Flutterby Patch

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

No shortage of stone

Recently we've seen the prettiest frozen goose feathers gently drifting down from the sky which have magically transformed the garden for a few hours before melting away to leave us with unwelcome muddy puddles.

These stone steps winding their way up from the drive to our back door make a pretty picture in the snow but the white blanket hides the stone wall alongside that has been badly in need of repair for some time. My husband is impatient to get on with this job as he enjoys building walls and in this mountainous region we are never short of suitable stone.

Today he got just the right weather window and made a start.

In no time at all he'd removed the rickety old wall and had set about digging foundations for a new one. At the bottom left hand corner of the picture you can see natural rock. This will give you some idea of just how shallow our soil can be here.

Hubby does a quick survey of the work done whilst I point out the plants that are just beginning to show signs of growth (a gentle hint for him to take care where he is thrusting his spade). Daffodils, foxglove, saxifrage (we know it as London Pride), valerian, lysimachia, and some rogue ferns that pop up in any available spot. Many plants won't tolerate the north facing aspect of this little bed but needless to say I have a few planting plans for the area once work is finished!

At the bottom of the steps we look back towards the house. This single story extension was done in 1994 and has given us a very useful computer room/office and a utility room.

The new extension adjoins the kitchen which is in the main house. You can see the kitchen window with the red bird feeder hanging in front of it.

There is a long 'crazy paving' stone path down this side of the house. Made from local slate, it gets a coating of algae over the winter and is therefore very slippery when damp. My husband attacked the algae with the pressure washer last week which helped but you still have to take care when walking on the path in wet weather.

 At the end of this path you reach the terrace which overlooks the lawn. Across the lawn another path takes you to a long flight of stone steps that winds down to the bottom of the garden; but I'll leave that for another day. Meanwhile birds are merrily chirping in the trees and are obviously confident that spring is on the way. I wish it would hurry along!

Month of many weathers

In the early 1800s John Clare wrote in his Shepherd's Calendar...

March, month of many weathers wildly comes
In hail and snow and rain and threatening hums...

...and just three days into the month we have fallen victim to them all here in England's north country.

The dried yarrow and honesty on our window sill are lovely but do little to brighten the grey skied scene outside. I need colour. So muffled up in coat and wellies I take my camera into the garden to look for some. Its raining so I won't stay long.

This miniature kingdom of mosses and ferns flourishing on damp rocks gives me plenty of green. We are never short of greenery here, we have it in abundance.

I venture across the courtyard and round the corner and immediately spot some tiny daffodils huddling together beneath the shelter of the old beech hedge. Reliable forget-me-nots blanket the cold earth bellow.

One of our early rhododendrons is in full flower now. Deep pink in bud opening to a paler shade and fading to white. The leaves are leathery and will withstand all weathers but I fear the delicate blooms will suffer badly if the threatened snow arrives overnight.

This is a new arrival to our garden. I discovered it at a garden centre on a sunny afternoon last week and it immediately stole my heart. A Helleborus with the charming name  'Winter Moonbeam'. It has masses of waxy pink/white blooms that darken to deep red with age and stand erect above marbled evergreen leaves. Unlike other hellebores it prefers to bask in sunshine; I only hope it gets the chance to do so in the near future. Meanwhile I will continue to enjoy its beauty.

Until next time
Eli