The Good Life

 An old couple drove down Memory Lane today and stopped for a chat.  They were brother and sister and their grandmother used to live next door.  They hadn't seen the place for 72 years! They recalled eating delicious Victoria Plums from my garden. There was a battered Victoria Plum tree when we moved in.  It was in such a sorry state a Blue-tit was able to nest inside its trunk.  The few plums produced were tasty though.  A Derry Plum tree still dominates the garden and provides more than enough fruit each year for us, the neighbours and the wasps. 

We had two Derry Plum trees when we first moved in.  There was a Pear tree; four Apple trees; Rhubarb; Gooseberry bushes and blackberries. Foolishly we never made use of the fruit.  Once we sold part of the garden we were left with the large Plum tree and two Apple trees.  We cut the maurading blackberries back but didn't succeed in killing them completely.

This week I have been working at replacing the fruit.  I cleared space at the back of the garden and planted two Black-currant bushes; gooseberry bushes and two Raspberry canes.  Last year I grew some Rhubarb from seed and now I have eight small but healthy plants and the Strawberry plants are multiplying nicely.  Oh, I also planted two cherry trees to go with the Pear tree I put in a couple of years ago.  The fruit will be appreciated this time round.  Last Autumn we discovered the pleasure of home-made Apple and Blackberry jam on warm toast for breakfast.

The spring flowers are competing for attention and it is difficult to decide which I prefer.

Forced to make a choice I would opt for the Tulips .... but the narcissistic Daffodils are beautiful too.  Daffodil is an old English name for them.  Originally they were known as 'Affodell' - it is thought the 'D' was added because they came from Holland and in translation to Dutch 'the affodell' would have been 'de affodil'.  In other parts of the world it is called a Narcissus and thought to be named after the young man from Ancient Greece who drowned because he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water.  The Narcissus plant sprang up where he died.

A friend has asked me to share an allotment. I jumped at the idea. The weather was terrible today so I have had some time to read up on how to rota crops; what to plant when; how big to make the beds .... I am really excited!!  It will be lots of work at first but I can't wait.  I now have trays of carrots and cauliflowers in the greenhouse!  

"I am just going out now and I may be some time.”



Kerria japonica 'Pleniflora' (also called

 Bachelor's buttons and Japanese rose).



Last night was cold ... obviously Captain Oates would disagree with that statement but for my part of the world it was a cold night.  Despite the frost my Kerria Japonica produced its first bloom.  I have roses flowering and a lupin in bloom.  I expected the snowdrops to flower and the Hellebores but there seems to be a lot more activity than usual at this time of year.  It is lovely to see it but it is also rather worrying - this is climate change happening in my garden.

Even more worrying is the fact that the birds are joining in.  Last week a Great Tit was definitely checking out the nest box and I was amused to see a beautiful male Pheasant puffing up his plummage to impress a female who was totally ignoring him.  The frost has thankfully cooled their ardour. 

bear's-paw hellebore



Back in 1736 Robert Marsham of Norfolk began
recording the dates for natural events that he felt indicated the beginning of Spring. He corresponded with Gilbert White who was keeping similar records in Hampshire. This was the beginning of Phenology.  By examining this wealth of data modern Phenologists can tell us that Spring is beginning noticably earlier.  According to the Woodland Trust Nature's Calander Survey recent records kept by Dr Anne Phillips reveal that Blackbirds are nesting approximately 14 days earlier and trees are leafing 12 days earlier.  Whilst we are all happy to see the back of Winter these early indicators of Spring are a wake up call to us all. 



Pyracantha



Places we hope to visit over the next few months:

• Hodsock Priory to see the snowdrops
• Gilbert White's House and Gardens to see the estate but also to visit the Antartic exhibition dedicated to Captain Oates (it was 100 years ago yesterday that Scott and his team reached the pole)
• The Festival of Birds at Slimbridge Gloucestershire on 4th - 5th February. 

20th January 2012

PS:  Bryony Balen, a 21 year old student, became the youngest person to ski to the South Pole.  Brilliant achievement!  When Scott got there he said, "Great God!  This is an awful place."  He was facing the disappointing fact that Amundsen had beaten him there but also the knowledge that they had to trek all the way back.  Bryony got on a plane to return to Base Camp.