Garden Art

I spied this little blue flower growing in the sunken border behind the Rose pot.Its yellow centre glinted in the sunlight.I wandered if it was a little Viola.The close up photo shows it is the remnants of a Primula from last year.The warm sunshine has revived a lot of the plants that were looking raggedy over the winter.I want to get some Drumstick Primulas like I saw at Harlow Carr along the stream side garden.

The Winter Pansy's have revived with the Spring sunshine in the hanging baskets and pots.I put this Blue Glass ball into the basket.I think shiny spheres can look good in a garden reflecting the sun,sky,and surrounding plants.I think I found this blue glass at Fishponds Drive and took it with me when we moved here.I would like large shiny spheres in the sunken border.The Crocodile and Cat are still with us four years after I bought them from Hampsons.They sit on the path between the Hostas and the Buxus plants.I love how the Stone work has discoloured as it has aged.I love the fantasy of having figurines,and statues within the garden between plants.They help reflect the eclectic tastes of the gardener!The newest addition to the garden is the French Cockerel I bought from Hampsons the other day.He is sat proudly on the greenhouse base alongside the Peacock.The Pear Tree Bonne Chretian sits in front of the two metal sculptures.The Peacock is slowly losing all his gem stones that are stuck to his tail feathers.

I am off for a few days and will try to get to the allotment tomorrow.I am planning on buying some raised beds and constructing them on site.I want to make the allotment easier to keep weed free.There will be some kind of path covering between the raised beds.I can rotate crops between them.

The Spring weather warms the gardeners blood and makes you think about sowing seeds in pots in the greenhouse.

Regrown

These Primulas have regrown in the border and exploded in colour. They have a deep orange/yellow colour. They died back almost last year so its a pleasure to see them look s0 beautiful today..
I have finished my night shifts now so I can get to the allotment over the weekend.
I have a new laptop to test out, to try and blog from it on a new internet provider too.
Its very cloudy outside now. The Goldfinches have been eating at the bird feeder station. I cant wait to get into the garden and the allotment.
The main news here is that the UK's airports are closed down due to an Icelandic volcano shooting ash high into the atmosphere. I worried about it effecting our health, and wildlife/plant life. The scientists say it wont be visible by the time it comes down from 30,000 feet.
The weekend is nearly here.

Blue Flower and Boxes

We were looking at houses yesterday throughout the day. It was getting colder, and greyer as the day went on. In the afternoon it snowed again and has settled on the ground. The first house we saw had a nice front garden with a privet hedge, and a medium sized back garden with a decking area, grass, and a few shrubbed areas. After viewing four others we decided the first house was perfect and so today we put an offer on it.
This Primula has just a brilliant blue colour with the yellow eye, and almost a pearl in the dead centre of the flower. The other Primulas are only just growing flower buds from the centre of their leaves. This plant is flashy, and the colour is lovely on a misty and cold winters day.

The garden is misty like London by gaslight, hanging over the light dusting of snow from yesterday. The snow is melting away slowly, dripping off the Conifers, and bare branches of the other trees.
The Blackbird was flying into the Sunflower hearts feeder to knock it into a pendulum motion so it dropped hearts on the ground. He is a young juvenile Blackbird, but is extremely clever to work out how to get food out from a suspended feeder.
Our offer has been accepted on the house so we can start to get the boxes ready to move in a month or so.
The Lilac Tree, and Apple Tree will look lovely planted in the ground. They will finally be able to root themselves into the ground and escape the confines of the pots they are in.
I am already working out what will need transporting to the new house. Water butts, compost bins, the Greenhouse, and the rose bench are definitely coming. Our new garden will hopefully become self sufficient for water and compost.
I saw a lot of Birds flying around when we saw the house yesterday so I know there is a local population to attract to our feeders. John (Cats son) saw a Squirrel on a nearby tree yesterday too.
The new house's garden is smaller than here but it will be ours to develop and nurture. Cat is excited..

Golden Day

Three golden photos for todays post. I took this photo of a yellow Tulip in flower outside Cats house. The intricate stamen and pollen always amazes me. The detail inside the yellow Tulip cups. They seem to flower around April signalling the start of British Summer Time..

The bright orange and yellow of the Primula newly planted in the back garden border closest to the house. All the parts of the new garden need naming for describing where they are..
These golden flowers were luminescent in the April sunshine today, there was not a cloud in the sky. These flowers are like light houses in the border.

Finally after a year of waiting I photographed a Goldfinch. After a week of the feeders being hung up, a pair of Goldfinches alighted on the sunflower hearts and the Niger seeds. The first time they did it I had not got my camera. Today the camera was nearby to capture on feeding.
I trimmed a Butterfly bush, and cut back old growth on a thornless Blackberry. Tomorrow is back to the Allotment to plant Potatoes and Onions.
It will be a golden time off I hope these next ten days..

Pink Primulas

These Primulas have lovely pink flowers with the egg yolk centres.They keep getting ravaged by the slugs but keep on flowering.
Throughout the cold winter they give little flashes of colour in an otherwise dormant garden.
They are the colour link between winter to spring.The garden experts say that the very cold conditions may have killed a lot of common garden pests this year.
Hopefully the Spring bulbs will start flowering soon, and in a few weeks I can start sowing Summer flower seeds like Petunias, Busy Lizzies, and Sweet Pea's.
It is getting light earlier in the morning now so we are leaving the dark days of winter slowly.

New Additions

Spring must be in the air. I visited four Nurserys last week. Armitages at Shelly, Spring Green, Victoria, and Hampsons plant world.I bought more plants ready for the new garden. After the cold and dark new flowers and plants make me happy.
Green retail therapy to beat the dark days of winter. The Primula above is in Cats kitchen.A darker Red than the spanish red and yellow blogged a few days ago..

I bought two baby rubber tree plants. You can see the other one just on the left of the Ficus. I was looking for new house plants. We spent ages looking around Spring Green and found these two plants for £1.75 each. They will hopefully grow into big beautiful plants, with glossy leaves.

Plants waiting for the new garden. A Kerria Japonica with the gorgeous yellow sunshine flowers. Its next to a Tree Peony, two Yellow Roses from Hampsons, and my early birthday present. A gorgeous David Austin Rose called Gertrude Jekyll. This was voted the nations favourite Rose last year.The pink Roses are soooooooo fragrant and lovely to look at. It will be joined ny the Lady Emma Hamilton.It cost thirteen pounds but it is worth every penny.
The difference between the Hampsons one pound Roses (with a few flowers when they bloomed) and the David Austin Rose (with thirty Roses in the first year) was clear to me.I have a weakness for Roses anyway. If I had a large garden it would be full of D.A Roses...

The last photo is of a mini Conifer called a Sawara Cypress.It is native from Central Japan, and is grown for its prized red lemon scented wood. It is used in palaces, temples, shrines, and coffins.
It is also popular in parks and gardens. It can grow to thirty five metres tall.
I think this is a garden cultivar. It has beautiful blue and green tinged needles which are soft to touch. The Tree will be good for a sensory garden as it is very tactile and pleasing to touch.
I am off today and sitting as the boiler is being fixed. The birds are singing outside. I hope these plants enjoy the new garden when I get there...

Spring Preperation

A sneaky spider had spun his web across the bright Primula flower. these have been flowering non stop since December now. They were underplanted with Anemones and Chionodoxa's. They have flowered and I have a suprise blue/Yellow mass of colour in the left hand border now.
In December I imagined the Winter Primulas would have finished flowering, by the time the spring bulbs began to flower.
In my daily mini walks around the garden after each night shift I have seen the Tulip flower buds rise upwards on thick stems, the Blue pot Hyacinths begin flowering today in earnest. The Mallus Braeburn Apple tree has elongated and developed leaves.The Raspberrys have developed flower buds from stems from last years canes. I might have Raspberrys and Strawberrys by July :)
The African Bag Gardens have started germinating all the Rocket, Mustard greens, Spring Onions, and Beetroot Boltardy. I have the areas marked to cut the hessian sack to grow plants from the sides of the bags.
It still continues to rain though. I looked at Allotments walking down the long causeway to work. I see people have begun to plant their plots! Next week I will start my Veg planting!
The Spider has been busy, preparing for the flys to come to the yellow flowers. I have been working nights and waiting to get to Allotment next week...
The Harrogate Spring Flower show is on now,I am going with camera on Sunday.I may take a few photos :)

Bee Colour Day

Sunday Rest is how I labelled the photos today. I only took about twenty pictures. I woke up late with a terrible headache, which even three mugs of coffee did not shift.
I went outside to see if sweeping the wind brought debris would help.
I moved a lot of the leaves and twigs into a pile at the bottom of the garden. They will eventually be thrown back into the compost bin.
The Yellow Primula flower is the sole survivor of the attacking insects. I spotted a small caterpillar on the flowers at night so I think they are the
culprits, as I have not seen any slugs or snails.
I think if I leave the Caterpillars they will change into beautiful Butterflys which are truly natures Spirits.
The Snails are being bashed by the birds on the pavers. I find the shells with holes in the side, as they have become a gastronomic delight for a hungary bird.
When I moved in there was a mini community on the Brickwork of the Outhouse. I think they have been ravaged by the birds and have moved slowly to places damp and shaded away from prying beaks.
In both borders the Blue Shades Polyanthus have flower buds on at last, which is good as the Primulas have been chomped on, and rotted by damp soil. As one flowering plant starts to end, another is just at the start of its flowering cycle.
I think the Red spears that are growing under the Viburnum might be Euphorbia. I will have to be patient to see what they grow into.
The Female Blackbird is one of my regular visitors now, feeding on the left hand border, and sitting on top of the fence.
She is tough and chases away all the boy Blackbirds out of her patch.
The benefit of the birds regularly visiting the garden is their natural pest control. I have been philosophical with the holes that are appearing in the Primula flowers and leaves.
C'est La Vie. I want the Garden to be Organic, a self supporting natural eco system. The mouse was back today darting out of the pavers to grab some nuts. He reminds me of Scratt from Ice Age. The mouse has more luck than Scratt though at gathering the nuts!
Sunday then was bee coloured. Yellow Primula, and Blackbird.

Artic Chills

My vegetable bag gardens will take two weeks to be dispatched. Thats only halfway through Febuary, enough time to prepare for March sowing of seeds.
I wanted to photograph the primulas and the carex grasses with the heather behind yesterday when I was off. It has been freezing today. No snow here yet but I read its coming down from the North East..
Artic winds froze me at work today, and caused Chaos around the UK. I hope to chill in the garden this weekend.
The weeds are taking the Winter weather as a sign to start popping up between the pavers and in the soil.

Golden Cup

I have been chilling out today watching the birds feed almost all day. As one bird flys off another two, three, or four fly in.
Like Avian wrestling tagteams, hand slapping at the corner.
The Hellebores are reluctant to flower, and I check them everyday. The Primulas and the Heathers are the only plants in flower.
When the flowers are thin on the ground you start to look for other things. For me its the garden birds that have found their way into my small garden..
The Blue Tits have been feeding on the ground seeds. I saw a Wren hopping around my left hand border, ducking between the plants that are spread around.
A family of Blackbirds have moved in as well. Three males, and two females have been in and out of the garden, sitting on the fence.
The Great Tits, and blue tits have started flying into the cover of the Viburnum Tinus, using it as a base to dart out to feed.
The Blackbirds, robin, wren, blue tits, coal tits, and great tits all feed amicably, only sometimes scaring each other off.
The Golden flowered Primula had water in it. It made me think of a Golden cup, overflowing...
Bulbs are poking up slowly around the garden. I cant imagine what it will look like in full Spring Flower.
The Garden is a joy, even when not much is flowering. Winter days are short, and the nights long. I hope my seeds and bag gardens come soon so I can start the next phases of the garden creation.

Blue Ice

The Blue Flower of the Primula manged to escape the worst of the frost that coated the cars and pavements. The council gritting truck had been out last night as I went to work.
I looked this morning, but all the plants were wet and the water bowls had cold water in but not frozen.
All the staff cars in the hospital car park were covered in thick ice this morning
One more night shift to go before I can chill out and watch the birds.
By the backdoor tonight I found lots of moss and dry leaf mulch. I think a bird has been nest building somewhere on top of the house. With the light faded, and the temperature dropping I could not see where they have built their nest.
The bird feeders continue to attract garden visitors. I saw a female blackbird this morning, the resident Robin hopped onto the fence briefly. A great Tit spent five minutes eating off the table. I went to bed then.
The sweet peas have germinated in the kitchen. The White Lisbon spring onion seeds have come up in the propogator box. The herb seeds have started to germinate in the coffee filter paper.I have an extra large 84 cell which will be filled with row upon row of herbs and spring onions.These will be grown indoors for a few weeks before being moved to the cold frame.
Two days before Christmas....hope you are all prepared and happy :)

Winter Dreams..

are of Spring and summer, and imagining all the new plants that will fill the frozen canvas that is the garden....
It remains cold today, and the brightest flowers show the icy weather on their petals. The top photo looks like little tear drops, or glass beads on the newly formed flower.
The Soil has frozen solid.I think I got my plants and bulbs into the ground in the nick of time. It is impossible to put anything in the ground at the moment.
Ice and frosts are good for breaking clods of soil down, so by the spring it should be much more workable.
I made a home made compass last night (sewing needle, some peat pot that was buoyant,a bowl of water, and my new frog fridge magnet to magnetise the sewing needle) to work out which was north. The needle spun around untill it pointed to magnetic north. The garden is facing North/North east. The winter sun does not reach over the tall houses.It is light however, with diffuse light.
The soil is Alkaline and very heavy clay. I used my soil testing kit the second week I was here. A plastic tube with a cap, chemical reagent, and adding soil sample and water. It changed colour to compare with the packaging with its multi colours.
I need to get a compost bin from the Council for £10. A 330 litre compost bin. I have two boxes full of garden refuse ready to be composted. Once its broken down it will go back on top of the two beds. It will enrich the soil, and hold onto moisture.
With the ground frozen and not much tidying needed I have gone back to planning for summer. I googled north facing garden. I will need plants that can survive on partial sunshine and not grow anything that needs full sun to flower.
A good backbone to the garden will come from the three H's.
Hostas, Heuchera's, and Hemerocallis. They are on my wishlist for the next time I go to Hampsons. Also I like Ajuga Reptans too as a first line plant in the creation of a garden.
I will be trying out African bag gardens in the late spring, maybe two of the bag gardens on the pavers by the outhouse, for vegetable growing. A lot of the garden will be movable, using containers to break down the hard lines.
My Mum sent me a xmas Card and some money.This will go towards the garden plants. A honeysuckle, and some trellis for it to grow up.
The two Festuca Glauca's are chilling in the cold frame with the Fuschia. I do not know where to put them at the moment. The garden needs some vertical plants too, maybe grasses for their form, movement, and noise as they blow in the wind.
I planted some Sweetpea seeds today, which will hopefully germinate before being moved into the cold frame. It will be a party in there soon with Iris, Hellebores, white onions,the three varieties of Herbs, and the sweet peas.

Fire and Ice

The first Frost I have seen in over a year on my plants! The Winter Primula seems to have taken a battering from the Icy frosts. The rough leaves were highlighted in glimmering crystals.
The Viburnum and Camelia had wet leaves, but escaped the overnight freeze.
Maybe the Primulas are closer to the ground so get frosted more easily.
I love the yellow colours on the flowers, with streaks of orange war paint, and pheasents eye in the centre.
I have been reading other blogs last night, trying to see what people write about in December.The cold and the dark drives us back indoors to read seed/flower books and other blogs!
To borrow Blackswamp girl's words the photo is a study in Contrasts, between metaphorical fire and real ice!

Harlow Carr hybrid 3rd pic

Last photo from today.Its been some labour of love putting the photos on in some kind of order.I think if i took 12 it would not be as bad!
There are photos of the Scented Garden, the Alpine houses, the most spectacular display of Lupins i have ever seen, and other photos that dont fit either category.
Who would believe one visit could take so many days to write about and upload photos via blogger when its behaving.
I have found it more tiring blogging it then the five hours we spent in Harlow Carr,lol.I am back to work on monday and tuesday, so tomorrow is last day off to blog the last few areas.
It works on two levels, a tour of the gardens through my camera lens and words, and for me as a personel record of one mad, wet day.
My first visit to a garden, with the intention of seeing it, photographing it, then writing about it.Hope its not been too bad to read :)

Harlow Carr Hybrids: fireworks

Harlow Carr Hybrids

The Spectacular Harlow Carr Hybrid Candelabras light up the garden.Their bright coloured flowers are almost fluorescent here in the gloom of a rainy overcast day.Imagine them on a sunny day.
I guess this is one of their signature plants.Planted along the Queen mothers lake, Along the Streamside and Beck, in the main Borders, and here alongside the Whale/mermaid garden.
I did not see any for sale in the Garden centre though, or i would have bought one!!

Primula

The orange flower bud from yesterday, opened today.I dont know why the petals have gone orange like.I will try to save this over the year.

They are much loved by Councils for mass planting.I dont know what happens to them after they are removed

They are perennials so if they can be kept alive through the year they should bloom again.

A closer Picture, trying to capture the delicious colours of the petals.They are also the only colour I have at the moment whilst all the other plants are growing on.

Easter Sunday

Primula flowers, love the colours..














Tried to capture a flower bud which is like a small orange rose with its delicate petals.















Primula flower bud..























Asiatic lilly growing on...
















Bletilla pushing out a leaf skywards.

















The crooked Bletilla stem, the leaf has grown amazingly well in a few days.Getting warmed up!



Wishing all garden bloggers a Happy Easter, and good gardening this bank holiday weekend.

Primula flowers brighten up my mornings.

Primula: Spanish colour :)