Safety outside school

I'm having another moan. Sorry about that but I'm really annoyed so I'll have to share it with someone.  Its about  parents who take their children to school by car.

Its not the fact that they take their children to school by car, because I know that some people may live a long way from school and it might be too long a walk for them. I also realise that some parents have to take the children to school  then go off to work. What has annoyed me is those parents who insist on driving right up to the school gates and dropping their children off  without even getting out of the car themselves, simply because they can't be bothered to find somewhere nearby to park. This causes a lot of congestion outside school and is also a danger to children who are trying to cross the street. The same happens at end of school time.

My grandchildrens' school is situated up a small side road and the zig zag lines extend to most of the school side of the street, so there's not much room for cars to park as there are also residents' cars parked there. Most of the time I walk my grandchildren to and from school as we only live about 10 minutes away.  If the weather is really bad I will take them in the car, but I park safely in a nearby street or on the road. It doesn't do the children any harm to walk a few yards even in the rain. I am also thinking of other children's safety when I do this.

So why can't other parents think this way?

Not a good day

Yesterday was a bad day for me.  It rained and rained all day, horrible drizzly rain, and it was windy too. I got wet and cold taking the grandchildren to school even though we went in the car ( we normally walk as it's not far).  I got wet again when I went out to the shops. My waterproof was dripping wet, my jeans were soaked, my trainers were wet and so was my hair.  I had to change my clothes, dry my hair and hang my waterproof to drip dry next to the radiator.

Later, I had to go up to school again for the children. We battled against the wind, rushing to get to the car, trying to keep our hoods over our heads, my grandson ignoring my request for him not to splash in the puddles. Then I realised he had left his lunch bag in school and we had to go back to get it. Aargh!

Finally  home, the children decided to annoy me in a big way.  I did at one point wonder if they had eaten or drank something at school which had put their hyperactive levels up. Well anyway, it got me wound up. Later when they had gone home and I reflected on the day, I felt bad for having got so cross with them. Maybe I was tired, or perhaps the rain had got too much for me.

So tomorrow when they are with me again I will try to be a better Nana and have more patience. I also hope it doesn't rain.

Harlow Carr

Just after Easter we went to the RHS garden Harlow Carr, nr Harrogate.  It's one of our favourite gardens to visit and as it's only just over an hour 's drive for us it's one we can visit from time to time throughout the year. It covers several acres and has different types of gardens within the whole space. There's a woodland area, a kitchen garden, an alpine house, massive herbaceous borders, a stream side area, an arboretum, wildlife areas, and much more.

We like to go at different times of the year so we can see it change through the seasons.  In  the winter it's good to see what plants you can grow for winter interest. There is a  winter walk which takes you through the garden so you can see plants with interesting foliage. In Spring there are the daffodils and later when the tulips are in bloom the displays are superb.

Even though Harlow Carr is so big and our garden is quite small in comparison, we still come away with ideas of things we can do in our own garden.

Like the herb spiral in one of the trainee's gardens. I quite liked this idea, a good way to plant herbs in a small space.

I love the kitchen garden, to see how they set their vegetables and fruit out, and any new ways of planting.
The recently built alpine zone is quite spectacular there are hundreds of alpines and there always seems to be some in flower whatever time of year you visit.

The herbaceous borders are massive and  look good all the year round but as the year goes on they develop into the most amazing areas of colour and are absolutely fantastic in the summer. It's good for plant spotting, seeing how a plant looks and deciding if it will look good in our own garden.

I love going through the woodland area to see what will grow in those conditions as I have a lot of shade and a woodland area in my garden.  The tellima seem to grow well in shady conditions and the ferns look great under the trees.

 









There are always things to interest children, especially in the woodland area like this bear.

We had a good day out and I managed to come away without buying a plant from their fabulous plant centre. I did buy some seeds though. Well I couldn't not bring something back with me, could I?

After the rain

I don't remember when we last had any rain. Its not really mattered for  a while. I've just been enjoying the sunshine. I've gardened with the sun on my back, planted new plants, divided my perennials, sowed my peas and broad beans, hoed the borders.  And when I've needed a break I've sat down in the sunshine with a cup of tea and enjoyed.

But after a while the lack of rain has become a  problem, the veg plot and newly planted perennials were looking dry and in need of more moisture. Getting the hose pipe out every evening  was becoming a chore. I was looking forward to some rain.

The rain finally arrived and after weeks of being outside I had to do indoor things, like ironing and tidying up, tackling those jobs which had been piling up.

I get a bit restless when I have to be inside for too long, so when the rain eased off and the sun started to shine later in the afternoon, I was glad to get outside and potter around the garden.

It was when I got outside that I noticed the difference. There was a freshness to the garden, the lush green of the plants contrasted well against the dark damp soil.  Plants which had been a bit sad looking had perked up.

But best of all was the smell. The smell of the soil, the greenery, the lilacs, was just wonderful, almost intoxicating. Hosepipes are good but you can't beat a good shower of rain.

A spiritual garden

This blog post is dedicated to 2 of my Twitter friends who are wanting to create a spiritual garden on the theme of love and peace. I believe it will be a paved garden with plants in containers. They want ideas for plants to grow. As I can't answer that question in 140 characters I decided to do a blog post with my thoughts!

 I  find a lot of relaxation, peace and spirituality in gardens, not just peace in the sense of being quiet, but bringing a feeling of inner peace. My own garden has developed over a period of 27 years. We  get a lot of traffic noise from the front of the garden. Sometimes in the back garden we have noise from neighbouring gardens, children playing, family barbecues etc. Despite this 'noise' we can still sit in our garden and feel 'peaceful'. My garden is large, has trees, shrubs and flowers. Lots of flowers because I do love my plants.

So what makes a spiritual garden?   Is it the planting scheme? Type of plants? Maybe that helps. I'm not a professional gardener or garden designer, I've just put plants together in my garden which I like. I spend time in my garden, because I love being there. I find it a good place to think, to pray, to play with my grandchildren, to relax, to read, to eat, drink, talk and work. For me it is a spiritual place.

In planning a new garden, I think you would need to look first at which way the garden faces, where there is sun or shade and buy plants to suit the right position. Most plants will grow in containers, even smaller trees, and different heights is another thing to think about. You would also need to have a mix of deciduous and evergreen plants for all year round interest, and variety of colour and leaf texture.  Then you might want to think about colour schemes. Green and white is very relaxing and need not be boring, there are many different shades of green from dark to pale,  variegated and even lime green.  You could bring another colour in, like yellow, or blue to create an effect. I like Euphorbias for their lime green colour. There are lots of different sizes, from a few inches tall to a couple of feet. The taller ones would look great in containers.


Even in a very small garden it's good to have an area where you can sit. That could be a table and chairs on a patio, a bench, or just a tiny corner with a small seat. I love secluded seating areas, somewhere you can take yourself off to sit and be quiet. An area like this could be surrounded by scented plants. I have one in my garden, with aromatic herbs like, rosemary, thyme, sage, mint, and lavender which can just be brushed with your hands as you're sitting there.  Other scented plants could be sweet peas, a climbing rose, honeysuckle or jasmine. Climbing plants could grow over an arbour, up a trellis or tripod, depending on space available. In May Lilac is lovely, later in the summer Buddleia is in bloom. Buddleia has lovely graceful arching branches. Both have white varieties as well as the different shades of purple and both smell divine.

Water is very relaxing to listen to in a garden, and you don't need a big garden for this. There are many water features available which could be used in smaller gardens. For plants to use around damp areas, you might consider, Astilbe (white, pale pink, dark pink).

Statues look good in a garden when they are surrounded by greenery. Something like a Buddha, an angel,a cherub even a bird bath depending on your taste. Hostas, ferns, Solomon's Seal ( Polygonatum) look good together for green planting if you have some shade in your garden. Grasses also look good in containers, there are many varieties available, deciduous and evergreen, tall and short, green, variegated, golden colours.  Some grasses also are good sensory plants, nice to brush your hands through, like Stipa tenuissima and some of the Carex varieties. Other grasses are just interesting like Miscanthus or Calamagrostis with tall flower spikes. I love grasses they bring gentle movement to the garden.

There are many  shrubs available at garden centres, deciduous and evergreen, with different leaf colours, some green, some variegated, some golden. Acers have been suggested, they have a lovely delicate leaf and there are a good range of colours to choose from. For evergreen shrubs, there are the Viburnums, which have white flowers, sometimes followed by berries. For spring colour,  Forsythia has yellow flowers, Deutsia, white flowers, flowering  late spring, early summer, I love this, have it in my garden. Then there's the Weigelas, with lovely pink flowers, late spring and early summer and arching branches. I have 2 of these in my garden, one of which is variegated. Hydrangeas are lovely shrubs, look good in containers and there is a wide range available, especially some lovely white ones. The Choisya,  has glossy evergreen leaves and white scented flowers in early summer.  There's a dark green and a yellow leaved variety.

I could go on forever thinking about plants. These are just a few of my thoughts, I hope they are helpful to my friends and can't wait to hear how their garden develops.

Does anyone else have any ideas for planting in a spiritual garden?

Allotment progress

In the last week we have made much progress on the allotment. During the week we dug over the new raised bed and added 10 bags of soil improver from the council recycling centre which conveniently is only just along the road from the allotments.

This year we are going to grow brassicas in the new raised bed.  Yesterday we planted cabbages. Back at home in my growhouse I have brussels sprouts, red cabbage, cauliflower, kale and purple sprouting broccoli just waiting to grow a bit more and be hardened off and then planted out.

In our peas and beans bed we were pleased to see that the peas we had sown only a couple of weeks ago have now started to come through. I put some twiggy sticks around them for support. The broad beans are also doing well.  Soon we will sow more peas and dwarf french beans. The carrots and beetroot sown the other week are now showing through the soil. We also sowed leek and spring onion seeds.

Down at the bottom of the plot, my husband has put 3 old tyres lined with membrane, filled with soil and compost and put up a tripod of canes. Yesterday my daughter and I planted sweet peas in them which had been started off at home. 

There is still a lot of weeding to be done around the raised beds and surrounding areas, my husband made a start on that yesterday, but it's a long hard job. But we had a good day and feel we've made lots of progress.

During the afternoon there were visits to this communal plot by 3 other plot holders. We loaned our hosepipe to 2 of them and had a good chat with them all. It made me think about how when we first started with our raised beds that I was a bit concerned over the fact that it was so communal.  I had really wanted a plot which was fenced off and more private. Just over 18 months on I feel differently.  Although there are some disadvantages it's good to chat with people, share tools, ideas, give support.

Aquilegias

  

Its that time of year in the garden which I love, because it's when the Aquilegias start to come into flower. I first discovered Aquilegias about 15 years ago when one decided to make its home in my garden. It appeared as some interesting leaves in the fruit garden. Probably having been deposited as a seed by a passing bird or blown in by the wind from a neighbouring garden.

I didn't know what it was, but I decided it wasn't a weed because the leaves were really quite lovely. So I lifted it and placed it in a better place to grow and where I could keep my eyes on it.

It rewarded me some time later with a pretty blue flower. Then I was able to identify it as an Aquilegia, a cottage garden plant also known a Columbine or Granny's Bonnet.

For the next few years it grew happily and each spring I looked forward to seeing these lovely blue flowers, which by now had formed a little clump under the oak tree. It spread around the garden popping up in places where I would not have planted it but where it looked quite at home.

I then discovered that there were other varieties and colours and I wanted more.  Whenever I visited a garden centre and saw a different one, I couldn't resist buying it.

So now I have Aquilegias all over my garden, in different colours,  blue, dark pink, pale creamy yellow, and pale pink and my latest purchase, white. I just love them. I love the delicate ferny foliage and the dainty nodding flower heads on their slender stems. They have a tendency to seed themselves all over the place, sometimes coming up as completely different colours from the original plant, but they are never in the way, never invasive.  They just look so natural and grow well in my part shady garden.  They look especially  good in a woodland setting.

They are a lovely old fashioned cottage garden plant, which is probably why I like them so much as it's my style of planting. I keep saying I won't buy any more, but I still do.