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Monday January 16, 2006
I'm pleased with this as a winter view.... .... but you can see what I mean about too much lawn from this angle
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Winter scent
The signs of spring in the garden are scant, but the conservatory smells wonderful. I cut some flowering sprigs from the hamamellis this morning and also bought a Sarcococca confusa (Christmas box)at the college nursery. The combination of two is heady - almost too much. The vague plan is
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Hamamellis mollis
For Den - Hamamellis mollis in full flower. It's about 8ft high and wide, but this tree is at least 20 years old and now grows very slowly. The twigs I cut for scent are enough pruning to keep it the same size.
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Gone - and good riddance.
At some point in the less than illustrious past of this garden, a previous owner decided to put up a rough plank fence, cover it with green Netlon and then plant 20 very vigorous ivy plants along its length. Over time we'd lost about 3ft off the width
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Sunday January 08, 2006
It really was this bad. The neighbours' shed is behind here somewhere Half of it down by Saturday night Daylight... Yours truly on the newly uncovered shed. DB in a fetching hat taking a break from tip duty.
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Damp, cold and mizzly
I got as far as putting my boots on and mooching up the garden, but it was truly horrible - barely scraped above 3C with a cold fog that lingered almost all day. So I cleared the junk room instead (been meaning to do it for 2 years...) However, we
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A New Year, a new start
2006 got off to a promising start. We brought in the New Year with friends and fine champagne. Daylight delivered a blue sky, bright winter sunshine and no hangover. While DB cooked a warming veg stew I pootled about outside, making progress on some jobs, but mostly looking and thinking.
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Sunday January 01, 2006
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A Christmas Day picture
Took this picture as we left to go to DB's family for Christmas Day. It's Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis' and it will flower on and off until April. Tidied up the herb bed a bit this morning - that's all till New Year
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A rare event
Christmas Eve is usually a last minute scramble for late presents, sellotape, trifle sponges and spare tree light bulbs. But we're having lunch at DB's parents this year and the young Trillia are at their Dad's from tonight so the pressure's off.
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Celebrating the solstice in style...
The winter solstice blazed over the horizon looking remarkably like a pink cadillac, watched by us and 120 friends and colleagues at midday on the 21st December. Trillium and family were honoured to be amongst the guests at the 'wedding' of our two dear friends and neighbours at
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Record low temperature
The mercury fell to -4.4C last night - the lowest so far for 2005. Yesterday I tidied the border under the birch tree and smothered it in compost and leaf mould - but I don't think it was deep enough to keep that level of frost at