04 March 2007 - Red Cross day, Spring shoots

After a beautiful day yesterday we are stuck inside today with really wet rain pouring down and finding every hole in the roof. We spent the sunny times moving well rotted cow manure to the walled garden and I feel proud of a huge dug patch made ready for the onions and other alliums. When we can find another dry break we hope to get bean and potato patches finished. We have finished the fruit cage, which initially had to be rebuilt after the snow crushed it a few weeks ago. And we are well ahead on tidying the paths with fresh wood chip. Joe, our son did a magnificent job on the runner bean trench. It is treated as a permanent crop and needs to be dug out and re-manured every year. Heavy work even for growing lads!

We opened for the Red Cross a few weeks ago making us work hard at tidying up earlier than usual. The garden looked lovely until the winds brought down another load of twigs just before the opening. However, the snowdrop drifts rose above any bits we missed and looked stunning. As did the hellebores. We have lovely expanses of the common single and double snowdrops and I am always surprised at the breathless effect they have on me. Maybe it is a wake up call that the year has begun and by such a simple, beautiful flower

I do admit to a fascination for the increasing list of hybrids and less known species. I too can be found on the ground admiring striking green inners or badly behaving oddities. We have about 170 different ones here to my knowledge and I find it hard to resist new ones that generous growers release in small handfuls. We are spending time each day splitting and replanting. And next year I will make a list of the more unusual that we have to sell. We have cleared a new area in the woods. It was over-run with nettles and ground elder but now it will make a new, early spring walk filled with snowdrops, hellebores and primroses.

Hellebores are another favourite that I find hard to sell because every face has a special look completely unlike its neighbour. True the seedlings in a good year can prove a problem when they grow amongst established plants but I want to grow all of them. The dark ones are particularly appealing but white ones with green centres and double pink ones and frilly centred ones and picotee edging ... The list goes on!

On kinder days than today we are loyally joined by our parade of pets and wild birds. Nesting has started early and sweet spring songs entertain us, particularly the blackbird's. The kittens have grown and now stalk the said birds and us and spend the rest of the time chasing each other up trees. Leo in particular has taken to showing visitors around the garden. We should start lambing this week and we hope that they will be obligingly quick, as we have booked to spend Easter in France.

We have heard from our various neighbours making our thoughts turn to Saby where we hope to start work this holiday ably helped by our 8 year old. There were orchids showing in January and we are anxious to find out which ones and indeed what else has developed in our absence. Our research in the interim has been centred on alternative forms of energy and now we must find out if any are going to be suitable or indeed within our budget. All very exciting.

We will return in time for our tulip festival that looks as if it will start early, particularly if we stay so warm. I still think that the best time should be the beginning of May.

posted by B Johnson @ Sunday, March 04, 2007   0 comments (Post a Comment)