Wednesday 19 March 2014

Spring forward


Having bought a container at a charity shop for a flower arrangement, imagine my surprise and delight to discover it contained dormant bulbs in dried out compost.

The bulbs, replanted in fresh compost and placed in the porch, became beautiful, fragrant hyacinths to greet our arrival home.

The Rainbow Allotment, where I am a volunteer, is beginning to flourish – but so are the weeds.

This month’s flower arrangement was entitled Winter into Spring
 My arrangement

 


At the gardening club, we had a most enjoyable and informative illustrated talk on Spring and Autumn in Japan.  Who could be more suited to give this talk than Ian Richardson as a frequent visitor, photographer and chrysanthemum enthusiast to tell us about the culture, architecture and plant life?   The cherry blossoms and acers of all colours looked absolutely stunning.

The new season has begun at the coast where the winter has taken its toll and quite a few metres have been lost to the sea through erosion.  The bad news was that the hedging of willowy type trees have been removed from the back of the caravan leaving us more exposed to the wind and giving us less privacy.  However, the good news is that the garden is twice as big and the shade-loving plants may not be needed.  Perhaps the shrubs will revive but I see no sign of it as yet.

The long-awaited Spring presents both opportunity and challenge which is exciting, but the main growing season arrives at such velocity and vitality that it can take you unawares.

I can see from fellow bloggers that you also have projects earmarked.  Looking forward to seeing the results.

Monday 3 March 2014

March on!


Out and About

Grandkids on half term called for a visit to Knaresborough



Spring displays at RHS Harlow Carr



Garden matters

Can anyone identify this snowdrop which I have in my garden.  If it turns out to be worth a fortune, I’ll give you a cut of the profits, or at least a bulb!

We had a very amusing and enlightening talk at our gardening club by Ben Emmott on the sex lives plants, which you can hear about here:  http://gardenersfridayforum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/the-sex-lives-of-plants.htm

The garlic is looking good at the allotment where I am a volunteer.

 
Read: First part of Lost Innocence by Simon Palmer.  Contains a graphic account of a Thai prison but compelling reading as the story twists and turns.
and

 Keeping up my weekly challenge of Write 1 Sub 1

Seen:  “The Flat” an Israeli film, written and directed by Arnon Goldfinger.  A documentary about cleaning out his grandmother’s flat and of the correspondence which the family found there.

 I’m also watching Hostages on TV.  Thrilling!

 

Prisons and prisoners

  Fortunately I’ve never been in prison and furthermore hope I never will. However, I have recently seen and read about this topic and it h...