the goosegogs gone now, as they were nearly 30 years old and diseased).  The Sweet Peas are going to be planted here, but not sure what to put in the densely-Celendined area beyong the telegraph pole cable.  It's shaded, so suggestions on a postcard please.

11 comments:

  1. Our tulips are out too, much earlier than usual. I absolutely love them and contrary to instructions we never lift them - just leave them in situ to take their chance, so far they have obliged.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ours are about on time. I took a photo of some stunning ones at Tyntesfield yesterday. Looooooong rows of them for cutting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Its all these little jobs that take up the time, your making headway, the rain didnt come to much just a fine drizzle, I will have to scrounge some of raspberries off you :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dawn - I will bring you a bundle with good roots when I visit. I will try and do that in the next week - so much has been happening as I've been helping my friend's daughter clear her house. I managed to at least get the glass and slates removed and some weeding done last night.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the Lace Cap, so pretty.
    Your raspberries have their own mind and like where they are.
    So many beautiful tulips. I only get to see them in the market.

    cheers, parsnip

    ReplyDelete
  6. parsnip - you wait until you today's tulip pictures. They are such beautiful flowers. I can understand why they sold for a small fortune when they were first introduced (tulipmania). I just wish I could plant my beautiful David Austin roses and the Lace cap, but they must languish in large containers until we finally move.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I loved seeing the cats, they are so beautiful. George is like your tabby & follows me everywhere although he hardly eats, I have tried so many different foods. Your tulips are wonderful, such beautiful flowers.
    Just off to the vegetable stall on our local market & the sun is shinning.
    Enjoy this beautiful day.
    Fondly Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fell in love with Amber, isn't she pretty? Gorgeous array of early flowers, one of my favourite plants is lady's mantle, the leaves are so pretty, probably doesn't worry about shade...

    ReplyDelete
  9. The lace cap viburnum is stunning....I want one! I have no idea how people can leave a house and just abandon cats...it happens a lot-thankfully there are people like you about to take good care of them.
    A lovely look a your garden-tulips are so pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kitty pics for the break of day--many thanks. My kitty deigned to come in last night for a few hours during the rain but went right back out first time I got out of bed for a bathroom run in the wee hours. Your flowers just make the prettiest pictures-you're quite the photographer, BB.

    I'm watching sunflowers grow from seed into foot high sprouts headed for ten feet tall in sixty days, or so they claim on the package. That works out to about two inches a DAY of growth... Incredible and yet it seems to be happening on a day by day basis. So much fun !~!

    Hope OH's wrist calms down; sometimes there are no alternatives despite what would be better for us physically. Treat the symptoms as best you can with meds if doc agrees and Ice/Heat as tolerated. Sometimes I can get some relief if I alternate the hot and cold for a spell. Know I am sending healing thoughts his way...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lynda - thank you so much for your healing thoughts. Having given it a hard time with the chainsaw work this week, he has rested it since and got it strapped up. I'm glad you like my photos. I wish I had a better camera which gave good close-ups, but perhaps when we move I will indulge myself. I have a kitty on my lap as I type this (dear old Lucy, who is 18+ now).

    Suzie - I don't recall ever seeing one until Thursday. Lace-cap Hydrangeas yes, and I've always wanted one of those too. I am smitten!

    Thelma - she is such a sweetheart, and was always a live-in-the-barn cat until the winter before last when she finally decided it was Too Cold and Miserable out there, and just went into the kitchen like she'd always been there. She'd been shut in a few times down in mum's, so wasn't at all bothered about being indoors, but I guess just lived life on her own terms, just like Lucky did (and we think Lucky may have been her mum).

    Michelle - we have more than the two I have shown (cats that is). In fact we have 8, as people abandon them, or they arrive as strays and I must have "This lady loves cats" on my front door! I wonder if your cat would eat boiled fish? There is so much junk in a lot of the cat foods - we keep changing brands so ours don't get too fed up with the same one. I hope you had a good walk round your local market.


    ReplyDelete