29 March 2012
Jubilee Planting in Grantham
Last week, The Diamond Grove in Queen Elizabeth Park, Grantham was the setting for a mass snowdrop planting by school children. We donated snowdrops along with Little Ponton Hall and Belton House. Snowdrops were lifted from here, some of the bulbs returned to the holes and the rest went off to their new home. We look forward to seeing some pictures next year.
12 March 2012
March at Easton comes in like a lion….
Last week the winds picked up and typical March weather had arrived. Small bulbs were unaffected by it and made brave showings in the cedar meadow. Coming out now to join the crocuses are Chionodoxa in blues, pinks and white.
New daffodils are showing through every day including the Tenby daffodil (Narcissus obvallaris) (below) and, on the snowdrop bank, an old survivor from pre-restoration, sometimes known as ‘Queen Anne’s Double’. The flowers are stuffed with petals that threaten to bring the whole stem down.
On sunny days (like yesterday) we spot frogs in the ditch below the snowdrop bank. The weather was so fine that they ignored us to enjoy the heat and were splashing and croaking in the puddles. The grey wagtail has returned to the river where we can watch his bobbing flight with ease.
The hellebores are at their best now. Most of our hellebores are in the woodland walk where they blend with hyacinths, dogs mercury and golden feverfew. An unusual combination of plants that is well worth seeing.
New daffodils are showing through every day including the Tenby daffodil (Narcissus obvallaris) (below) and, on the snowdrop bank, an old survivor from pre-restoration, sometimes known as ‘Queen Anne’s Double’. The flowers are stuffed with petals that threaten to bring the whole stem down.
On sunny days (like yesterday) we spot frogs in the ditch below the snowdrop bank. The weather was so fine that they ignored us to enjoy the heat and were splashing and croaking in the puddles. The grey wagtail has returned to the river where we can watch his bobbing flight with ease.
The hellebores are at their best now. Most of our hellebores are in the woodland walk where they blend with hyacinths, dogs mercury and golden feverfew. An unusual combination of plants that is well worth seeing.
5 March 2012
Heaven Scent
Flowering out in the garden today is our wild violet. They are on a gentle slope of rough limestony ground which the rabbits graze a bit. This image below shows them flowering with cowslips. It gives you an idea of the tiny scale of these ground hugging plants. The scent is completely out of proportion to their size. They outsmell all other plants in early spring. A siren call to any insects on the wing on sunny days.
In my kitchen this tiny bunch will scent the whole room for 24 hours.
I have noticed the pollen coming off the Yew trees in great clouds for the first time today. Hay Fever sufferers are often confused by their first attack at this time of year. The Yew tree may be the culprit. When the trees in the Yew Tunne really get going it looks like great clouds of smoke coming out of the centre.
In my kitchen this tiny bunch will scent the whole room for 24 hours.
I have noticed the pollen coming off the Yew trees in great clouds for the first time today. Hay Fever sufferers are often confused by their first attack at this time of year. The Yew tree may be the culprit. When the trees in the Yew Tunne really get going it looks like great clouds of smoke coming out of the centre.
29 February 2012
Guerilla Gardening
A new flower has appeared on the snowdrop bank without any of us planting it…the suspicion has fallen on an unknown visitor secretly adding to the gardens.
Technorati Tags: crocus,gardening,snowdrops,wordless wednesday,easton walled gardens
5 February 2012
Snowdrop week in pictures: what you can expect to see 18th-26th February.
Lots of these views:
Plenty of these:
Some of these:
and these:
and, of course these:
You can do this:
and enjoy this:
You can buy these:
and eat warming soups and light lunches and scones here (or get a takeaway soup and pasty if its very busy):
We will be wrapped up warm for nine days of whatever the weather throws at us to welcome you and look forward to seeing you.
Plenty of these:
Some of these:
and these:
and, of course these:
You can do this:
and enjoy this:
You can buy these:
and eat warming soups and light lunches and scones here (or get a takeaway soup and pasty if its very busy):
We will be wrapped up warm for nine days of whatever the weather throws at us to welcome you and look forward to seeing you.
24 January 2012
Snowdrops in the Green
From February 1st we will be sending out these beautifully wrapped parcels of 10 bulbs in a eco-cardboard tube. They make a great and original present for Valentines Day and at £3.95 plus £4.95 p and p they aren't expensive. The snowdrops come with their bulbs attached so they can be planted straight out into the garden.
or call 01476 530 063.
22 January 2012
January thoughts
Christmas is already a distant memory (very good, thank you) and the days are noticeably drawing out. Nearly an hour of extra daylight eases the pressure on our timetable.On the other hand, the ground is warming early this year and there are no excuses not to get on.
An articulated lorry delivered more topsoil this week.Our ground is mostly poor limestone, in places just bedrock.So this year we have decided to build up every big flower bed by a floorboards width of soil.A mulch of spent mushroom compost, due to arrive on another lorry, goes on top. A deep loam will protect our plants from drying out and help to prevent nutrients leaching from the soil on wet days.
Thin alkaline soil doesnt have to be a curse.The yew trees and hedges seem to have enjoyed the dry summer and we never get club root on our brassicas (cabbages). The biggest blessing this soil bestows is the potential for limestone meadowland. At this time of year I go across the steep terraces removing ragwort and thistles by hand and intrigued by the tapestry of tiny plants that will make knapweed, scabious,vetches and clovers in summer. The remembrance of last years flowers is nearly as good as the real thing.
The gardens look tidy now and briefly, under control. The mild weather is bringing a crop of weed seedlings to the surface and the snowdrops are racing the aconites to flower first. We kick off the season with snowdrops from February 18th so the relative peace of deep winter will soon join Christmas as a distant memory.
The January lull before the snowdrop bank becomes covered in snowdrops,dogs mercury and early narcissi.
An articulated lorry delivered more topsoil this week.Our ground is mostly poor limestone, in places just bedrock.So this year we have decided to build up every big flower bed by a floorboards width of soil.A mulch of spent mushroom compost, due to arrive on another lorry, goes on top. A deep loam will protect our plants from drying out and help to prevent nutrients leaching from the soil on wet days.
Thin alkaline soil doesnt have to be a curse.The yew trees and hedges seem to have enjoyed the dry summer and we never get club root on our brassicas (cabbages). The biggest blessing this soil bestows is the potential for limestone meadowland. At this time of year I go across the steep terraces removing ragwort and thistles by hand and intrigued by the tapestry of tiny plants that will make knapweed, scabious,vetches and clovers in summer. The remembrance of last years flowers is nearly as good as the real thing.
The gardens look tidy now and briefly, under control. The mild weather is bringing a crop of weed seedlings to the surface and the snowdrops are racing the aconites to flower first. We kick off the season with snowdrops from February 18th so the relative peace of deep winter will soon join Christmas as a distant memory.
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