Tag: garden

Finally managed it

Downside – I was amazed to see how much the bed had grown over in the two weeks since I cleared it! But I grubbed up quite a bit of it again (avoiding a few plants that neighbours have admired – I think that is a polite way of asking me to leave them alone.) I then planted another 60 or so very large daffodils and 100 (plus probably one – it said 101 on the box!) aliums right across the centre patch. The remaining bulbs were randomly shoved into patio and window boxes – I had more than had enough by then. We’ll see what emerges.

Upside 1 : November skies don’t come much better than this:

Upside 2: VIOLETS flowering among the autumn leaves at the end of November. This may not actually be great news – the seasons are all over the place.

Upside 3: Being visited by one of our tame foxes, but I wasn’t able to take his picture. Maybe more about him another time.

Late December trees – and late again.

This time because it is hard to kick away the props. It was only ever supposed to be a set of 12 months, but I never imagined the role these trees would take on. But enough now. I will be back with pictures of the spring flowers if they ever do their thing – there are definitely some promising signs, and right through December, rather weirdly, there have been patches of violets flowering away in the patch we have appropriated for a memorial. Climate change?

Simple pleasures from the Auvergne

Got to start with the blossom: blackthorn, plum, peach, rosemary – and the tiniest glimpse of the stunning pink quince we won’t actually get to see:

 

Wild orchids, violets and cowslips:

 

Plenty of these little fellows scuttling around:

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The best wood burner ever (came from the Far East!):

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Bitter black coffee in my favourite china…

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And finally can’t resist this picture:IMG_3045Because it is so crazy – it’s the reflection of a tree in a muddy puddle. (Yes, there was a LOT of water around). I am working out how to get those colours together…I feel another dyeing session coming on as soon as I get home – maybe silk and alpaca for that one?