Hello.

I thought I'd post a few photographs of my garden. In this strange new world we are living in, it is comforting to notice the unfolding of spring and realise that in nature and in our gardens things are continuing much as normal. Shortly after taking these photos I saw the first butterfly of the year, a yellow Brimstone - always the first one of the year round here, the natural cycles continue.

There are masses of celandines in this shady border. Although they are considered a rather invasive weed I appreciate the show of colour carpeting the ground and in a few short weeks the leaves will have died down and the area will be full of lily of the valley. I also think they might be a good way of smothering early weeds but that might be wishful thinking!

I haven't posted for months but hope to show up a bit more frequently in the coming weeks, connection online is going to become more important to us as we are inevitably isolated from family and friends and missing our social activities.

Edinburgh and the Titan Arum

I spent a few days in Edinburgh at the beginning of August staying with our youngest son. These are some photographs of the city taken from Calton Hill. On a clear day there are good views of the city and surroundings.

Below, looking North over the Firth of Forth

looking towards Leith

and a view of Arthurs Seat and the Crags.

While I was in Edinburgh, one of the world's biggest flowers was blooming in the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The Titan Arum, Amorphphallus titanum, first bloomed in the glasshouses in June 2015 and for the second time on the 1st August this year. It is also one of the smelliest flowers emitting the odour of rotting flesh to attract pollinators. Luckily for me, the smell is only present during the first day or so and when I saw it on August 4th there was no longer any smell.

A hole was cut in the base of the flower to allow it to be hand pollinated, hopefully some seeds will be produced.

While I was there the height of the flower was measured, the photograph gives some idea of the size.

              
An information board shows the rate of growth of the first bloom in 2015.

It was raining when I visited the botanic gardens this time so no photographs outside but the glasshouses proved to be a perfect place to spend a wet afternoon.

Englefield gardens

I have been visiting the gardens at Englefield for almost thirty years. They are open on Mondays throughout the year but I usually make my first visit of the year in March or April to see the magnolias. This year I thought I might have missed them but the cold spring has delayed them and many were still looking stunning in May.

The garden has many azaleas and rhododendrons which are also a little later this year. This purple one stood out agains the bright green ferns along the stream.

The fragrant yellow azaleas were just coming into flower.

Away from the formal terraces there are many mature trees.

This more natural part of the garden is my favourite.

There is something reassuring about visiting a place that has changed little over the past few years. High streets and shopping centres have altered beyond recognition, new roads and housing estates (so much building) but through all that these gardens have stayed much the same. There are a few additions, a small area for children, a little stone bench has been placed under the weeping tree that my boys used to hide in, but overall it feels the same.

The gunnera patch is sprouting

and the deer are in the parkland.

A peaceful oasis in a changing world.

spring in the garden

Everywhere around the village is turning yellow with daffodils. I have a few but I'm not very keen on yellow flowers so for the most part my spring garden is blue, white and pink.

Chionodoxa

and Hyacinths.

All of the hyacinths had their first year in pots in the house before being planted out in the garden. After a few years the flowerheads are smaller and sometimes the plants disappear completely but each year a few more make it into the garden to contribute to the spring display.

Lastly, a summer clematis, almost in flower. I know I should be cutting this back. Monty Don definitely mentioned cutting back hard even though this year there would be flowers already - it seems a shame and I haven't got round to it yet!

In the garden

One good thing about working in the garden in December is that as things grow very slowly, once a job is done,it stays done for a few months. This weeks job was to trim the ivy which was trying to enter the window

back to neater finish away from the sill. Pulling ivy off brickwork is not easy (and ruins your nails!) so its nice to think that I won't have to do it again until spring. This time I noticed that the variegated ivy seems to be reverting to the plain green type which is a shame. I chose the variegated to add some light to a dull spot and also the green version grows more vigorously and so I will have to cut it back more often. Perhaps I will dig it up in the spring and replace it with variegated Euonymus, the golden one on the right of the window seems to be doing well.

Noticing a few more details in the garden, early daffodil shoots emerging and a few celandine leaves

and here, lots of tiny cyclamen seedlings. I am wondering whether I can move these to another part of the garden without damaging them. They look very fragile but they will need more space if they are to survive.

The sweet box is covered with shiny black berries and the new flower buds are visible. No scent yet but soon once the flowers open.

One flower blooming now, Iris unguicularis, 

is very reliable, flowering during the winter yet always seems unexpected, as if a summer bloom turned up in the middle of winter. Always a welcome sight.

in the garden

The days continue warm and sunny. If I am at home, I take my lunch out into the garden to enjoy the last of the summer.

The potted Christmas tree has survived another summer so will be brought inside again this year. it will be its fifth Christmas!

The grapevine leaves are turning,

and there are plenty of grapes. The grapes are small and sweet but full of pips and I am the only one in the family that eats them. I'm sure that those dark blue/purple skins are full of antioxidants! A healthy "zero food miles" addition to my lunch.

late summer at West Green House

I have heard that autumn is two to three weeks early this year with tree fruit ripening ahead of schedule and leaves turning. Here though, we are enjoying an "indian summer", cool in the morning but hot and sunny during the day.

Here are a few photographs of the gardens at West Green House. The garden closes in a few weeks so this was probably my last visit of this year - taking time to enjoy the late summer flowers and the peace of the lake and grounds.