New paintings and regular art updates.
Deep green foliage, a gravel pathway and a bench. A calm place to rest and relax. Light streams through gaps in the planting. Bees hum and buzz. I wish I could go every day. Plants spread and cover the ground. The rhododendrons are in flower. This is the quarry at the Dorothy Clive garden in Staffordshire.
It’s growing,
a bit of water
It’s gone mad!
Pots overflow
Burgeoning leaves
With green waterfalls
Bubbling out of the soil
Brown turned green
Ferns in the wall..
Yellow Welsh poppies
And dark mauve geraniums
Fun to see it grow
But no room to walk
A path is required
But raspberries
And blueberries
Have flowers
Now I need bees!
A peaceful place.
With singing birds
Aloft in the trees.
A shape of calm
Seated meditation
Floral and fluted
Music in mind
Not reality
Four legs stand firm
Support a bent back
Weeping in memory
Of one who has gone.
Beautiful pink fingers
Reach for the sky
Magnificent Magnolia
Giving me joy
Seen on a warm day
In early May
Life changes quickly
Soon they will die
Then the leaves come
Shade the ground
Summer has arrived then.
Wait for spring
To come again.
One plant we tried to grow in the garden was Gunnera, seen here at Rode hall. It’s a large leafed plant with a spiky surface. It grows in wet conditions and the leaves can get to 2 or 3 feet across. This was by a large pond that has a waterfall at one end flowing down a stream to the lake. There are a large variety of plants at the hall but this is a favourite.
We also noticed there were rhododendrons in flower today, which means we must visit the Dorothy Clive garden to see how that is growing.
View into a courtyard
What was a conservatory
Glass gone
Now open to the sky…
What happened?
Age and decay
Piled up over time
Timber rotted
And fallen.
But space preserved
Repurposed
Made good
New life
In old building
A few photos from our garden today. It’s suddenly filled with life and colour. Big bumble bees fly around the cherry and pear blossoms. Hopefully we will get a good crop again. Old red geraniums have colonised the garden. We bought three plants from the Dorothy Clive garden a few years ago. White wild garlic flowers are opening and spreading under the trees, and Spanish bluebells from my grandma’s garden are loving the early spring shade. Birds sing, blackbirds are starting to nest and the Robin flits around looking for food. I’m happy to be out in the dappled shade next to a busy road. The shelter of the trees calms me.
These are growing at the base of an old dead tree. I have no idea what they are. There is another lot a bit closer in to the tree which may be small shaggy inkcaps
All around everything is coming to life. I will post more photos later of blossom and bluebells (sadly the Spanish type which hybridises with English ones) but we keep them as they were from my grandma’s garden. We also have patches of wild garlic coming into flower….
Now’s the time to order our hanging baskets for the year. The lady that puts them together asks me what colours I would like. Usually I don’t specify what theme I want but I’m definitely going for a rainbow theme this year. I think because there are so many different flowers and shapes and colours that would really brighten the yard. Last year was mainly red white and green so I bought in other flowers to broaden the spectrum.
Going out of the back door and seeing all this colour lifts my spirits. I usually order them and then collect them 6 to 8 weeks later. It’s a bit expensive but I have never been able to grow baskets as beautiful as hers. The summer arrives and I bring the baskets home. Then we have a riot of colour until late Autumn.
Come on rain, its been the driest February for years. The trees and bushes need a good sprinkling of rain. I can see tiny buds on our willow tree but they aren’t opening. The branches and twigs are bare. We may get some snow this week. But I didn’t know that ten centimetres of snow is equivalent to one centimetre of rain? That’s because fallen snow is mainly made up of air (think of how snow flakes are crystals that branch and leave gaps and air pockets). Let it rain, for a while, water the trees, please!
Mallaband-Brown