New paintings and regular art updates.
One plant is doing really, the other is partly dying off. I wonder if its too shaded out. I’m going to move it into a brighter place.
Anyway one of them is covered with blueberries which are starting to ripen, the other has a few flowers on it. I might also clear the slate off the top of the pots to allow the compost to breathe a bit more.
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This is an image from Rode Hall that I photographed a couple of weeks ago. As you can see the rhododendrons are in full bloom. These showy shrubs originally come from the far east, China I think? They are grown for their flowers which can come in a variety of colours.
They do spread though and can shade out native plants which is why they are sometimes drastically cut back in wooded areas, allowing light to penetrate the canopy of leaves.
I must visit the Dorothy Clive garden soon. They have a large and mixed collection in their quarry garden. They are in the countryside west of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
I realise why poppies don’t flower in our garden. It’s too shady. I’ve been out and looking at people’s gardens and the ones in full sun are resplendent with poppies, ours are short weedy things. I’m going to have to have some of the overgrowth cut back a bit. I do not want to make it tidy or remove stuff for the birds but I’m growing a wood or forest in the garden. Bearing in mind it’s the area where two terraced houses were and their yards we have three cherry trees two apple trees, a walnut, two or three Ash trees, two baby oak trees, a sycamore, an acer, a mountain Ash tree, a pear tree, a eucalyptus, a willow tree, a laurel Bush a couple of Holly bushes and elderberry that are taking on tree like proportions. The walnut is raided by a squirrel which plants them so we have baby walnuts growing. Plus there is a lot if ground cover ivy and geraniums. It’s a jungle out there. I feel very lucky to have the land but I think I will contact our local wildlife Trust to see if they can help.
Let your face shine in the sun,
Turning to catch all the rays,
Like a radio telescope tracking the stars.
Your flower, crackling with energy.
How beautiful and regal you are.
Brimming with sunlight,
Gleaming with golden hues.
Sunflower, King of flowers.
Gem of plants,
Strong, bold, liquid gold.
Just a little painting of a green man with morning glory flowers. I thought it would be nice to add some bright colour to this. I chose morning glory because its a climbing plant that scrambles up and opens it’s flowers for a day. The flowers then wither to be replaced by new ones the next day.
Rain, it makes buds swell and leaves unfurl in the spring. We had to wait for it to rain this year. The trees took a while to come into leaf, and although most of the trees in the garden are covered some are just coming out.
I don’t know what to do though, we have a lot of trees in the garden. If you Google map us you can’t see the ground. It does make for a lot of shade! 
But that doesn’t mean you can’t grow interesting plants. The ones in the foreground are wild garlic. We also have some new Zealand plants from a plant fair, and tomorrow we should be getting a few Woad plants!
The only unshaded part is South at the back of the garden. Apart from a massive laurel Bush that has turned into a bit of a thug of a tree. Sadly it needs cutting back. I’ve got someone coming to do it just not sure when. What I don’t want to do is disturb any nesting birds.
I will take some photos when it’s tidy? Which might be by autumn!
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Rode Hall is a beautiful place and the gardens are blooming with bluebells. The last day of the bluebell walks is today. 8th May 2019.
There are other plants on display including rhododendron, campion, tulips, and even some narcissi that are still flowering.
The hall is open on Wednesdays and Weekends. They have a farmers market which I think is on the first Saturday of the month? They have a good tea room that offers hot food, cake and drinks. They are having a plant collectors fair on 27th May. (Bank Holiday).
Rode hall is off the A34 North of Stoke-on-Trent at Rode Heath. It is along a road on the left hand side and is signposted.
A rosy dawn this morning foretold rough weather later. We have had cold strong winds and hail showers! I feel sorry for the baby tomato and other plants we have outside. They should be hardened off by now but cold weather keeps coming back. We have also not had much rain over the last month. When we do get it we have heavy showers. Cloud bursts and bolts of lightning. Pink dawns ar harbingers of rough weather.
May blossom? It erupts in spring, flowering in masses of tiny flowers. The proverb doesn’t mean that you have to wait till the end of May to wear less clothes but just until the May (hawthorn blossoms) are out.
I’m a bit disappointed with my phones camera. Although this image of an oak green man came out OK three other photos of similar green men didn’t register. I think it’s because I have too many photos saved and as most of them are MB not KB they are too large as files so they take up too much space.
This oak man was for sale at the Dorothy Clive garden near Woore, Staffordshire. It was rammed with people, there was a great plant sale on, but it was crowded with hundreds of people. We struggled to get a seat and had a quick lunch. I usually go there to see the rhododendrons in flower but it’s a couple of weeks before they will be out in the quarry garden. In the meantime they had a massive plant sale with stalls so we came home with about 15 varied and interesting plants. Glad to be home to get a rest.
Mallaband-Brown