A muddy path and planting snowdrops.

 

A few weeks ago when we arrived at the allotment we found that the path down the lane to our plot had been churned up by someone who had tried to drive a big wheeled truck down it. We weren't very pleased about that as it made the path very muddy and walking down to our plot was quite difficult. The path is not meant for vehicles to drive along. The ground is quite soft on this small stretch of the path and can soon become muddy. We had worked on improving the path a couple of years ago by putting wood chippings down and they worked quite well at soaking up the mud. I don't have a photo of the lane when it was all churned up, but in the photo above you can see on the right some of the tyre tracks, on the left is when I had started flattening them out.

So last week I set to work flattening the tyre tracks and lucky for me someone had dumped some shredded tree chippings further along the lane. So Richard and I spent the next few days collecting the chippings and spreading them out along this muddy stretch. Each time we went to the allotment we dedicated some of the time to barrowing chippings to the lane. It was hard work and my back was suffering each time. But I have to say it looks much better and is so easy to walk along now with no fear of slipping or falling over.

A nicer moment was that Richard found a clump of snowdrops amongst some garden rubbish which had been thrown in the woods across the lane where we are allowed to throw our compostable waste. He dug them up before they got covered in more rubbish. I planted them along the fence outside the plot where I already have some bulbs growing.

Getting back into the garden

We've had a few sunny days this week, it has been cold, but not too cold to go out in the garden to do a bit of work. There's been such awful weather the last few weeks where it hasn't been fit to go outside, so I've been keen to get out, if only for a bit of pottering round and a breath of fresh air.

There's always something to do in the garden, if it's only sweeping paths or tidying the shed. I have started clearing the leaves off the borders. They have got quite soggy and were hiding bulbs underneath. 

They were probably providing homes for slugs too. Some of the dead plant stalks which I leave standing over winter for the wildlife are ready for clearing away. I'll gradually clear those in the next few weeks. Last week's storm didn't do much damage in this area, but the grasses in the garden took quite a battering resulting in grass debris all over the place.

Looking round the garden I could see signs of new growth. The snowdrops are flowering now. I love seeing them, the first flowers of the year in the garden. 

Also flowering now are cyclamen, showing patches of pink in shady areas beneath the birch tree in the back garden and under shrubs in the front.

 Daffodils and crocuses are emerging to flower in a few weeks time. The Hamamelis (witch hazel) has copper coloured flowers which I have to walk down the garden to see. It doesn't show up well from a distance. 

January is such a long dreary month and to see signs of life in the garden gives me so much to look forward to.

Through the Garden Gate--January 2021

The garden has looked pretty dismal during January, either covered in snow or drenched with rain and puddles all over the bottom borders. I've often looked out of the house windows and thought the garden looked ok really (when there was no snow to hide it). But on closer inspection when the weather allowed me to get out and walk around, I could see how soggy the borders were and full of wet brown dead foliage. I know though that they will recover. All we need is some dry weather and the puddles drain away, the dead stuff dries up enough for me to clear them away and plants bounce back to life. In the past I've been concerned about the wet in the borders and if plants will survive, but in the damp borders are plants which love all that wet, so I know I will see them again.

There are signs of new life all over the garden. In the front garden, where I've planted most of the spring bulbs, I can see the green shoots of narcissi and crocus. The snowdrops are flowering now, I have to walk around to spot them though. They've only been there for the three years we have lived here and have not increased their numbers yet. It could be a long time, I think before I can see drifts of snowdrops from the house windows. But its nice to walk around and have these little surprises as new growth appears

In the back garden, the crab apple tree has delighted us with loads of bright orange/red fruit for months, but now the little apples have gone soggy. The birds are still not interested in the fruit, I don't know why. Perhaps I provide more interesting food on the bird table. Although the colour has now gone from this tree, walking round the garden down in the woodland border I can see that the witch hazel (hamamelis 'Jelena') is now in flower. This has lovely spidery, orange flowers. The contorted hazel has produced catkins, the hellebores have buds and look as if they will soon burst into flower and there are some little pink cyclamen under the silver birch.

Next to the crab apple tree there is a grass--miscanthus zebrinus which was given to me by my sister-in-law in a small pot about five or six years ago. I didn't plant it until we moved to this house and the first place I put it didn't seem to be the right place.  Now it loves where it is in full sun with plenty of space and it has really taken off. It has turned straw like now, but has some lovely feathery plumes, so still has lots of interest. Next month it will be time to cut it down ready for the new growth, but until then I will continue to enjoy looking at it.

I am linking this post to Sarah's blog at 'Down By the Sea' for her monthly 'Through the Garden Gate' post.

Through the Garden Gate--January 2020

There's not much happening in the garden at the moment. January isn't really a good month to do any gardening and with all the rain we have had which has made the garden very soggy it's best to leave well alone.

I have been keeping the bird feeders topped up with seed and fat balls.  Last weekend I thought I would do the RSPB Garden Birdwatch.  When we moved here two and a half years ago there weren't any birds visiting the garden, but with no trees, shrubs or plants of any description it wasn't surprising that all the birds bypassed our garden. Now we have a lovely garden full of plants to attract the wildlife and we love to watch the birds. Most of our regular birds, however decided not to visit us in the hour I chose to watch out for them. In a short space of about ten minutes there was a sudden flurry of activity on the bird table and I managed to count three woodpigeons and fourteen starlings.  There was no sign of the robin, the blue tits, sparrows and blackbirds.

I still have some hyacinths in the shed which I potted up in the autumn.  They stay cool in the shed so  I can bring them in to the house gradually.

Last year I bought some snowdrops in the green and planted them around the garden late February so I have been looking forward to seeing them in flower this year.  I enjoy wandering around the garden spotting them coming into flower. 100 snowdrops seemed a lot at the time of buying them but they don't go very far and it will be several years before we can see lovely clumps of them. I will just have to enjoy seeing them in other people's gardens.

I  recently bought some pots of crocus from the garden centre and also found some pots of  mini daffodils down the side of the house left from last year. So I had a pleasant hour on a fine, dry day last weekend  planting these up in a border in the side garden. I will be able to see these from the house so hopefully they will provide a bit of colour in a few weeks time.

I am linking this post to Sarah's blog at 'Down by the Sea' for her monthly 'Through the Garden Gate' post.

Snowdrop time

It's that time of year when the snowdrops start to appear. They pop up all over the place. There are drifts of them in our local park. Down the lane where we walk every morning we see clumps of them peeping out from the garden of the house on the corner.  There are more clumps which have escaped into the hedgerow along the lane. I have some in the garden and at the allotment and every year I plant a few more in the hope of getting a lovely display.

The snowdrop seems to be loved by so many people.  For me they are a sign that life goes on, they appear at a dark time of year, one of the first flowers of the year and a promise of more to come. They grow, they flower, they die down, they have a rest then they come back again. I suppose that's true for many more flowers, but the snowdrop comes to life at a time of year which is quite gloomy It's a reminder of that hope which we so often need at this time of the year, a promise that Spring isn't too far off.

It's the start of the growing season. As we come out of the darkness of winter, more plants are coming to life and we can look forward to more colour in our gardens and in the countryside. Soon we can start work in our gardens and allotments--some of us have started already!

Into a dark world

a snowdrop comes

a blessing

of hope and peace

carrying within it

a green heart

symbol of God's renewing love

Garden calling

The garden has been calling me for a week or two now. But I have been neglecting it and giving all the attention to the allotment. Not that this time of year and the current weather conditions are really gardening weather. But a gardener will always find something that needs to be done. Having spent most of January doing jobs around the allotment I decided that I needed to give some time to the garden. The garden does tend to take second place to the allotment, but it's good to see that it can look after itself for a lot of the time.

In the autumn I cut back some of the very messy looking dead plants and left the rest--the grasses and seed heads, to give some interest through the winter and provide homes for insects and food for the birds  I decided that now was the time to finally cut back these plants and get ready for spring. I was glad to cut the grasses down, there were bits of dried grass blowing about all over the garden. Not sure if that was the result of the winter storms or Holly the cat who likes to roll about in them. Holly supervised as I worked and was probably a bit miffed that I had destroyed her playground. The birds might feel a bit more secure now that she can't hide behind clumps of plants as she likes to do, ready to pounce.

The garden looks a bit flat now, but soon new shoots will be appearing and the empty areas of the borders will fill up. As I cut back I discovered some treasures-- snowdrops, narcissi, crocus. I also found a lovely pink hellebore flowering for the first time since I bought it from a charity plant stall two years ago. The  hamamelis, otherwise known as witch hazel is now flowering. It's yellow spidery flowers are a welcome bit of colour at this time of year.  I  potted up some tete a tete narcissi into small pots to display on the garden table.  These can  be seen from the house and look brighter every day as a few more flowers open up.

As I worked on the borders, Richard dug out some compost from the compost bins.  He managed to fill an old dustbin. My next job after I have finished clearing all the borders of debris will be to mulch the borders with compost or leaf mould, but I will need more than a dustbin full of compost for that.

Planting memories

Today I planted snowdrops in the green in my garden. The snowdrops are from my brother's garden.  My brother died 5 weeks ago and this is for me a good way to remember him, because he loved gardening and he's probably one of the people who has inspired me most in my gardening.

I love to have plants in the garden which remind me of people I have known or places  I have been to. As I planted the snowdrops I shed a few tears  for the brother that I loved. Tears, sadness, dark days are much a part of my life at the moment. But I know I will work my way through it and next year in the dark days of winter when the snowdrops are flowering they will bring me hope and peace and help me to focus more on  happy memories.

Snowdrops for candlemas

Today is Candlemas Sunday when we celebrate the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of  Mary 40 days after the birth of her son Jesus. We think of Jesus the light of the world.

There is a saying:

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright
Winter will have another fight.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter won't come again.

Today has been dry and sunny although very cold, I don't think winter has ended yet.

This time of year candles and snowdrops are quite significant for me as I think of certain family members  who have died around this time.

 Snowdrops are a symbol of hope, so although we may have more bad weather to come they are the first signs of new growth in the garden and a promise of much more good things to look forward to.

 There were snowdrops in church this morning picked from the church garden. I wish I had so many snowdrops in my garden.