May 15th, 2010

Some pictures from the garden, this lovely May day.

Peonies

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The little bit of cutting garden ready to be planted with fragrant night time flowers.

Late spring that feels like early summer, - at least today.

The darling buds of May

Half an hour in the garden this afternoon and everything was vibrating...

Wherever I looked the plants were pregnant and pulsing with energy, - busy, busy, busy in the little green factory, making buds for June flowers!

Earth's crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;

But only he who sees, takes off his shoes -

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

-  Elizabeth Barrett Brownbing

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud

was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

-   Anais Nin

Now that you've seen the preview, do come back for the SHOW!

April 18th, 2010

Tulip time in the garden....

Ramona - a lovely favourite with sentimental ties

A delightful pink tulip whose name I have forgotten

Pat's pretty red and white tulips

The last few days of sunny weather with the occasional shower to refresh the thirsty flowers has made such a difference in the garden.  Everything vibrant and growing, - and of course that includes the coutch grass and the dandelions (whose lovely golden blooms make the pasture glow but whose deep roots and spreading leaves are not welcome in the garden).

My time in the garden is a constant skirmish with the grass and the dandelions, but I am on constant lookout for the first sign of the underground Chinese Lantern Railway!!!!

The daffodils are looking sad and need to be snipped, but there are a few late double daffs which are really lovely.

A lovely pink blossom tucked behind the Elephant's Ear, and next door the yellow Alyssum reflects the sun.

The flowering almond flanks the little patio which is quickly being covered by a ran-a-way thyme plant.

In the orchard the apple blossoms are showing pink, and the cherries and plums and peaches are in full bloom.

Small bits of sky fall to earth and brighten little corners with the glorious blue of the forget-me-nots and the tender shade of the violet.

Soon, when the soil warms a little more, I must plant some annuals.  Some nicotiania, nasturtiums, four o'clocks, morning glory, zinnias and oh, many more to put in pots along the front of the house when all the dandelions and others spreading weeds have been dealt with.

What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it.  ~Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden, 1871 - and a woman even so...... my thoughts tonight after two or three hours in the garden - my current battlefield.