Flutterby Patch

Sunshine and garden days

I hope you all had an enjoyable Easter. Here in England's Lake Country I'm happy to say we were blessed with blue skies and wall to wall sunshine.The garden beckoned and was a peaceful haven to spend time unwinding and make plans for the growing season ahead.

The blooms on the large magnolia tree always look wonderful against a blue April sky.

The delicate blossom on the blackthorn hides the sharp thorns on the twigs beneath. I don't like to tangle with this bush but small birds love the protection it gives them.  

We currently have carpets of wood anemones at the edge of the garden. They are also known as windflowers and sometimes 'woodland ghosts' which I think is a wonderful name. We feel very honoured to have them as they indicate that our garden was once ancient woodland.

Another delicate little flower that we treasure is the snake's head fritillary with its chequered bell shaped blooms. We have them in purple and white. This native British wild flower was once found in abundance but due to modern farming methods it is now quite rare. It likes damp places so must feel at home in our garden!

It pleases me greatly to see my daughter enjoying gardening. She has a splendid little plot of her own in the house where she lives and her plants always look healthy and well cared for. She loves to grow things from seed so when she came to spend a few days with us over Easter she brought all her trays of seedlings with her as they wouldn't have survived 'home alone'. They spent Easter on the bench in our greenhouse.

Plant pots neatly stacked are always a tell-tale sign that my daughter has spent time here. She loves to arrange things in an orderly fashion.

Floor swept and tools in a row, she's been a 'willing little helper' since being very young.

Whilst moving some old wooden boxes she found this little creature nervously hiding out of sight.

Its a baby newt that probably over-wintered in the greenhouse. He was the length of a little finger.

My daughter hurriedly fetched her camera and managed to captured the little fellow as he uncurled and set off to look for pastures new. At this point he was given a helping hand by my husband who placed him beside our garden pond near a heap of stones where he no doubt found shelter and hopefully some friends.

Sadly today the Easter skies that were the colour of these little forget-me-nots are no longer with us. The wind is chill and there's rain in the air and so I'm back indoors finishing a project I've been working on for a few weeks. Hopefully I will have something to show you next time but meanwhile I will leave you with this picture that might give you a little clue.

!!!

Until next time,
Eli

Easter buns and bunnies

Hot cross buns for tea, what could be nicer? In England this spicy fruit bun, inscribed with a cross, has been traditionally eaten on Good Friday for centuries.

In Victorian times London street sellers hawked these buns to the cry of "Hot Cross Buns" which inspired someone to compose a nursery rhyme; you're probably familiar with it. 

Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!
One a penny two a penny - Hot cross buns
If you have no daughters, give them to your sons
One a penny two a penny - Hot cross buns

And after hot cross buns we must have Easter eggs! We need a kindly rabbit to hide some around the garden for children to find on Easter Day. But what does an Easter rabbit look like? Here in the Lake District there is a famous rabbit who is always on everyone's mind and his name is Peter.

Now what does Peter Rabbit look like? It seems he wears a blue coat and has long floppy bears and a fluffy white tail.

How about this? Would I pass for Peter Rabbit do you think? Now where shall I hide these eggs?

Until next time,

Eli

Sunshine and smiles

Just two days into April and the sky in north west England has changed from dismal grey to deepest blue so I'm taking my camera on a little wander round our garden. I hope you'll join me.

The pink Camellia blooms are bursting from their buds in rapid succession and are certainly enjoying the warmth of the sun on their faces.

The early flowering heathers have been blooming since January and are always welcome providers of colour during the long dark months of winter.

I love this combination of light mauve and purple produced by two different heathers that have lovingly intertwined over the years.

Primroses grow everywhere in the garden. They thrive in damp places so are spoilt for choice in our wet climate. They love to nestle at the base of stone walls or on mossy banks.

Daffodils are the main players at this time of year and their delicate perfume fills the air on sunny day like this. Clusters of them emerge from the borders and lawns every year without fail. Unfortunately, in their enthusiasm to grow there are often a number of casualties that have been knocked over by wind and rain. So every year I pick the damaged blooms and take them indoors. I have already picked a number by the time I reach this spot.

An avenue of daffs guides us down a long path to the far corner of the garden where we have an area for making and storing compost and a place for a (large) bonfire.

And here we are at that far corner of the garden. The compost area is on the right and the bonfire area just behind me.

Back to the house now to give the damaged daffs I have picked a refreshing drink of cool water. Remember the wall my husband was repairing a few weeks ago? He finished it in record time and the steps are now swept clean and all is tidy again. A splendid job!

And here is a vase of orphaned daffs, I've placed it on the old dresser in the dining room. I love the combination of yellow blooms and blue and white china.

After all the daffs have been put in vases its time to take a quick trip to the local supermarket and I thought you'd like to join me. Past the lake we go with wonderful views over the distant Lake District mountains. Just look at that fresh green hue on the trees, it really lifts the spirits.

And after a short car journey we arrive at the supermarket where I do my weekly shop. Booths is a family firm with a number of stores in north west England. It is of course in direct competition with the big multiples that dominate the British market but despite this is doing rather well; and long may it do so. The supermarket building was once a Victorian station and engine sheds. The buildings were converted in the early 1980s to create a large modern food hall. The current station is now to the left of the car park behind a tall fence....

....and we can see a train just arriving.

I get a few strange looks as I climb on the wall and lean over the fence to get a better picture of this very smart locomotive. Only three carriages but it is sufficient for the area. Most people travel by car these days but the train is well used by the many overseas visitors that come here and of course local people can be whisked away to Manchester and London and all the places in between.

Here we are at the store. I'll leave you outside admiring the pots of brightly coloured polyanthus that are on sale whilst I go inside to pick up a few essentials. 

What a sunny sight we see on the homeward journey; a large patch of celandines growing in our lane beneath the hedge. Like us they are pleased to greet the sun.

There are hundreds of them looking just like little yellow stars in a glossy green sky.

Back home to unpack the groceries and we'll enjoy a welcome mug of tea whilst seeking more information about celandines. This book never lets me down. Its the 'Reader's Digest Field Guide to Wild Flowers' and has hundreds of gorgeous illustrations of British wild flowers with loads of added information. The little yellow flower we saw in the lane is the lesser celandine (ranunculus ficaria). It flowers from February until May, opening fully in the sun and closing when the weather is dull.

The book tells us that Lake District poet William Wordsworth loved the celandine so much that he was moved to write no fewer than three poems about it. In fact his sister Dorothy wrote in her journal (April 1802) that she had to walk endlessly backwards and forwards with William whilst he repeated the first celandine poem to her and he wouldn't give up until it was finished, by which time it was 5 o'clock. She goes on to say that after he'd finished he had to retire with a bad headache... Hardly surprising!!

Here is the first verse from:

The Small Celandine by William Wordsworth

There is a flower, the Lesser Celandine,
That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain;
And, at the first moment that the sun may shine,
Bright as the sun itself, 'tis out again!

 Until next time
Eli