Diary Of A Wild Country Garden

You can feel the presence of a gathering storm. It hangs heavy on the air. This photo was taken while hubby and I were out walking in the countryside and it was so weird that to the left of us were clear such bright blue skies and to the right were these deep dark rolling gloomy storm clouds. It felt that it could go either way. The air became very still and the animals around went to shelter. The deer in the far distance huddled closer together. They looked agitated. No birds sang. We were out in the open in the middle of a huge field. For us too we knew, some deep instinct within that we needed to find shelter and soon. We headed off to find it. A few minutes later the wind picked up wild and blustery and trying to tear our coats off. We clung onto our hats! The air was heavy and damp as we walked quickly to find the cosy warm cafe we had passed on the way here. There was an air of anticipation, of something so much bigger than us. Upon reaching the cafe liter...

The Mysterious Owl . I love many aspects of nature and there are some creatures that although I hear them around I do not see them and cannot get close to them. One of these is the Owl.  So when I visited an event where there was an owl and Hawk display and an opportunity to hold a tame owl I jumped at the chance! I was honoured to be able to hold this beauty. I had to put on thick heavy gloves and hold my arm at right angles positioned by the handler until I got it just right. Then they transferred her over to me. She was happy to sit upon my arm and I was glad of the gloves as those claws are big and sharp! Her feathers are so rich and beautiful. She was heavy and self-assured, taking everything in. I immediately felt her presence, her confidence. The handler was telling me all kinds of facts about her but you know I seemed to phase it all out. I was so in the moment with that owl, just being there with her, feeling the power, the grace, the beauty. Her...

As it has not really been possible to do any gardening lately due to the extremely wet weather I am remembering some of the trips we took to other gardens in the  Summer and Autumn.   It  One of these visits was to a lovely stately home near us that has a wonderful walled garden vegetable and fruit plot. It  was rainy so we went into the greenhouse for a bit of warmth and dry and there it was right in front of us! It was not promoted, they didn't make a big deal of it. We would have missed it if we hadn't wanted to get out of the wind for awhile.  The gardener just said they were part of the crop and they had recently brought them in. It was an amazing pumpkin crop! I have never seen one like this in my life. What a beautiful, bright spectacle of colour and shapes greeted us! Some of the pumpkins were so small they easily fitted into the palm of my hand and some were so enormous it must have taken several people to lift them into position. ...

I have two bushes of dogwood in our garden. There are many variants of dogwood. In the summer the species I have in our garden is a large yet unremarkable plant. It does get tiny white flowers and small white berries and the leaves are quite pretty, but there are certainly more beautiful looking plants around.  So why does Dogwood deserve a place in my garden? For me with dogwood it's all about the stems. I grow red-stemmed dogwood as we love the colour red. In the late autumn when most of the leaves have fallen I cut about half of the stems. These stems are now very tall some are six feet high or more. Many are very straight, some are twisted or curved it depends how they have grown. So these stems are cut to size and in winter I use them to decorate our home. Some of the more unusual shapes and curves go into clear vases where the red stems and shapes really shine through. Others I tie up into a rustic bundle and place in a natural wicker basket by the fire. T...

I just wanted to share these springtime photographs with you.  The weather here is grey and dismal and has rained, rained, rained for days. It feels like weeks with little sunshine. The hours of daylight are increasing gradually, but it is still dark early. This photograph was taken last year and I just love the life and colours and the beauty of the flowers on a lovely warm day. I can even recall how relaxed I felt, the fresh air, the scent of all the flowers, the gentle touch of the leaves and the rippling movement of the water- safely in the lake- from a light breeze. Amazing how a photo can evoke such memories and feelings. I do like to live in the moment and appreciate all of the days whatever they bring, when they are here, as they will not come again.  There is much beauty to be found in winter too. Today though I just needed to have the experience and memory of the spring colours!  So these photos are just a wonderful memor...

I do hope your Year of 2016 has started well for you. I am looking forward to a year of more flowers and more vegetables and being outside.  At this time of year, I long for Spring and yet know that I need to appreciate January for what it is in the life cycle of nature.  The short hours of daylight always start to get to me around now. However, I  know that each day we get a little more daylight and that gives me hope. We have had so far had such a very mild winter. It has however been extremely wet and rainy and on our heavy clay soil it has been like a wet soggy swamp! My wellies easily get stuck in it and walking in the grass just makes it a mud bath!   Before all the rains came we did get quite a bit of trimming and cutting back we needed to do in the Autumn so I was pleased that is all done now. Every time I went out our resident Robin would join me and several blackbirds roamed around the grass.  Today and I suspect for days to come I am not ventu...