Dandelions

At Spofforth today I was enchanted by the orchard, dreamy drifts of dandelion down intermingled with buttercups, showing us all that most of the time nature cannot be improved upon. I think it offends Brian's tidy mind and he wishes to strim it all away, but Diana and I approve of the wild flowers and would settle for paths mown to the apple trees. There will be orchids in there  too if only I had had the time to stop and search for them, but bean poles had to be erected before the rain arrived so I will have to wait until next week and hope that they are still there....

"I was a dandelion puff...... Some saw the beauty in me and stopped quietly to admire my innocence"
Nicole- Bailey Williams

The Garden Party

It was a special day at Norton Conyers on Saturday as we were having a party. Thank goodness that the storm of the previous day had vanished leaving clear blue skies and warm sunshine. It was almost as if the garden itself could sense it was taking centre stage again as suddenly after weeks of drabness it glowed with vigour and late spring colour. We cleared out the orangery in preparation and filled every vase with fresh flowers, Giles showing a certain flair for arrangement along with Alyson where as I stuck to posies of lily of the valley having the artistic skill of a gnat! At lunchtime the friends of Norton Conyers gathered to tuck into a lovely luncheon prepared with produce from the garden, sitting and chatting in the vinery whilst admiring the view. Sir James then made a speech declaring that May was a very special month for beginnings given that four of us, Celia, Halina, Nikki and myself all celebrated birthdays in it and that eighteen years ago Giles had first started work there also. Cake and champagne then followed leaving it somewhat difficult to sum up the energy to go back to work! We did however manage to plant the chrysanthemums!
"Spring is natures way of saying "Lets party"!"
Robin Williams

Salvias

Salvia Amistad

We planted the salvias in the south border yesterday, that means that at last all risk of frost is passed and summer is truly on its way. I'm fairly ambivalent about salvias or sages but maybe my mind is slowly being swayed by one or two that really shine. In particular I'm falling for Salvia Amistad with its intensely violet flowers, they stand out so beautifully on a dull day almost glowing and Royal Bumble with its crimson audacity also puts on a good show. However I do have a bugbear with this plant as I cant stand the smell, there's a mustiness to it that irritates my nose and if you handle one or brush past one the aroma surrounds you, oh well I suppose that may grow on me eventually too.

"For man as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive"
D H Lawrence

Salvia Royal Bumble

A Busy Week

Time for a catch up in what has been a very busy week. I managed a full days work with Mark and Lisa on Tuesday visiting three different gardens over the course of it, and I'm pleased to say I suffered no aches and pains this time. Wednesday I was rained off sadly but it was a good thing as it allowed time to catch up with homework and housework. Thursday saw me at my new garden 'Osborne Gardens' where I'm starting to make headway on the weeds and have planted some cheerful annuals to fill the gaps before making any decisions on more permanent planting. Jill the owner has already recommended me to a friend who I shall visit next Wednesday to see what needs to be done there, so it looks like my weeks will becoming even busier soon. Friday I took a spa day! Yesterday was a mixed bag at Norton Conyers, as soon as we arrived the heavens opened and stayed open, so we huddled in the orangery making labels for all the fruit trees recently planted. Using old lead and a punching set the results are somewhat rustic but should last at least a hundred years.

When the weather finally cleared we placed out the salvias along the south border trying to envisage how each would look with the existing plants, settling them in will be our main task on Monday. All in all a fun packed week!

"No matter how busy you think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance"
Confucius

This weeks flower arrangement is a rather loose and wild affair with Solomons seal and Lamiun

Quickie!

Never mind the flowers I'm much more beautiful!

No time for a long post today as I'm off for a full days gardening with Mark and Lisa. Mowing and hoeing at Norton all day again yesterday but at least the apple blossom is out at last, I just forgot to take my camera which isn't like me, so I'll update you at the weekend!

"how quick and rushing life can sometimes seem, when at the same time it's so slow and sweet and everlasting"
Graham Swift Tomorrow

War On Weeds

The bluebell wood is looking magnificent

That cruel wind was back again yesterday after our respite earlier in the week, even within the walled garden at Norton Conyers it shrieks in over the walls and whips around the corners making for unpleasant gardening. Mother Nature is in full throttle now as chosen plants struggle to outgrow the ever advancing weeds, so we weeded and weeded all day long starting with the dahlia pots in the shelter of the glasshouse, that kept us out of the elements until break time. Pausing in our weeding only to put up the rustic bean supports we moved onto the cold frames and continued on by separating the tiny vegetable seedlings from the chickweed. After lunch we attacked the more pernicious varieties in the apple tree border where we continued to do battle on hands and knees with bind weed and goose grass until it was time for home, at least down there in the undergrowth the stiff breeze seemed a little less penetrating.

"It is impossible to win the race unless you venture to run, impossible to win the victory unless you dare to battle"
Richard M. Devos

This weeks posy

Grass Gripes

A strangely satisfying job!

I've been busy this week hence the lack of posting activity, it's got to that time of year when actions must come first and words follow on if there is time. Firstly, on Monday I took the day off to concentrate on my own humble plot with lots of pricking out and potting on and planting out. Nothing too tender in case we get a late frost but the garden should be a wash of colour later on, you will have to wait a while longer for pictures though in case everything gets eaten by slugs, luckily the hedgehogs are about again helping with that battle if they are not put off by Chum picking them up in his mouth! I have also taken on a new garden local to where I live, just a small domestic plot that hasn't seen a lot of attention recently, Thursday afternoon was to be my first visit but the weather forecast was a bit grim so I left college early to try and beat the rain. I did mostly, but spent the last hour doing battle with a nasty patch of couch grass in the front garden whilst trying to shrug off the downpour. I feel it may be a while before I can improve the look of things here as the soil is uncultivated and impoverished, but think I will try herbs and colourful annuals to help it along at first, there's nothing like a challenge!

"Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory"
General G S Patton

My tulips were looking good at the beginning of the week but have been blown to bits now, a pity their beauty is all too fleeting

The Old Forcing House

Plants for sale, come and buy!

Another full day awaited us at Norton Conyers yesterday, Giles had brought the sale plants for us to label and put out as Monday is the first official opening day of the year. Of course the garden is always open on Mondays and Saturdays if we are there so why not come along? We have an excellent choice of unusual hardy perennials for sale that you wont find in your run of the mill garden centre and you can see them growing in situ too. Next we tidied out the old forcing house and although the heating pipes are long gone we think we shall try to use it again next year, probably starting with rhubarb and chicory. It adds another dimension to the garden if people can see and imagine how things used to be done. After lunch we hoed the lavender walk to a fine tilth before re-planting with new specimens, sadly many of the mature plants didn't make it through the winter so we had no choice but to start again from scratch, that's gardening for you! Shandy meanwhile occupied herself by digging under the old trough outside the garden gate for the entire day, she was convinced something was hiding beneath, if only she could dig like that on command think what an asset she would be!

The old Forcing House 

" A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions"
Oliver Wendell Holmes

This weeks bouquet

Digging

Fritillaria meleagris in bloom in Diana's garden yesterday.

A beautiful sunny morning boosted my enthusiasm for college today, only being marred by the dreaded alpine plant ident , they have such convoluted names! I think I managed to wring every wretched one from my brain despite having a three week interval since learning them properly, some knowledge seems to be sinking in thank goodness! We already knew about and were secretly dreading the practical session on double digging which followed, but I have to say it turned out to be quite a good laugh. We all got stuck in after a very informative and energetic demonstration from Elizabeth and for once you could tell that our class had achieved something at Harlow Carr, as we left the teaching garden looking much better than when we started. So in honour of that we took a class photo for posterity!

"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves"
Gandhi