The Under Gardener, Norton Priory Walled Garden.

 

IAVOM ~ Fleeting

A quick pick and plonk from me in this week's 'In A Vase On Monday'. I don't anticipate that the contents will last any great length of time in water but they were most appealing when picked. In my vase are :

• Stems of amelanchier lamarkii - if only the bronze juvenile foliage and flowers lasted longer! They are so quick to come and go.
•  A couple of snippets of what I think is some sort of euphorbia which appeared in the garden all by itself.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for encouraging us to share our vases at the start of the week.

Well here March seems to be confused as it is going out like a veritable lion. The last few days have seen the first and probably now only frost of the month whilst another day was intermittently peppered with intense hailstorms. We've also experienced extremely windy weather which has taken the edge off the temperatures. Whilst the garden has been somewhat battered by the elements fortunately the greenhouse has remained snug and warm so seedlings are germinating and growing happily. We now have that extra hour of daylight in the evening to make use of outdoors which is most exciting. Yesterday afternoon though saw me and a good friend safely installed in seats at the Liverpool Empire Theatre, listening to a talk by gardening guru Monty Don on the subject of 'Great British Gardens'. He is a most articulate, knowledgeable speaker and is also quite humorous. A most enjoyable to spend a very wet and windy afternoon. Wishing you all a good gardening week.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Lightbulb Moments

 

In A Vase On Monday ~ Spring Glimmers

 

A vase full of daffies this Monday. They include :

• Narcissus 'Jetfire' - the one with the bright orange/red trumpet.
• Narcissus 'Jenny' - bought with a niece in mind.
• Narcissus bulbocodium 'Arctic Bells' - not grown before but what a delicate lovely.
• Narcissus 'Tete-a-Tete' - with apologies for the missing circumflex accents. Too puzzling for me this morning to fathom out what to do on my Mac keyboard. This little daffodil never fails to deliver and is almost always the first to flower. I have too many pots of it though and must transplant some of them into the garden.

With thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for inviting us to share our vases each Monday - winter, spring, summer or fall.

The last few days have celebrated the arrival of the spring equinox in style. It was a week of warmer than what it should be at this time of year weather. Much has been done in far as gardening tasks are concerned. It's also been a week of firsts - first butterfly of the year, first ant, first germination of a number of seeds as well as firsts of flowers and foliage appearing. There has also been a proliferation of ladybirds. True to form yesterday's weather forecast advised that it will be all systems change from tomorrow onwards with heavy rain, strong winds and hail in the mixture. Possibly even snow! Definitely not time to put the winter woolies away just yet. Wishing you all a flower filled as possible week.

 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Spring Glimmers

 

IAVOM ~ Late Winter Gems

 

A speedy pick and plonk from me for this week's 'In A Vase On Monday'. In my vase are :

• The soft lilac flowers of cardamine quinquefolia. This is a hardy perennial which starts working it's magic in January when the foliage starts to emerge before it flowers in February through to March. Almost as quickly as it appears the foliage fades and retreats under cover by early summer. My small pot of this plant has now produced a pool of colour which combines well with snowdrops and hellebores. Here is is last year growing in the garden along with galanthus 'Blonde Inge' :

•  A couple of stems of of the dainty white flowers of oemleria cerasformis also known as the Indian plum or Oregon plum. This shrub is new to me, purchased last year and still I'm ashamed to confess in its pot awaiting a decision as to where it will be planted. I was tempted after hearing a description of it during a Zoom presentation by the Galanthus Group of the Hardy Plant Society. The speaker described it as being winter flowering and delightfully scented. I panicked somewhat after my purchase when I read another description of the scent being like cat wee but I'm pleased to report that the aroma is most pleasing to my nose.

Thanks as ever to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her steadfast hosting. Do visit her blog and see what other bloggers are sharing in their vases this Monday.

 I've been absent for a few weeks but hope to be posting more regularly. The incessant grey and wet weather affected my gardening mojo but I'm glad to say that it's back. The weather has definitely been drier and warmer of late with a couple of positively balmy sunny days thrown in recently for good measure. The first seeds have been sown and there are more to follow this week. Spring is definitely knocking!

 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Seedling

 

IAVOM ~ Stirrings

 

The garden is definitely stirring now and here in this week's Monday vase are :

• Galanthus 'Philippe André Meyer' - this has become one of my favourite snowdrops in the garden. It has a distinctictive marking, shape and clumps up very quickly.  If any of my UK snowdrop blogger friends would like a bulb just say so.
• Iris reticula 'Pauline' - I left it late to get my bulb order in this year and was sadly too late to obtain the irises on my wish list. I picked this one up from a local garden centre for no other reason that one of my first colleagues and oldest friends is a Pauline. She is growing in a pot under cover in the greenhouse. I prefer the lighter coloured irises but still she'a most attractive.
• Small cyclamen flowers - these have been in the garden for years and I imagine that they are cyclamen coum. They're planted in an old Belfast sink which was surplus to himself's workplace and was being thrown out. Alongside the cyclamens are snowdrops and ophiopogon or Mondo grass with its dark strappy grass like leaves.
• Finally a sprig of salix gracistyla 'Mount Aso', a bushy shrub bearing these lovely fuzzy pink catkins in winter.

As always thanks to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In the Garden' and who gets us together every Monday to share our floral and foliage treasures. Do visit her blog if you haven't already.

The weather continues in a damp vein although we have so far been spared the excessive rainfall that has troubled some areas of the country. The main priority in any suitable dry intervals this week is to fill the green garden waste bin up in readiness for it's first collection early next week. There's still some space and there's plenty of suitable plant debris waiting to go in to it. I'm also looking forward to getting stuck into a new book arrival. More of that and gardening related podcasts soon.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Snowdrop Days

 

IAVOM ~ Gingerly

Any January gardening as well as other activities were severely curtailed after I sustained a nasty muscular strain in the area around my shoulder blade. Not only did it cause great pain but it greatly affected quality of sleep. I spent a fortnight or so wandering around like a zombie and barely functioning. Over the last few days I'm delighted to say that matters are definitely improving. I'm still moving around somewhat gingerly as I don't want to risk any sort of relapse. In the meantime though there have been definite signs of things being on the move and the garden is very slowly edging it's way to longer and warmer days. In my vase are a couple of hamamelis or witch hazel stems. An unknown variety sold to me in 2019 as 'Foxy Lady' which it is most certainly not. The nursery concerned apologised but couldn't replace it with the desired witch hazel. However on the plus side I received a full refund and was allowed to keep the shrub. 

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for providing the platform for us to get together to share our vases each week.

My enforced idleness has had some bonuses, one of which was reading Mary Keane's 'Diary Of A Keen Gardener' which I can thoroughly recommend. It's available from various bookshops and online sources. I have also listened to gardening podcasts but more of that another time. 

I'm looking forward to doing more now including removing some of the tat from perennials when we next have a relatively mild dry day. Another task at the top of the list is to decide which tomato varieties to order. I no longer grow tomatoes from seed but order plug plants each year. My friend who puts in the order has just reminded me that we just have a few days to get the order in so I need to decide imminently. I will probably end up going for the same variety as last year but I may live dangerously. Looking forward to seeing what it's in other vases later on today and I hope that everyone is staying clear of winter viruses and muscle woes.