tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86070705118078681772024-03-05T13:08:29.405+00:00The Gardening ShoeSarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-44291727173647744882024-01-19T10:34:00.000+00:002024-01-19T10:34:11.062+00:00<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> I have moved... </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaOyCocX8YB8JmnohbGhHzimoE099RHcVcfquuX7N0C893fdHZ2NQGPiyJsezcYQXDpCzuS4waajLTIkz0-jYGIPM_KpkrEx0qzD0j8a-MC6P33y64jH1S3wm033DVNls986wit7LBs1K1iou2nqZySOwe4HiCKj2ouY0NVjmDpRvXJGPLchDv8MgICA/s3648/CIMG2048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaOyCocX8YB8JmnohbGhHzimoE099RHcVcfquuX7N0C893fdHZ2NQGPiyJsezcYQXDpCzuS4waajLTIkz0-jYGIPM_KpkrEx0qzD0j8a-MC6P33y64jH1S3wm033DVNls986wit7LBs1K1iou2nqZySOwe4HiCKj2ouY0NVjmDpRvXJGPLchDv8MgICA/s320/CIMG2048.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You can now find me at </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://substack.com/@sarahshoesmith?utm_source=profile-page" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;" target="_blank">https://substack.com/@sarahshoesmith?utm_source=profile-page</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I would love to see you there!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-59235791294797388092018-05-25T16:32:00.000+01:002018-05-25T16:32:52.663+01:00Is Chelsea a Flower Show?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I may be about to commit</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> horticultural heresy. The exhibitors at Chelsea Flower Show have wowed us with blooms grown to perfection and colour combinations to die for. We have fallen in love all over again with lupins, and drooled over myriad pinks, roses and delphiniums, but for me, once I have had my fill of beautiful flowers, the little bit of Chelsea I take home and try to apply to my own patch involves the quiet, unsung hero of flower shows: foliage.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8zsh6sCIfLMajWxk9I2CG2AbI_JkqJunH5e8Qdv1WRHZzraPoE1lnAiehcngrlhFPkMPRdD1UW-OccRz0DnTbp5UZAOhwUjeWRLHcYvYKE1k6IT4Ld1fpf5q5nz4lt2tKL3SclOZJD4/s1600/fullsizeoutput_962.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1600" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8zsh6sCIfLMajWxk9I2CG2AbI_JkqJunH5e8Qdv1WRHZzraPoE1lnAiehcngrlhFPkMPRdD1UW-OccRz0DnTbp5UZAOhwUjeWRLHcYvYKE1k6IT4Ld1fpf5q5nz4lt2tKL3SclOZJD4/s320/fullsizeoutput_962.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Flowers in Janine Crimmins' Very English Garden</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Yes, I know the clue is in the name. It’s not called Chelsea Flower Show for nothing, but I wish that it could be the Chelsea Plant Show because the use of foliage is top-class. I also think that the exquisite hard landscaping should get a shout-out, as </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">alluded to in Andrew O’Brien's excellent <i>Gardens, Weeds and Words*</i>,</span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> but the Chelsea Plant and Hard Landscaping Show hardly rolls off the tongue.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG-k22_5v_QZ_DDWItIhz0dz37GQO4EnJWbeXxgI6gHpJLebHGRY92MDp-PfKWTlgjQWWd3dufrCaNk09qiZ9d3Snbl2A3q5QUPIOGH2qv4OPAs_24jk4r0N2SOTMtnlSRb923nHZNgE/s1600/fullsizeoutput_965.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1600" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG-k22_5v_QZ_DDWItIhz0dz37GQO4EnJWbeXxgI6gHpJLebHGRY92MDp-PfKWTlgjQWWd3dufrCaNk09qiZ9d3Snbl2A3q5QUPIOGH2qv4OPAs_24jk4r0N2SOTMtnlSRb923nHZNgE/s320/fullsizeoutput_965.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Beardshaw's garden for NSPCC<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first-rate use of foliage in </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">Tom Stuart-Smith's </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">celebration of 60 </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">years of The Weston Garden and Robert Barker’s Skin Deep Garden will live long in my</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> memories of Chelsea 2018. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Good foliage, well combined, is a feast for the eyes (and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">admittedly, caterpillars, rabbits, and deer, but let us not forget that flowers have their troubles too). Of course, </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">everything is as perfect as it can be at a show. I have yet to see a hungry bunny or a ravenous deer at Chelsea, let alone a gluttonous sawfly.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BQy7U32UEgAeoEJ9Qb9cZnIARJiNTPLU7N9FWslLCk2kqlaxnaso8x6Srz_tNER_s6a_xGEdgzk882YA1S1kKvac22eClLIYt5BnAi_jhomP_nO4I-b2lPirpeHfTvbGYGkYC-AOHSM/s1600/fullsizeoutput_954.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BQy7U32UEgAeoEJ9Qb9cZnIARJiNTPLU7N9FWslLCk2kqlaxnaso8x6Srz_tNER_s6a_xGEdgzk882YA1S1kKvac22eClLIYt5BnAi_jhomP_nO4I-b2lPirpeHfTvbGYGkYC-AOHSM/s320/fullsizeoutput_954.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tom Stuart-Smith's Weston Garden</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Leaves are workhorses. They are photosynthesis powerhouses that retire from their working lives by falling from the plant and removing waste, before rotting down to produce precious leafmould. In short, they are excretophores, which doesn't sound terribly glamorous, but leaves are </span></span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">capable</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"> of </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">doing</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"> it with such panache. After all, people travel miles to admire pre-waste-</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">disposal </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">autumn</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">leaf</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> colour. </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwRFbuXnbbsb-K2roejiG8UcGkqmWnlxY4KSeTOrfXdDjpYnIrzvvmkQD_jzF12MwuhYpj1MRMpnRsMo2Lw6ZLJpCqPEZtSIW-_QndLvviFabFcEg510CxiJV037rVVZh0TBf9nbtOrY/s1600/fullsizeoutput_94c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwRFbuXnbbsb-K2roejiG8UcGkqmWnlxY4KSeTOrfXdDjpYnIrzvvmkQD_jzF12MwuhYpj1MRMpnRsMo2Lw6ZLJpCqPEZtSIW-_QndLvviFabFcEg510CxiJV037rVVZh0TBf9nbtOrY/s320/fullsizeoutput_94c.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robert Barker's Skin Deep Garden</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Long after we’ve finished swooning over fleeting peonies, foliage will still be quietly doing its job and earning its keep in our borders. Thoughtful foliage planting can create a beautiful textural tapestry. Combine it with striking bark, and you have the recipe for a heavenly display that will continue long after the flowers have finished showing off.</span></div>
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPCC1jXa3LK3EUaaqGkGwVoP8nFc8lP3HwO85TDwFvjd8Saf9d5jh1xM0hSMWhRJeoVY_YLOweTaG88OyX9YbMG1fgXY5Dmzepy4q41S3vn8KfSvu7G1YFxQ5zJHA3vpxH30YgrqLmDE/s1600/fullsizeoutput_94d.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPCC1jXa3LK3EUaaqGkGwVoP8nFc8lP3HwO85TDwFvjd8Saf9d5jh1xM0hSMWhRJeoVY_YLOweTaG88OyX9YbMG1fgXY5Dmzepy4q41S3vn8KfSvu7G1YFxQ5zJHA3vpxH30YgrqLmDE/s320/fullsizeoutput_94d.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert Barker<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It might seem strange for someone besotted with wildlife to focus on foliage at a flower show instead of pollinator-friendly blooms, but where would the flowers be without leaves? Beautifully mingling foliage combinations linger longer than purely floral planting. Leaves help to </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">rest the eye and make an excellent foil for showier plants, all while providing valuable ground cover for wildlife</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> and helping to suppress weeds.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI86vMQg9PVtO3AdOGRq31LKo64pS-5UPxYyXwj6KHJUGXcXAWWfqZ933flfAqeIMY8CJpEnaHJL3A6S5vRZSyAStK-aWj9l3bE_h4BSK9S27ilh_MsZzkWUZhG96_pt6yPIRkfmkdBs/s1600/fullsizeoutput_953.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI86vMQg9PVtO3AdOGRq31LKo64pS-5UPxYyXwj6KHJUGXcXAWWfqZ933flfAqeIMY8CJpEnaHJL3A6S5vRZSyAStK-aWj9l3bE_h4BSK9S27ilh_MsZzkWUZhG96_pt6yPIRkfmkdBs/s320/fullsizeoutput_953.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tom Stuart-Smith</span><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Designing with foliage is not just for the ornamental garden. Creative planting may be used in the vegetable patch to great effect. Just think of the combination of corn, beans and squash in Three Sisters planting, or take a look at Mark Gregory's Welcome to Yorkshire garden at Chelsea. Why shouldn’t vegetables feed the eye as well as the belly? </span></span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Xf_GDS9ZIohZlbVXbVVcON2cvpX-OQvZFVqoTWFYMyAfrM0f5EWGGVAoIse2e_DyrNb3RyQfkorlvZ5hMXJXWP_ES1dsCXnGJNsFigoKm9_pjRQp9iWajymDcMxkO3NHeOIddCDklTo/s1600/fullsizeoutput_964.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Xf_GDS9ZIohZlbVXbVVcON2cvpX-OQvZFVqoTWFYMyAfrM0f5EWGGVAoIse2e_DyrNb3RyQfkorlvZ5hMXJXWP_ES1dsCXnGJNsFigoKm9_pjRQp9iWajymDcMxkO3NHeOIddCDklTo/s320/fullsizeoutput_964.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The Chelsea Flower Show is a place for perfection and dreams. While those at the Saturday sell-off may find themselves sharing a tube carriage with ramrod straight delphiniums, the rest of us leave with more portable souvenirs. In my case, it is a camera filled with inspiring foliage combinations. While foliage </span></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">might<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> not steal the show, its impact is huge. Chelsea is so much more than just a flower show.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">*</span></span></span><a href="http://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/gwwblog/rhs-chelsea-flower-show-2018-1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/gwwblog/rhs-chelsea-flower-show-2018-1</a></div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com108tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-81090185935158112842018-05-23T09:09:00.000+01:002018-05-23T09:09:08.293+01:00Something Old and Something New for Bees<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been a busy old blogger, and I'm feeling terribly ashamed that my blog has been forced to take a back seat while I run around willy-nilly, doing other stuff. I have missed being part of this wonderful community and I'm very happy to be back. There will be a longer, more photo-packed post later in the week, but in the meantime, if you would be kind enough to click on the link, you will find a piece about wonderful pollinator-friendly flowers at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018. I hope you enjoy it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.hardy-plant.org.uk/blog/shoe-0518"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.hardy-plant.org.uk/blog/shoe-0518</span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EbnJt8cozyCqcCYQ5LbPA44hQreAxR0E8K7CkQz8jgtVtIZq-5u5b5ckilsaV3zAr5repBJL7PYgA3g4YJ_iacqngmJGpEu-2nUo1sCTtENCHDMrFWK0vzWlI-ymdJZqHyKNEPbRpqk/s1600/fullsizeoutput_93f.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EbnJt8cozyCqcCYQ5LbPA44hQreAxR0E8K7CkQz8jgtVtIZq-5u5b5ckilsaV3zAr5repBJL7PYgA3g4YJ_iacqngmJGpEu-2nUo1sCTtENCHDMrFWK0vzWlI-ymdJZqHyKNEPbRpqk/s320/fullsizeoutput_93f.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-69237900002243067682018-03-02T17:43:00.000+00:002018-03-02T17:43:16.813+00:00Why Grow Food?<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s spring! I know this because every gardening book I have ever read declares that in the northern hemisphere, March is in spring. The view from my window doesn’t scream a surge in growth, nodding daffodils, gambolling lambs, and a surfeit of chocolate eggs (not least because you can never have too many chocolate eggs), but I keep reminding myself that last week, in the heady days of February, I was enjoying an al fresco lunch and failing to suppress the overwhelming urge to sow tomatoes.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsMhm5xs4fTIUpdJgv4SWdABw_mipmL1Xoxm0b1f2dFvfCgwPdJPSZm4QdWMbhIEQnHUh7B5bbrBExamztHTPFpy3SIedUC77rZgQBuGRAt0wPfyzyYPpqouUq-IQcUYidZ-nUbT_m48/s1600/DSC03739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="1600" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsMhm5xs4fTIUpdJgv4SWdABw_mipmL1Xoxm0b1f2dFvfCgwPdJPSZm4QdWMbhIEQnHUh7B5bbrBExamztHTPFpy3SIedUC77rZgQBuGRAt0wPfyzyYPpqouUq-IQcUYidZ-nUbT_m48/s320/DSC03739.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Needless to say, the tomatoes have germinated and are leaning towards the office window, turning their backs on me and rebuking me for my lack of patience. They have a point. I </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">knew that it would be better to wait a while before I sowed them, but I refuse to feel guilty, because those little seedlings make my heart sing.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUscbjik-lYsrxIgxOPl1rpdn0iLq9TflFrG_4tNxLf0zssvpvghWyhAoPBfXDPL8slSykfuf37-d_hN39CZHQBlb6EPjxAiSgXL2lDsn2Bj7sTIrl3K_RpXF2iEBSH2MnB5vlNM3wsIc/s1600/IMG_2748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUscbjik-lYsrxIgxOPl1rpdn0iLq9TflFrG_4tNxLf0zssvpvghWyhAoPBfXDPL8slSykfuf37-d_hN39CZHQBlb6EPjxAiSgXL2lDsn2Bj7sTIrl3K_RpXF2iEBSH2MnB5vlNM3wsIc/s320/IMG_2748.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is why I grow food: my life is so much richer for it. The return on the cost of a packet of seeds is not simply the harvest I enjoy eating, it is also how growing that crop makes me feel. Gardening is known to be good for mental health. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I am certainly sunnier when I grow food. Yes, the cabbage whites and rabbits might be thorns in my side, but even with their interference, I am a happier person for tending the crops they are hellbent </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">on devouring.</span><br />
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJO0iCL3d5NRe-EkDwhD7ccNJ0MLvpjh-X2kkYld6L6z3NDNDrTrNsnWZvBXirVImvm5Pc3uR6mysOIR02VLwgvx8Ul2uxQwK7y4ya8_OB51xTUqfsQGbw4o9Xk6eO86ScnN9feYsDk4/s1600/CIMG2719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1180" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJO0iCL3d5NRe-EkDwhD7ccNJ0MLvpjh-X2kkYld6L6z3NDNDrTrNsnWZvBXirVImvm5Pc3uR6mysOIR02VLwgvx8Ul2uxQwK7y4ya8_OB51xTUqfsQGbw4o9Xk6eO86ScnN9feYsDk4/s320/CIMG2719.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The thrill of seeing seedling</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">s looping their way into the world never diminishes. It is as magical now as it was when I sprinkled cress seeds on blotting paper as a child. I just wish that everyone could grow something to eat - even just a tiny pot of herbs on a windowsill. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Y51yv83DBLO2fovG9c2T9LN3GAOQp9SnAQirtBoc9chc8fyrGAik4w1VnVATVY_7rjFBsVrmgyyb8cYzEklIhD-E45t22fr_kvGyi_4ShvpiTbs3bW1Y7JWZ5cWFn1RPOdP-XKLRFQg/s1600/DSC01423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="1600" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Y51yv83DBLO2fovG9c2T9LN3GAOQp9SnAQirtBoc9chc8fyrGAik4w1VnVATVY_7rjFBsVrmgyyb8cYzEklIhD-E45t22fr_kvGyi_4ShvpiTbs3bW1Y7JWZ5cWFn1RPOdP-XKLRFQg/s320/DSC01423.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Every year I expand my veg patch, and this year is no exception. There are more strawberries and</span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> raspberries; an extension to the damson hedge; and a new compost area. The compost bins will cost nothing as they will be constructed from old crates. The fruit will hopefully earn its keep before very long. I won’t measure the return in kilos though; I will measure it in the pure joy that comes from picking the first berry, and the glorious realisation that there are sufficient damsons to make a crumble.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfc0uIBwIEZPLsT8DcjXmcqD5A4Acr048S3em2D0e-hlcRQ6aJXQNKy4sdc7L4KMKG6C7bGFcnPe4hZFydEJi2S-NDPFpp1IwmwHQjywtayCIUDG9G_8JhZPFcaqkvq4bft8olb2f4Zk/s1600/DSC00673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1076" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfc0uIBwIEZPLsT8DcjXmcqD5A4Acr048S3em2D0e-hlcRQ6aJXQNKy4sdc7L4KMKG6C7bGFcnPe4hZFydEJi2S-NDPFpp1IwmwHQjywtayCIUDG9G_8JhZPFcaqkvq4bft8olb2f4Zk/s320/DSC00673.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Apart from growing food in the kitchen garden, I also grow crops in little crates and pots by my office door. There are blueberries, strawberries, salad leaves, herbs and pea shoots. They take up very little room, but they make a difference to my day, providing healthy treats to snack on, or salad leaves for lunch.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmHO7MZssdP6Xrw2fueJR8-o0moMOT-oC_jEYemSce5SXPblHXEjiVQw9jrrq1S05P-qIGUFZaD5OEPneU0wLYz6eQpZbi7wTcCfxsbJx58S68dHg8-JOOUEguF0nUjVQdCg6xOrlc_Q/s1600/DSC00320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1265" data-original-width="1600" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmHO7MZssdP6Xrw2fueJR8-o0moMOT-oC_jEYemSce5SXPblHXEjiVQw9jrrq1S05P-qIGUFZaD5OEPneU0wLYz6eQpZbi7wTcCfxsbJx58S68dHg8-JOOUEguF0nUjVQdCg6xOrlc_Q/s320/DSC00320.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The pots and the garden are hidden under a thick duvet of snow right now. The great news is that if we are in spring, then summer is on its way. I only hope that my tomato seedlings feel </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">reassured by this news. </span></div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com154tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-65684201222554904752018-02-05T15:03:00.001+00:002018-02-05T15:06:48.427+00:00Queen of the Seasons<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">February is the month for spending more time than is socially acceptable with my ever-expanding collection of seed packets. How I dream of releasing these little powerhouses of hope from their envelopes so that they can snuggle up in my propagator under a soft duvet of warm compost, but as I gaze upon their loveliness, I remind myself that too much, too soon will result in skinny, leggy plants and a seedling housing crisis.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7r5N6PuCd682Vnd5Lgb2zIVqw3aNAsSkIcAqOuOIKwYsnscAGtUghykGHRKxoCmHeJt0vAIR1PQgl6KlMZs2IwXQfhDH5sY9UwYk79ZpP1pWVZwCCn0CA-HCJaQuV1jh_X6yFVCnYg8/s1600/DSC03427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7r5N6PuCd682Vnd5Lgb2zIVqw3aNAsSkIcAqOuOIKwYsnscAGtUghykGHRKxoCmHeJt0vAIR1PQgl6KlMZs2IwXQfhDH5sY9UwYk79ZpP1pWVZwCCn0CA-HCJaQuV1jh_X6yFVCnYg8/s320/DSC03427.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When Frustrating February gives way to Sowathon Spring, we discover if we have been over-exuberant in our seed purchasing (of course I have). I divide my seed packets into the months during which I plan to sow. If I’m honest, it is just another ploy to spend more time with the darlings, but it also gives me the opportunity to assess how cramped my office will be in April, and how little light I can expect to receive at my desk in early May when I crowbar yet another tray of plants into an already overcrowded space because the soil and the weather aren’t ready for them.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicozAYRjxRS459pWHuvwp2-n8lXK1v4VM7Y_KqkjrZHV4lEirffbpYDsL0oYtNvik-5yZBPryYSmXXdTdfmB3BEXVxMtoYLhj-g06Zcx-iLLUCF47z5kjfMWhFnlQPrl6p4DLR9tomK_Y/s1600/DSC08914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicozAYRjxRS459pWHuvwp2-n8lXK1v4VM7Y_KqkjrZHV4lEirffbpYDsL0oYtNvik-5yZBPryYSmXXdTdfmB3BEXVxMtoYLhj-g06Zcx-iLLUCF47z5kjfMWhFnlQPrl6p4DLR9tomK_Y/s320/DSC08914.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If I were Queen of the Seasons, I would declare that late summer is the time for pricking out seedlings. In spring, we are so busy waging war on weeds that pricking out can easily be overlooked. If only seedlings could adjust to our requirements, we could prick them out at our leisure in August when the sun is shining and the garden is under control. Sadly I am not Queen of the Seasons, so seedlings continue to scream to be pricked out just when our hands are at their coldest, our dexterity is through the floor, and we are being pulled in a gazillion other gardening directions.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMi-r_V1AGzEStZvrNIPC-gN83f5TQIPJA_PaqC-xs1rUPARBC0OFzdwAvc5hR5a3VOfijZMOU400zoMOMlCQ4m-y5ALexekNL_cGYe6EowTVX4wWtqpRGyOkygPdzOmgkv16stSKCu8/s1600/DSC09334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1033" data-original-width="1600" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMi-r_V1AGzEStZvrNIPC-gN83f5TQIPJA_PaqC-xs1rUPARBC0OFzdwAvc5hR5a3VOfijZMOU400zoMOMlCQ4m-y5ALexekNL_cGYe6EowTVX4wWtqpRGyOkygPdzOmgkv16stSKCu8/s320/DSC09334.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hardening off plants is a joyful task. Carrying them hither and thither, morning and night, is a wonderful way of upping my step count, which in turn makes me feel marvellously virtuous and deserving of another bowl of strawberries and cream. Around this time I invariably find myself with an aphid infestation in the office. It helps that the plants have barred any access to the windows, thereby ensuring that no cleaning is possible so that the spiders are at liberty to enjoy aphidfest in their cobwebs. Visitors are frequently alarmed at the quantity of wildlife in there (best not to mention the year of the office slugs and the convalescing chicken).</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhUyC3aAcDfbaxCqVE4Wng6MmbO7fZRMeFFtGLTiqBlrUL3DHrwpfch4elJz95Gwd2pdsmzFrKqpSWOIHLdSoTx4d9aVejaIonRepr3mKMvb1Tce79LuzhEqc0wRtvncoB4q5LBddYRg/s1600/DSC09337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhUyC3aAcDfbaxCqVE4Wng6MmbO7fZRMeFFtGLTiqBlrUL3DHrwpfch4elJz95Gwd2pdsmzFrKqpSWOIHLdSoTx4d9aVejaIonRepr3mKMvb1Tce79LuzhEqc0wRtvncoB4q5LBddYRg/s320/DSC09337.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you have stuck with this post thus far, you may have quite rightly gathered that I am struggling with the concept of not sowing. It’s an annual battle. This year, to offset my frustration, I have sown more sweet peas than I know what to do with. They are now clogging up my cold frames and causing me a headache as I meander around the farm looking for frameworks for them to scramble up. I am considering commandeering the kids’ swings for a sweet pea tunnel, or perhaps popping some string around the wheelie bins and masking any unpleasant smells with scented flowers.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Z2_yM7ZbV_6-tYzLpPqZtUxPJzRG8wC702RQIPnbyQxwEsxsklN7V2qNCZG0DbrPGMI1rjKPxwzsyG6CzIUUOSpDJGJHj0vtKDld-yc6Bxtkwc10aMFZbU_WVD2QQN_KzKDJaCtYKK0/s1600/DSC06976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Z2_yM7ZbV_6-tYzLpPqZtUxPJzRG8wC702RQIPnbyQxwEsxsklN7V2qNCZG0DbrPGMI1rjKPxwzsyG6CzIUUOSpDJGJHj0vtKDld-yc6Bxtkwc10aMFZbU_WVD2QQN_KzKDJaCtYKK0/s320/DSC06976.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is much to look forward to this summer. It will be fragrant, and filled with aubergines and hyssop. An unlikely combination, but I may have accidentally sown quite a lot of them when they leapt unbidden from the seed tin and made themselves at home in some lovely warm compost. Clever things.... seeds.</span></span></div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-49469640967765630992018-01-10T11:31:00.000+00:002018-01-10T11:33:11.989+00:00Gardening Jobs for January - Get Set for a Fruit Glut<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy new year! January is the perfect month for appraising our gardens, making plans and compiling lists. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In my case this involves staring out of a window, tutting and saying, “Call yourself a gardener? Look at the state of it.”</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are high spots, low spots and downright weedy spots, but from my vantage point in the house I can safely say that not enough of it is hitting the spot. So where to start? When inclement weather, the latest winter bug, and short days end, what shall I embrace first?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPxOVogp27lBah0x4bcAB63x43SHSDPsqpwB9EZ-YXfIRG1nctN552UbyC3uLzqwCPPzp8Lrb0V_n8GXsxn-3pNEQW_TYfuzy2gMbMAyAjVucchVWH0YYwZzZv1Z24IRzfG20V3lld0E/s1600/IMG_1954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPxOVogp27lBah0x4bcAB63x43SHSDPsqpwB9EZ-YXfIRG1nctN552UbyC3uLzqwCPPzp8Lrb0V_n8GXsxn-3pNEQW_TYfuzy2gMbMAyAjVucchVWH0YYwZzZv1Z24IRzfG20V3lld0E/s320/IMG_1954.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Top of the list is the orchard. Quite frankly it isn’t providing enough fruit, and when it does, Basil our beloved dog steals the harvest. I can’t blame it all on Basil though. Our entire garden, including the orchard, is fairly new* and so patience, the virtue so vital to gardeners, needs to dance to the fore and do its thing (whatever that thing might be).</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_jNJwCstQDxiH1rmqbolFWQSEpfXE57Zmqb0RDjZTUxvRYPXW5LGX409vjKg_ZM7_Qr8xkRU9BdGM_ti71fMgGvkCJ8mNCfDrY_UsV5IfDaP8d0MXKX1S_Dgwo5hbVPIUK4bU7hu6gM/s1600/IMG_0677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_jNJwCstQDxiH1rmqbolFWQSEpfXE57Zmqb0RDjZTUxvRYPXW5LGX409vjKg_ZM7_Qr8xkRU9BdGM_ti71fMgGvkCJ8mNCfDrY_UsV5IfDaP8d0MXKX1S_Dgwo5hbVPIUK4bU7hu6gM/s320/IMG_0677.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Basil pretending not to care that he's on the wrong side<br />of the gate</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Apart from patience, a spot of TLC wouldn't go amiss. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Judicious pruning, feeding, battling with the grass that is hellbent on swamping the trees, and mulching would be a good start. Top it off with a jolly good wassail and we might find ourselves inundated with fruit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wassailing is a ritual traditionally performed in orchards during January. It involves hanging toast dipped in mulled cider from the branches of an apple tree to attract favourable spirits, and dowsing the roots in more cider to bless the tree so that it produces a good crop in the coming year, all this while making a loud noise and serenading the toast-laden apple tree with a suitable song. </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBr5kqYfKShePZ5sRIgJY_0JyeE2I4RPbCrMUPh62IaG6anFftDqcoHYqDQzvsS_7sWWgFgrOr2-XVkjtvcBUEE-79PwcJSlVWOub5Lf8X1uDwMiHG5G6A4RmAO83iOIBSu1ZZr3bpFdE/s1600/DSC02961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="1600" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBr5kqYfKShePZ5sRIgJY_0JyeE2I4RPbCrMUPh62IaG6anFftDqcoHYqDQzvsS_7sWWgFgrOr2-XVkjtvcBUEE-79PwcJSlVWOub5Lf8X1uDwMiHG5G6A4RmAO83iOIBSu1ZZr3bpFdE/s320/DSC02961.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Show apples - will my produce be joining them this year?<br />Not if Basil has anything to do with it.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are plenty of wassailing songs online, although I think I might go a little off-piste and warble "Oh Apple Tree" to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree" or "O Tannenbaum", mainly because I know how it goes and a degree of confidence about what I'm trying to sing might help me to hit the right notes. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am a little concerned that my atonal caterwauling </span></span><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">might give the neighbours and passing dog walkers something to talk about. My greatest concern though is that it will provide Basil with a delicious sandwich as he takes his morning constitutional, thereby reinforcing the orchard as one of his favourite feeding grounds. It is definitely time for a spot of dog</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> (or is that owner?) training.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1FP9aGraWH4-lUbGdUX2OoAfnNrGcKVw9aLXzgjSDqMxL1FdFD34jvzcaj2JMP_eUXDhhP1-4Wy7RWoF_gFqNqz_mNsG2bb8rYBtjXr8wgPxrIRKQRAIA3917MG_E9qKBnP4-d5YVik/s1600/DSC07791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1FP9aGraWH4-lUbGdUX2OoAfnNrGcKVw9aLXzgjSDqMxL1FdFD34jvzcaj2JMP_eUXDhhP1-4Wy7RWoF_gFqNqz_mNsG2bb8rYBtjXr8wgPxrIRKQRAIA3917MG_E9qKBnP4-d5YVik/s320/DSC07791.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the time-honoured gardening tradition, here is my list of jobs for January</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">:</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. Prune the apple and pear trees (but not the plums and cherries - we don’t want silver leaf)</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Clear weeds away from the trees' bases</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Check that tree ties aren't too tight.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. Switch on the toaster, grab a bowl of mulled cider, sing at the top of my voice and clobber a couple of pans together while keeping Basil on a lead.</span></span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't know about you, but I am already optimistic that 2018 will be the year of the long-awaited apple crumble and custard glut.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">*Planting the orchard:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thegardeningshoe.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/christopher-columbus-meets-walt-disney.html">http://thegardeningshoe.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/christopher-columbus-meets-walt-disney.html</a></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-17485789880656230742017-10-09T15:27:00.000+01:002017-10-09T15:27:47.152+01:00Roy Lancaster, Achocha, and The Cotswold Wildlife Park<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Autumn brings out the forager in me. I love roaming along hedgerows in search of fruit;</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> it makes me feel like the heroine in a Thomas Hardy novel.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVruq6zz-vIJ_5PM7NbQIHRyUu04zZr4oZ2FLEz1VNtDV9Bh4nAo_yUt535wJlpdQZx32sAcTTsKDHKdWIsOSg0Zs_mUrZqphi2rtUpPEaBWJP47IjNfNEhH8ohvdmftU9fBEpKlCQtc/s1600/IMG_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVruq6zz-vIJ_5PM7NbQIHRyUu04zZr4oZ2FLEz1VNtDV9Bh4nAo_yUt535wJlpdQZx32sAcTTsKDHKdWIsOSg0Zs_mUrZqphi2rtUpPEaBWJP47IjNfNEhH8ohvdmftU9fBEpKlCQtc/s320/IMG_0001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was a scavenging child. My favourite windfalls were almonds. I bashed the shells with a stone until they cracked open. It might not have been the quickest or easiest method, but </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">there was no social media in those days so I could spend happy hours communing with almonds without the pressure of posing for a selfie every five minutes. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilhxqqnoIl_csLEdnsM-DbzisgDrVtVaruXEm4cIPPFG6mtGb9nPb8EJiPXW_3xDfkEpuBWzOjCtUum2JeH5vWDuF-i9E933yqM-52-I-pF3fs6cV0nKwMMvVuu4xoJ9fQxoNFZ8JMlCI/s1600/DSC02843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilhxqqnoIl_csLEdnsM-DbzisgDrVtVaruXEm4cIPPFG6mtGb9nPb8EJiPXW_3xDfkEpuBWzOjCtUum2JeH5vWDuF-i9E933yqM-52-I-pF3fs6cV0nKwMMvVuu4xoJ9fQxoNFZ8JMlCI/s320/DSC02843.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My latest garden grazing took place with the full permission of the head gardener at Cotswold Wildlife Park. <i>Cornus</i> 'Norman Hadden' fruits are blessed with delicious flesh and disgustingly bitter seeds. It is not a fruit I will be caught scrumping any time soon.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2sTHZWUyt6HFmpPwHXdnbZddkSQuqOgghS5apgSjEL9L-LCs3mD4Rlr7fTgA-56Xi-WVFMFc8dTR4UTiuRL7gGUyKWE51oS_5g-Z32n7n-dKwZqPuFSxLZ3LCj3exAE_c3WKRuwoKGE/s1600/DSC03236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2sTHZWUyt6HFmpPwHXdnbZddkSQuqOgghS5apgSjEL9L-LCs3mD4Rlr7fTgA-56Xi-WVFMFc8dTR4UTiuRL7gGUyKWE51oS_5g-Z32n7n-dKwZqPuFSxLZ3LCj3exAE_c3WKRuwoKGE/s320/DSC03236.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Cornus</i> 'Norman Hadden' fruit</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thankfully, I was visiting with a group of fellow gardeners, and one had a pocketful of cucamelons (as you do). They were wonderful <i>Cornus</i> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">seed bitterness eradicators. I cannot recommend them highly enough. The cucamelon grower was also carrying achocha. Having never eaten this particular fruit before, I was keen to try it so I took some home for a Sunday breakfast achocha fry-up. It was rather good and made a complete change from the cake that had kicked-off my previous morning.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUraORnn0Iz4sAeZxM8qoQIF8iClYfXuDBHESkmrMwHjVa30yQaeeZHbem-XZ38TifzHzJjgtOBSCjP8EGcW0UWSJi9IHWsZ2nDDulQtV9ll58FH5-StmAcHISjdJWmy0TCxQWwuNPUbU/s1600/DSC03193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="1600" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUraORnn0Iz4sAeZxM8qoQIF8iClYfXuDBHESkmrMwHjVa30yQaeeZHbem-XZ38TifzHzJjgtOBSCjP8EGcW0UWSJi9IHWsZ2nDDulQtV9ll58FH5-StmAcHISjdJWmy0TCxQWwuNPUbU/s320/DSC03193.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cucamelon and achocha</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I only eat breakfast cake when I’m travelling. Much of Saturday was spent on the road because with complete disregard for the adage that we should never meet our heroes, I set off on a seven-hour round trip to meet mine</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGX8gNebXabkvFGlPaDTISbQcpOhHKHXQucMfYq__Jv8Orojml7ZFRe19syMUjhHCjbYZwj2r8vpF4oTeWUDbalwscmyJWy0uTxZCrOS-F16GIG5US7t50ySN4AL96iB1-miTWBaFaQg/s1600/DSC03224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1600" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGX8gNebXabkvFGlPaDTISbQcpOhHKHXQucMfYq__Jv8Orojml7ZFRe19syMUjhHCjbYZwj2r8vpF4oTeWUDbalwscmyJWy0uTxZCrOS-F16GIG5US7t50ySN4AL96iB1-miTWBaFaQg/s320/DSC03224.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roy Lancaster at Cotswold Wildlife Park</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Roy Lancaster, the raconteur with encyclopaedic botanical knowledge, is credited with having introduced some of our most popular garden plants. It would be very easy for him to sit around being the doyen scattering pearls of wisdom at his feet, he has, after all, earned this accolade. But while he is generous in sharing his expertise, his quest for knowledge continues at a staggering rate. As we toured the gardens at Cotswold Wildlife Park, he asked questions about plants that he might not have seen for some years (the gardens are home to some superbly grown rarities). No wonder he is so knowledgeable! He is in his eightieth year, an expert in his field, and still keen to find out more.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuV_3k73u7BKPtILq34L8mif0bvpsYHp8rU5O3vsk8o8RoDYnnHqMNRMfyKI0oRz7UEQ923bQ68b1kTnRUtEQ3JwIAIiegYyyHAcCKHAQHem-ZxAn9EKozriPfGt5OlM3XXV3i6lTzjc/s1600/DSC03252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1066" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuV_3k73u7BKPtILq34L8mif0bvpsYHp8rU5O3vsk8o8RoDYnnHqMNRMfyKI0oRz7UEQ923bQ68b1kTnRUtEQ3JwIAIiegYyyHAcCKHAQHem-ZxAn9EKozriPfGt5OlM3XXV3i6lTzjc/s320/DSC03252.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I learnt a lot about plants during our tour of the gardens, but </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">the biggest eye-opener was that the most knowledgeable plantsman I am ever likely to meet is still asking questions and learning. We can never stop learning. My gardening hero remains atop his pedestal. I feel privileged and delighted to have met him. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do you have a gardening hero</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">?</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;">Cotswold Wildlife Park is very well worth a visit for the plants alone. Needless to say, the animals are wonderful too! </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roy Lancaster's latest book is 'My Life With Plants'</span></span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-8339432024899305832017-09-15T06:36:00.000+01:002017-09-15T06:36:51.684+01:00Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - An Annual Event<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Every year I grow a handful of annuals to plug the gaps in my garden, and in September they strut their stuff as if there is no tomorrow. Which, in the event of an early autumn, is tragically the case. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Perhaps I should elevate annuals beyond gap-plugging, but I love using them to lift a dull corner of the garden or to add a new dimension to permanent schemes so that each border is slightly different every year.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uUrFkRbGsJxevVZqTl1ZzmZy6alMT-543qG6VHEhB5z5e6RizmMHk6D-Ttz2qdlfEHrc6GUGox1RvRGjkDY0BxKsp-km6ahwoIXAIskAAbULfNuEAcvqGjiGT5Isok8VlUYhlrJG5Zk/s1600/DSC03091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1298" data-original-width="1600" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uUrFkRbGsJxevVZqTl1ZzmZy6alMT-543qG6VHEhB5z5e6RizmMHk6D-Ttz2qdlfEHrc6GUGox1RvRGjkDY0BxKsp-km6ahwoIXAIskAAbULfNuEAcvqGjiGT5Isok8VlUYhlrJG5Zk/s320/DSC03091.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Cosmos bipinnatus </i>'Cupcakes'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Cosmos</i> is a stalwart of the garden gap. This year I stuck to <i>Cosmos bipinnatus</i> 'Cupcakes' with its remarkable unbroken single petal. </span></span><span class="s1" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It might be beautiful but I should have known better than to attempt to grow a plant with baking connotations. Needless to say 'Cupcakes' turned out like many of my culinary efforts: disappointing. For every light fluffy sponge, there were at least three flops failing to develop that gorgeous cupcake shape. </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRkx-uDRNQPVNvIETosUWtjseYxMTOFSbng9Jn-R_Js1YEWg7nsRdTkZs-6PIjHdIhK5jJ7uZQacEE074zRIh-Lawrv7aeIL20zu4c1J_scveBhxETowf5gnjEVbOa6Pe-UH5wMOyNNQ/s1600/DSC02891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRkx-uDRNQPVNvIETosUWtjseYxMTOFSbng9Jn-R_Js1YEWg7nsRdTkZs-6PIjHdIhK5jJ7uZQacEE074zRIh-Lawrv7aeIL20zu4c1J_scveBhxETowf5gnjEVbOa6Pe-UH5wMOyNNQ/s320/DSC02891.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Cosmos bipinnatus </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">'Cupcakes'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I accept that I am no Mary Berry, but for once I am unable to blame my culinary inadequacies. Perhaps other seeds infiltrated the batch, or 'Cupcakes' isn't as stable as we would hope. Either way, I have some very ordinary looking <i>Cosmos</i> among the cakes. It's </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">like getting turnip surprise when you’re looking forward to double chocolate gooey pud with cream and custard. I might be disappointed, but the bees like the flops. Then again, more cupcakes might have made us all happy. </span></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPIbJ0lNklAHrko8Nm8sDYVdcLDkk9sC_BQ3dDBMa1WYaik7-H7P-xzs1YIrzLgN46NVC7XlY1x356snbGkIM76P5cAKBh_DCXgu__7Fsou-KpFkIzSQ6KpjAp1albN5FUE9BQGcLqco/s1600/DSC07124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPIbJ0lNklAHrko8Nm8sDYVdcLDkk9sC_BQ3dDBMa1WYaik7-H7P-xzs1YIrzLgN46NVC7XlY1x356snbGkIM76P5cAKBh_DCXgu__7Fsou-KpFkIzSQ6KpjAp1albN5FUE9BQGcLqco/s320/DSC07124.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Persicaria orientalis</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A year ago today I posted about my hope that <i>Persicaria orientalis</i> would do the decent thing and seed itself around*. The good news is that it has! The even better news is that it relocates well. I have dug up a number of plants and placed them where I want them and they have all thrived, although they are shorter than their parents, unlike one particular <i>Nicotiana affinis. </i>It has reached dizzying heights by comparison to its bedfellows and would give <i>Nicotiana sylvestris</i> a run for its money. </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yYWDzqXuoacz4pDWX67ZbQWc6Dq6OlT4HsfncFDYBgpfjjmp4ixurIXNhTfsk9ZPvaFhu-a1VMIyYCYsG2LnMELVon6WyP2wfcbX-lPKe1J_QLfI0bHLMk14a5GvB-Jnsb2YqFLtsog/s1600/IMG_4806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="1600" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yYWDzqXuoacz4pDWX67ZbQWc6Dq6OlT4HsfncFDYBgpfjjmp4ixurIXNhTfsk9ZPvaFhu-a1VMIyYCYsG2LnMELVon6WyP2wfcbX-lPKe1J_QLfI0bHLMk14a5GvB-Jnsb2YqFLtsog/s320/IMG_4806.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Nicotiana </i>reaching for the sky</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Tithonia rotundifolia </i>'Torch' has exceeded my expectations. This huge, glorious clump of shining orange blooms towers over the sunflowers that are hanging their heads in deference to its marvellousness. Who can blame them? Even the wind and rain won't stand in the way of tithonia's magnificent display.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIN8jo5lCtQUwoMnvU-zBaYaLzwLsWXkQKSUg3u1zHS2_Snbin4m4HDB-Hc6sLQZ1R5cRjQHh00MqSZ7c6oZsY2y5a4dSLEQ8QEnW00PxelB7TCCv8wZUBsnTttN6ZXXcK6l-A5aqq2Ig/s1600/DSC02957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIN8jo5lCtQUwoMnvU-zBaYaLzwLsWXkQKSUg3u1zHS2_Snbin4m4HDB-Hc6sLQZ1R5cRjQHh00MqSZ7c6oZsY2y5a4dSLEQ8QEnW00PxelB7TCCv8wZUBsnTttN6ZXXcK6l-A5aqq2Ig/s320/DSC02957.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Tithonia rotundifolia </i>'Torch'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Zinnia elegans </i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">'State Fair' has been brightening up a dull corner for weeks. Next year I plan to sow more. I had intended to add these beauties to the cutting garden, but got sidetracked on the walk there by some <i>Zinnia</i>-</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">sized gaps in the border. </span></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOtuJEMrridlPudMd6EKVDu29rFB6Xp9JYIBqcmESsb2bzhG9jpFG5rUxP5u1LEmyeO95KlS2M91tAD5kSQX7r8od467TcTlYjlo7pzl2yaCseipf2gMaa65P1ixzVxfUsN6mxB9jj3c/s1600/DSC03093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOtuJEMrridlPudMd6EKVDu29rFB6Xp9JYIBqcmESsb2bzhG9jpFG5rUxP5u1LEmyeO95KlS2M91tAD5kSQX7r8od467TcTlYjlo7pzl2yaCseipf2gMaa65P1ixzVxfUsN6mxB9jj3c/s320/DSC03093.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Zinnia </i>'State Fair'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><i>Cosmos</i> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">was destined for the cutting garden too and fell into a gap in the border en route. Seeds were more successful in getting to the cutting garden. Marigolds and cornflowers are mingling together and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">look particularly loved-up.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2Mk6c7YzU8k3GqQHeUluD_cJI2egVyHVHskR-w3dHaGxU9KxeKUaH7YU7X31dqj_JB4iQS-81IM8coy51HZlpW2n3OurMTTWwtQ8KahcAHX5oQaQSTkn6sHZ6gCbqPcznKOLJUQDViY/s1600/DSC02937.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2Mk6c7YzU8k3GqQHeUluD_cJI2egVyHVHskR-w3dHaGxU9KxeKUaH7YU7X31dqj_JB4iQS-81IM8coy51HZlpW2n3OurMTTWwtQ8KahcAHX5oQaQSTkn6sHZ6gCbqPcznKOLJUQDViY/s320/DSC02937.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have cut very few cornflowers because they are so popular with bees, yet all of these annuals have been used at some time in flower arrangements this summer. They have made such a difference in the garden and indoors. I really should sow a greater variety of them in future. Which annuals do you use for plugging border gaps and flower arranging?</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">*<a href="http://thegardeningshoe.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/twenty-first-century-gardeners.html">http://thegardeningshoe.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/twenty-first-century-gardeners.html </a></span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am linking this post with Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at <a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/">http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Why not pop over there and see what is blooming in gardens elsewhere in the world?</span></div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com102tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-22995017844925121962017-09-05T13:25:00.000+01:002017-09-05T13:25:03.755+01:00Secret Gardens of East Anglia<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Beautiful books with depth seem to me to be a rarity. Many of the visually arresting publications gracing my coffee table and shelves have little to say beyond the photos. <i>Secret Gardens of East Anglia</i> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">differs in that it might have been two books. One, a masterclass in photography by the hugely talented Marcus Harpur, who, sadly, died recently; the second, a fascinating insight into gardeners and their gardens by Barbara Segall. The two combine to create a visually delightful experience and an exceptional read. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxwmdXl2ui8DLN9Ouy0DL0ZgbCYwSCpq_JY5FWF1M6JhqTMOFmcU1JNiN7nKV1-yhz2D5dgmRQCJ5uNORU7YDASpKGtzM5JDnj4L1HWtkmlOOxsnyh1PRTsKDPMs_vMYdW9MEEJ_opHM/s1600/Parsonage+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1063" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxwmdXl2ui8DLN9Ouy0DL0ZgbCYwSCpq_JY5FWF1M6JhqTMOFmcU1JNiN7nKV1-yhz2D5dgmRQCJ5uNORU7YDASpKGtzM5JDnj4L1HWtkmlOOxsnyh1PRTsKDPMs_vMYdW9MEEJ_opHM/s320/Parsonage+House.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Parsonage House (Photo: Marcus Harpur)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The private tour of twenty-two gardens ranging from a dramatic, densely planted city plot to spacious stately homes is a joy. I have lived in East Anglia for almost half of my life. Some of the gardens in the book I know well, others are new to me. Proximity is irrelevant though, as this is a book for everyone who loves gardens, regardless of whether they will ever set foot in East Anglia.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzF4RK8y3lJCUXpl3cwuypxhXseA4YeSyxpf9qotHieGJiWYDJ6rfe6nbwtRNAVzk7jTcrnu1fvYYmaKTFZQhrIAt688zYyanlsUz2JQde4OklDgCuvGgVBsaTwrM1BAVnoxg5WXR6Pg/s1600/ulting887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzF4RK8y3lJCUXpl3cwuypxhXseA4YeSyxpf9qotHieGJiWYDJ6rfe6nbwtRNAVzk7jTcrnu1fvYYmaKTFZQhrIAt688zYyanlsUz2JQde4OklDgCuvGgVBsaTwrM1BAVnoxg5WXR6Pg/s320/ulting887.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ulting Wick wildflower meadow (Photo: Marcus Harpur)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Yes, I want to visit the gardens - who wouldn’t after drooling over all those mouth-watering photographs? But the stories of the gardens and their gardeners, so engagingly told by Barbara, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and propelled me outside to reconsider my own plot. The stories and photographs in this book have inspired me to be a braver, more audacious gardener. To garden bigger and better and with greater passion than ever before.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFeIc4Tgnp2vs7iLQ_4NB3MTX5dDKJ9Uk2-9RfKvKFMDq7CPdVU_SoBzhGg8x8RE3bi9ZAAGkq7oUcrfXyOz41pUpU6q6CkCzMmVm7lehZuFSzZLpjMSo2FBCjJyktRcKLuc0r_0Yz2c/s1600/wykenh139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFeIc4Tgnp2vs7iLQ_4NB3MTX5dDKJ9Uk2-9RfKvKFMDq7CPdVU_SoBzhGg8x8RE3bi9ZAAGkq7oUcrfXyOz41pUpU6q6CkCzMmVm7lehZuFSzZLpjMSo2FBCjJyktRcKLuc0r_0Yz2c/s320/wykenh139.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wyken Hall (Photo: Marcus Harpur)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I must confess that I know Barbara and I was sent a copy of the book by the publisher. That said, had I not been given a copy, it would have been at the top of my Christmas list. I have returned to <i>Secret Gardens of East Anglia</i> on several occasions since I read it for the first time. It is, without question, my favourite book of the year.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpR9GHuR6sjlJrrcSJH1lMZrADKjApiqcLyDeaG1HpjtDrkMYdoz_S1Wj3OHc4cFOC8-4G98neACn0WaSj4lATEV2LpvgeY4wkF2A6zcQcPyn8ICZw4LwBIMzFK3ObqDAp08a9RRvrFuU/s1600/Secret+Gardens+of+East+Anglia+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1351" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpR9GHuR6sjlJrrcSJH1lMZrADKjApiqcLyDeaG1HpjtDrkMYdoz_S1Wj3OHc4cFOC8-4G98neACn0WaSj4lATEV2LpvgeY4wkF2A6zcQcPyn8ICZw4LwBIMzFK3ObqDAp08a9RRvrFuU/s320/Secret+Gardens+of+East+Anglia+cover.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-86844182810360305782017-08-02T12:41:00.000+01:002017-08-02T12:44:06.080+01:00Why Blog? <div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After nigh on a month of gallivanting, I have returned home to discover that a rabbit has taken up residence in my garden. This is no ordinary rabbit. It has super-rabbit powers. How else could it have entered a garden fortified by rabbit fencing? The super-rabbit has given a whole new twist to the Chelsea Chop, the method of pruning championed by Christopher Lloyd whereby selected perennials are partially pruned in May to control size and flowering time. The super-rabbit's pruning technique, known as the Hampton Court Chomp, is applied only to much loved ornamentals and involves mowing them down to within an inch of their lives in July. It is clearly not suitable for weeds as they have been left completely unchomped and are romping away.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHBVOEYGlETT6uTPVZJfbQxEn-ur2s-Rlt1KK40pTJpUyVvaNzny0bU-oRxtTO-kyvWM5kIKaXJCfnN2ku-yvLSLpDJ1jp_l-WoGoPAL6tQR03cCZIaUH3P3Yg99HOlRuoWSJYbSgnfk/s1600/DSC02893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHBVOEYGlETT6uTPVZJfbQxEn-ur2s-Rlt1KK40pTJpUyVvaNzny0bU-oRxtTO-kyvWM5kIKaXJCfnN2ku-yvLSLpDJ1jp_l-WoGoPAL6tQR03cCZIaUH3P3Yg99HOlRuoWSJYbSgnfk/s320/DSC02893.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Geranium</i>, <i>Monarda</i> and <i>Sedum</i> proving themselves to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">be rabbit-resistant (until the rabbit decides otherwise)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The cutting garden has been renamed the weed garden and the sweet peas have jettisoned their precisely placed supports in favour of rampaging through sow thistles. I suppose I should be grateful that the sweet peas haven’t gone to seed. I would cut some for the house if only I could machete my way through the thistles. Elsewhere, the Christmas hyacinths are putting on a most unseasonal show.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YzbmOkrxjvFUUGJg6fMMuSSNTdUb_j20N8O3a3p9ciwpd9I_-zwYnGu12L_1hvRRjreufpVbvBj0P76EYKUPsQJQ61SfbsBO5qeZ0MprM43RPXcYsO9oX03vfBgQEtWjATFj3Zm_7DA/s1600/DSC02889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YzbmOkrxjvFUUGJg6fMMuSSNTdUb_j20N8O3a3p9ciwpd9I_-zwYnGu12L_1hvRRjreufpVbvBj0P76EYKUPsQJQ61SfbsBO5qeZ0MprM43RPXcYsO9oX03vfBgQEtWjATFj3Zm_7DA/s320/DSC02889.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Small and preposterous hyacinth</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: large;">All of this mayhem will take time to put right, so why am I blogging instead of hurling myself into the fray? This is something I have been pondering because I have been asked to give a short talk to my local gardening club on the subject of inspiration and blogging. The two definitely go hand in hand. Reading blogs inspires me, so much so that I was inspired to join in the fun and write a blog; but it is the wonderfully supportive community of the blogosphere that I miss most when I take a break. Since my first tentative post I have been advised and supported all the way, and for that I am immensely grateful. Thank you!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4p0tLH8jNN10AQE_nYwAz-IXrHR2qXU8OUN2o0Mpo3KDKCWUia4_lVmmAlUsvHjnZIs7Zb1HbckyOpFHVudZmbaOXfLUDFAJkz7ij8hjrTV8UnnOJo2MtuVVOUMTteJ7fdZvgYRGE1c/s1600/DSC02892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4p0tLH8jNN10AQE_nYwAz-IXrHR2qXU8OUN2o0Mpo3KDKCWUia4_lVmmAlUsvHjnZIs7Zb1HbckyOpFHVudZmbaOXfLUDFAJkz7ij8hjrTV8UnnOJo2MtuVVOUMTteJ7fdZvgYRGE1c/s320/DSC02892.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Cosmos bipinnatus '</i>Cupcakes'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A fellow blogger recently expressed her concern about being too busy to post. There are times in every year when life takes over. Work, home, family and everything else will not juggle themselves, and blogging is sometimes forced into the back seat. Like many avid readers, I miss blogs when they disappear for a while and I am delighted when they return. This is why you see blogs on my blogroll that haven’t been updated for months. They stay there because I want to read them and I hope that some day the bloggers will post again.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-LEl7ULv_jU6276aLsbY66LJSCzV6mN9MxxsPoEQV-r15GNMfRks4ppvvg597s8jRQiuHhFUr0pgqZUywJv1hpAOIOae_53sq-T96HeTGHFkOFdmqra890Zcx4Gn_Zwaj7VTcCazR1k/s1600/DSC02901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-LEl7ULv_jU6276aLsbY66LJSCzV6mN9MxxsPoEQV-r15GNMfRks4ppvvg597s8jRQiuHhFUr0pgqZUywJv1hpAOIOae_53sq-T96HeTGHFkOFdmqra890Zcx4Gn_Zwaj7VTcCazR1k/s320/DSC02901.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Lavandula</i> x <i>intermedia </i>'Sussex'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What are the benefits of blogging? For me, I think that blogging has encouraged me to be a more thoughtful gardener. Of course, you might argue that I should think less and weed more, which is a fair point, but if I look closely enough at the bulb catalogue I can’t see the weeds in the garden (yes, I am already compiling spring bulb orders). Meanwhile, the </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">super-rabbit has been named Christo, and as we all know, once we name anything, saying goodbye becomes more difficult. Time to order some rabbit-resistant bulbs.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-51034037384430174452017-07-04T13:40:00.000+01:002017-07-04T13:40:31.646+01:00Crazy paving, Skirret and a spot of Hugelkultur at RHS Hampton Court <div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aeons ago, when I was six, crazy paving was de rigueur. Since then it has gone the way of <i>Aubrieta</i> and my all-time favourite boiled sweets, Spangles. While <i>Aubrieta</i> is enjoying a return to being a cool, must-have plant, I am still awaiting the resurrection of my beloved Spangles (my dentist is probably crying into her mouthwash at their sad demise and the resulting loss of income).</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoZw7B61BQK_TmdBhyzOpK0ydwCu88ruMnysi0W-5gumEBe8Q4SL0qvzpfFcTSMvu7eXion3GT0JU9QXqS7ioGANVrp26lo2Eayg34LL3Y3ne57l5GCOHpIxIeY8OPhT8xowvmu5Ej40/s1600/DSC02138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoZw7B61BQK_TmdBhyzOpK0ydwCu88ruMnysi0W-5gumEBe8Q4SL0qvzpfFcTSMvu7eXion3GT0JU9QXqS7ioGANVrp26lo2Eayg34LL3Y3ne57l5GCOHpIxIeY8OPhT8xowvmu5Ej40/s320/DSC02138.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Memories of Childhood... rose gardens</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for crazy paving, if I were a betting gardener, I would say that we are on the cusp of a revival. For this we should thank Andy Sturgeon and his cleverly conceived RHS Hampton Court Show garden incorporating iconic elements from a decade of Chelsea show gardens. He has rummaged through other designers' sheds to find ex-Chelsea seating, paving, columns and fins to reuse (which makes my shed seem woefully dull with its clapped-out washing machine, a few sorry plastic plant labels, and the national collection of unpaired gardening gloves). Reliving memories of Chelseas past is fun, but even better is the beautiful modern take on crazy paving. It makes me want to smash up and relay my </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">perfectly linear patio.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHze_BVhrt0CdA6ZV2_jkIrwhKzX93gxHDAFpJuPIazIhTK7uFMTLHXKLAP9ZsmET91blyKWewtWz1CzAtvwlL200mqS2f2FaXUE3bmZD59Sz4APQfSIuMiVwly8vAgTmZ8sgKU7WiIzQ/s1600/DSC02000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHze_BVhrt0CdA6ZV2_jkIrwhKzX93gxHDAFpJuPIazIhTK7uFMTLHXKLAP9ZsmET91blyKWewtWz1CzAtvwlL200mqS2f2FaXUE3bmZD59Sz4APQfSIuMiVwly8vAgTmZ8sgKU7WiIzQ/s320/DSC02000.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAhNKT-yHlCd6qDKxXSF58bhkpvzVimTHITQ76tZgqYgacVPFMznhePbZeh1X5KhKRxZqmOrPJNtvA5RbktB2kOrpaJ3fNWcUs0doc3LQo1xHocxJ1k6k4v7_GLYp9zOJd0ptabh0CiI/s1600/DSC01999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAhNKT-yHlCd6qDKxXSF58bhkpvzVimTHITQ76tZgqYgacVPFMznhePbZeh1X5KhKRxZqmOrPJNtvA5RbktB2kOrpaJ3fNWcUs0doc3LQo1xHocxJ1k6k4v7_GLYp9zOJd0ptabh0CiI/s320/DSC01999.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As we step back in time down our crazy paving paths, let us spare a thought for colour. Flower shows in the twenty-first century have flirted with a tasteful splash of orange, or a sprinkling of lemon in a sea of blues, whites and greens. The planting at RHS Hampton Court embraces colour clashes and re</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">introduces estranged sections of the colour wheel to one another in a glorious celebration of dazzling flamboyance.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvgR0JMw3HZ02oBn-9WrJxAG_JHniYu40kvJMJJIo6pRIV4UeNZKdqHmFpZVDWKod7ZXk9XVEf6eJRLRuOYmS3MHcvJaacpjQjrGVmfSFLWoNj9IwvV31ELdpWHhOWwasUZ1op93SwQM/s1600/DSC02091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvgR0JMw3HZ02oBn-9WrJxAG_JHniYu40kvJMJJIo6pRIV4UeNZKdqHmFpZVDWKod7ZXk9XVEf6eJRLRuOYmS3MHcvJaacpjQjrGVmfSFLWoNj9IwvV31ELdpWHhOWwasUZ1op93SwQM/s320/DSC02091.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tom Massey's giant colour wheel design</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Charlie Bloom's Colour Box Garden sums this up perfectly. The garden exists because of the generosity of the Twitter community. Gardeners have always shared plants, knowledge, expertise and skill, and the Colour Box Garden is proof that this culture of generosity lives on in a new, broader-reaching twenty-first-century form.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAnCip-aRxwXOyUt739C_E7in5ohxhwvJor2ffomxqmZuPqXiN3Fgk0jIiayTWxxQO54KQE6N7XEwhm5jtwy9Ushld1yywTJJ53Ks3ci8HkWlDK03GSEUSig0L9iDaAzBQ9EkmBX1KhZo/s1600/DSC02075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAnCip-aRxwXOyUt739C_E7in5ohxhwvJor2ffomxqmZuPqXiN3Fgk0jIiayTWxxQO54KQE6N7XEwhm5jtwy9Ushld1yywTJJ53Ks3ci8HkWlDK03GSEUSig0L9iDaAzBQ9EkmBX1KhZo/s320/DSC02075.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Colour Box Garden</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Relinquishing control and letting nature take its course does not sit comfortably with some gardeners, but it is at the heart of London Glades, a garden created using Hugelkultur, the ancient process of mounding up garden waste and rotting wood to mimic the rich environment of the forest floor. The plants in the garden are all edible, from skirret to </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stachys affinis</span></i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> and there is a genuine sense of calm in this space. It is like escaping to a time long ago - the time that existed before crazy paving, colour, and Spangles.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Hang on, was there a time before Spangles? Oh our poor, poor ancestors.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlclzUZnaC0Oz-HmRMgUlxrZo_cHBQudz1yhyphenhyphensv1VkvVNFY5herMlFypHhrkZL7_TPtiZtiHCL31wrLIOf-uW9F8DD0VET1wm5NwIk6smcOIfGY0tCdtOrUCSuw_uKPOQM3Kxr_GKk6Po/s1600/DSC02109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlclzUZnaC0Oz-HmRMgUlxrZo_cHBQudz1yhyphenhyphensv1VkvVNFY5herMlFypHhrkZL7_TPtiZtiHCL31wrLIOf-uW9F8DD0VET1wm5NwIk6smcOIfGY0tCdtOrUCSuw_uKPOQM3Kxr_GKk6Po/s320/DSC02109.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">London Glades<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">RHS Hampton Court Flower Show is open until July 9th. For more details visit </span><a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-hampton-court-palace-flower-show">https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-hampton-court-palace-flower-show</a></span><br /><div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-43298152332383731182017-06-07T15:11:00.001+01:002017-06-07T15:11:26.644+01:00In the Pink at RHS Chatsworth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When it comes to gardening pedigree, Chatsworth has it all. William Kent, Joseph Paxton and Capability Brown had a hand in its creation; it is, without question, a breathtaking setting for the newest RHS Show.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-ZNSC1KANDK3sE5jLUIIKHuQwvIoOL2lo9-zQnuY3GYDu43ENy74olPUZkGRF0s-LmuDUXmNUZ7CkMElayV2sMvTj4_fznOgg-L3oUPLWn8oGzdI7T5MQ87Mf3eHZWknjEK6W9aBZHU/s1600/DSC01227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="1600" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-ZNSC1KANDK3sE5jLUIIKHuQwvIoOL2lo9-zQnuY3GYDu43ENy74olPUZkGRF0s-LmuDUXmNUZ7CkMElayV2sMvTj4_fznOgg-L3oUPLWn8oGzdI7T5MQ87Mf3eHZWknjEK6W9aBZHU/s320/DSC01227.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Agriframes Garden</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">With two floral marquees, a conservatory, show gardens, a plant village and a floral installation by Jonathan Moseley on one of the three bridges, flowers take centre stage. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sam Ovens' Wedgwood Garden is a riot of colour set against purple beech hedging. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6R7sShaZ_LDdPJGVU_Xe1sNodPaP8w2ir9Mo59vGfmVowxjSJKDkrBXNfGmzEr0vocU9c7uSSXH7egRXXxsONIZeonx_TV4mk9ypBeQQ05Mj4qAASKWaKrK4-UqQHbOS8sn0lnqH-qIc/s1600/DSC01298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6R7sShaZ_LDdPJGVU_Xe1sNodPaP8w2ir9Mo59vGfmVowxjSJKDkrBXNfGmzEr0vocU9c7uSSXH7egRXXxsONIZeonx_TV4mk9ypBeQQ05Mj4qAASKWaKrK4-UqQHbOS8sn0lnqH-qIc/s320/DSC01298.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But if there is a colour trend, it has to be pink. </span></div>
<div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXe2Y6JXJOgAbAR_s9n5jFTzAiZMEij5eblU_kgUGy8891nfXuQbiDeXZyfWFL50kMeE2SF3y6mty782hdRpmJNKC7RztuaDNsxmAmYnsmmTTACnKZehb86QqMxk2C2T5vV-oK6VAPro/s1600/DSC01625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXe2Y6JXJOgAbAR_s9n5jFTzAiZMEij5eblU_kgUGy8891nfXuQbiDeXZyfWFL50kMeE2SF3y6mty782hdRpmJNKC7RztuaDNsxmAmYnsmmTTACnKZehb86QqMxk2C2T5vV-oK6VAPro/s320/DSC01625.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Paeonia lactiflora </i>'Bowl of Love'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoimBBIgcIoaauVKtlr41q16vgJkiA16fj9WhBYYM2QPEtPPdOBUh_aLd0FfYtnbXTPTFsafSxEfvhnyDrjJP911WDMuns12SKlSjLOT2vAq4gN4Zr30a1SZvSaxHfMq-dZILHqwhXl4/s1600/DSC01516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoimBBIgcIoaauVKtlr41q16vgJkiA16fj9WhBYYM2QPEtPPdOBUh_aLd0FfYtnbXTPTFsafSxEfvhnyDrjJP911WDMuns12SKlSjLOT2vAq4gN4Zr30a1SZvSaxHfMq-dZILHqwhXl4/s320/DSC01516.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Deutzia hybrida </i>'Tourbillon Rouge'<br />(It looks pink to me!)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1071" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuF64U4WOskEBlVX8w0SE_GjWSxI2fyK7qv9nwsXL3I6IrDQ_Zee87KJjf5RMX_eJLB97PWeJtMqjiyLaFI5MFbzcFl4h1jlTYXNOj-gSDDJWR2YaUiN2uh2B-bzSPA2RikgbutybZ_M/s320/DSC01382.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dahlia MT New Pink Single</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuF64U4WOskEBlVX8w0SE_GjWSxI2fyK7qv9nwsXL3I6IrDQ_Zee87KJjf5RMX_eJLB97PWeJtMqjiyLaFI5MFbzcFl4h1jlTYXNOj-gSDDJWR2YaUiN2uh2B-bzSPA2RikgbutybZ_M/s1600/DSC01382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8-crWcHrL7RoHvNXeckMaNfsl3Td6N588WIEvW2p5DZEQpZZ1YwZBAaFR0ZBOX91HsVFB2bIIZLUtRxJXLhQinjBT60qI4otCD1br2cz0vrc8XZV4CeORp5FmgHbA218U-SFnBRBCv4/s1600/DSC01271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8-crWcHrL7RoHvNXeckMaNfsl3Td6N588WIEvW2p5DZEQpZZ1YwZBAaFR0ZBOX91HsVFB2bIIZLUtRxJXLhQinjBT60qI4otCD1br2cz0vrc8XZV4CeORp5FmgHbA218U-SFnBRBCv4/s320/DSC01271.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pink on Tanya Batkin's Moveable Feast Garden</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Even Mary Berry sports pink (accessorised with wellies).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBvs4X4s8AMwSiy4Q1NX9Ec2ZYWrO_7be5CbSgmqVvxzLQ9opWUpAnzZRou5z_MG7sqj2gEWdSCIxRHk_O2b87tl-vydF73_omh2F7EQnaIlD60elkErbIR4ooizU7T34R8yor-HQPxY/s1600/DSC01394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBvs4X4s8AMwSiy4Q1NX9Ec2ZYWrO_7be5CbSgmqVvxzLQ9opWUpAnzZRou5z_MG7sqj2gEWdSCIxRHk_O2b87tl-vydF73_omh2F7EQnaIlD60elkErbIR4ooizU7T34R8yor-HQPxY/s320/DSC01394.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Far be it from me to suggest that disused quarries are a trend, but since James Basson won best show garden at Chelsea with his abandoned quarry and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Paul Hervey-Brookes has won best show garden for the IQ Quarry Garden at Chatsworth, we might be forgiven for thinking that old quarries are quite the thing for 2017.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dZ7L1VjRSmXPz1qFtM4-MJZLzr_Sept-9qE7H49jBVlPvlkQkhJjhnLKHONUynG2L8Qf0iKItJabBE6egAM1mYnnL8JE7fAhR4fwKvdfx2v0_JEzq0iQhVwcVHQjtJpMNg3ZMEUrFYc/s1600/DSC01250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: times; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dZ7L1VjRSmXPz1qFtM4-MJZLzr_Sept-9qE7H49jBVlPvlkQkhJjhnLKHONUynG2L8Qf0iKItJabBE6egAM1mYnnL8JE7fAhR4fwKvdfx2v0_JEzq0iQhVwcVHQjtJpMNg3ZMEUrFYc/s320/DSC01250.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pink in The IQ Quarry Garden</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chatsworth's long horticultural history provides a strong foundation on which the RHS can build; and build it has. Bees in the twenty-first century, a bug hotel competition for schoolchildren, the RHS Garden for a Changing Climate and Tanya Batkin’s moveable garden for Generation Rent all point very firmly to the future. </span></div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RR8FhUZX5wkHPePTBft38vwJ62eipERmieJpBG10uXPvHStXA7pZlPvEI50okBhHvRzw1-sEe4fk1PQHmqcjvf1HjUadFHJF9HpDIS9-OVXCXusUI7kuHil5_F-tNzKkcpABg4zhkKM/s1600/DSC01362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RR8FhUZX5wkHPePTBft38vwJ62eipERmieJpBG10uXPvHStXA7pZlPvEI50okBhHvRzw1-sEe4fk1PQHmqcjvf1HjUadFHJF9HpDIS9-OVXCXusUI7kuHil5_F-tNzKkcpABg4zhkKM/s320/DSC01362.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bug hotels in front of Chatsworth House</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Past and future collide with memorable force in The Good Within Garden. The juxtaposition of this installation against the facade of Chatsworth House is unforgettable. The idea behind the garden is that we should look beyond exteriors. Young people, many of whom face difficulties as a result of their start in life, helped in its creation, including painting portraits of Joseph Paxton. Paxton came from humble beginnings and went on to design the Crystal Palace. It is difficult to imagine a more perfect setting to communicate this installation's powerful and optimistic message.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcizptR17hS95Ok7NW_ziWzfRb1KXXdIARxVfJIYOflplYl2Ns3T37yO_aIg_tFj7063KyyEhjRCgoU2Pf2in2RJRqjLOpfoq9T1LY1dGmQyOe4dood7EGB5CDwpnj7xrk4tKniyt_W00/s1600/DSC01328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcizptR17hS95Ok7NW_ziWzfRb1KXXdIARxVfJIYOflplYl2Ns3T37yO_aIg_tFj7063KyyEhjRCgoU2Pf2in2RJRqjLOpfoq9T1LY1dGmQyOe4dood7EGB5CDwpnj7xrk4tKniyt_W00/s320/DSC01328.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Similarly the placing of Behind the Scenes, which pays homage to gardening tasks and gardeners, could not be bettered. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p0y9NjqiTNjoo-OLtDF3MhwFyG78u6fcGzDKhZfCHKn5gozRqHTPV28OwkEYgHRRDIBVKSSgIdEEFeO98waJFcouxQSmJAqUjsr2zgmaJ_zYRCLvfJsmr8Hjks1z-vqco51DDD9A6Rs/s1600/DSC01317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p0y9NjqiTNjoo-OLtDF3MhwFyG78u6fcGzDKhZfCHKn5gozRqHTPV28OwkEYgHRRDIBVKSSgIdEEFeO98waJFcouxQSmJAqUjsr2zgmaJ_zYRCLvfJsmr8Hjks1z-vqco51DDD9A6Rs/s320/DSC01317.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The RHS Chatsworth Show is large and varied, but it isn’t too spread out. My gardening-averse family would certainly enjoy it. From a hydrogen car to eye-catching sculptures, with floral sheep and delicious fudge in between, they would all find something to spark their varied interests. </span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Will The RHS Chatsworth Show inspire future gardeners? I hope so. It has certainly inspired this present day one.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-84721511771479584192017-06-04T12:10:00.000+01:002017-06-04T12:12:08.457+01:00My Garden Right Now with the Chelsea Fringe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have learnt to garden with my camera - not in a trowel or scythe kind of way (that would do little for the health of a lens) - but because venturing into the garden without a camera invariably results in a hurried return to the house and the frantic </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">search for a lens, battery, or even the whole kit and caboodle (why is nothing ever where I thought I had left it?) so that I can capture the plant or creature screaming out to be photographed.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Despite my best athletic scuttling in gardening clogs, by the time I return, camera poised (which is more than can be said for the photographer), the subject of my study has meandered off elsewhere. I am no Usain Bolt, nor am I the kind of gardener who is above being sidetracked by coffee and biscuits, so there is little need for my photographic quarry to move with any haste to avoid my lens. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Consequently, wherever I garden, I try to leave a camera dangling from a gatepost or languishing on a bench.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here I am, camouflaged in my garden today and adding to my already extensive photographic collection. Is there such a thing as too many photos of plants?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfiZ653yOY_TjXhLomne48GLU22atDJiF6eRUYn7tVul2PN3gCG_XOVHjPe6-RvKDAy6sqyIS2HB-HTbfrZagxHfOTb2HUM89CPKrSc0V4AgKT0ZOe84hMW_ShMK81vov0Ij7w_tdZnQ/s1600/DSC01205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1093" data-original-width="1600" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfiZ653yOY_TjXhLomne48GLU22atDJiF6eRUYn7tVul2PN3gCG_XOVHjPe6-RvKDAy6sqyIS2HB-HTbfrZagxHfOTb2HUM89CPKrSc0V4AgKT0ZOe84hMW_ShMK81vov0Ij7w_tdZnQ/s320/DSC01205.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This post is part of a celebration of gardens this weekend with the Chelsea Fringe <a href="http://www.chelseafringe.com/event/mygardenrightnow/2017-06-03/">http://www.chelseafringe.com/event/mygardenrightnow/2017-06-03/</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Why not join in with a photo of you in your garden right now using #mygardenrightnow on the social media platform of your choice? And please take a look at Michelle's wonderful blog to see more gardens right now</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://vegplotting.blogspot.co.uk/">http://vegplotting.blogspot.co.uk/</a></span><br />
<br />Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-38962775229293039472017-05-15T09:29:00.000+01:002017-05-15T09:29:01.064+01:00Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like many bloggers, I post elsewhere from time to time. One of my regular haunts is The Hardy Plant Society Blog where I post every month about fabulous plants for pollinators. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is my latest offering: </span><a href="http://www.hardy-plant.org.uk/blog/shoe-0517" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.hardy-plant.org.uk/blog/shoe-0517</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope that you enjoy it.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGCXRy5zg9jsXwsjLqx2Im-PSzRoKfrfI7L5j5_qiIo-AWG_b7aKwDt-et3gZY2lQGjKo9mXN6pZEM6llZEr_0fe7wXEmDCLvHVO4QKynU8qgAo7R0s3gNdVbaCclWVB0IGsYmEORkKw/s1600/DSC00085.JPG" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGCXRy5zg9jsXwsjLqx2Im-PSzRoKfrfI7L5j5_qiIo-AWG_b7aKwDt-et3gZY2lQGjKo9mXN6pZEM6llZEr_0fe7wXEmDCLvHVO4QKynU8qgAo7R0s3gNdVbaCclWVB0IGsYmEORkKw/s320/DSC00085.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My apologies for redirecting you today. I will be back here next week, by which time, fingers crossed, we might have had some rain in Norfolk. The soil is so worryingly dry!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Best wishes,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sarah</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">More gorgeous blooms in gardens around the globe may be found at <a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/">http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/</a></span></span>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-79525918893254813492017-04-26T12:00:00.000+01:002017-04-26T12:01:16.269+01:00The Comeback Gardener<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">One of the many wonderful things about gardeners is that when a crop fails or a plant turns up its roots, we dust ourselves down, work out what happened, and look forward to next year when conditions will be better. We might be in this optimistic state of waiting for an improvement for several years until we reluctantly call time on that crop or plant and move on to a more reliable substitute. This happened to me with a whole group of plants: the brassicas. Sick of slugs, snails, pigeons, caterpillars, greedy hens, ugly netting and dangling CDs, I ruled out pretty much every brassica known to gardenerkind and welcomed other edible lovelies onto my veg plot.<span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></span></h3>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFXR4_u2QgvGg7vkhXVzNaCJOHjqYe45ne9DP7q9o5j3lQXnrn52tg8tUcKHv8hqMRdEPJRc6lfUu5BmK0O53o94irmrmI7-iDJNtAucoBMdQ1G78tgpJNKB9o_tvh8OzSLkFjM3sQ7I/s1600/CIMG1055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFXR4_u2QgvGg7vkhXVzNaCJOHjqYe45ne9DP7q9o5j3lQXnrn52tg8tUcKHv8hqMRdEPJRc6lfUu5BmK0O53o94irmrmI7-iDJNtAucoBMdQ1G78tgpJNKB9o_tvh8OzSLkFjM3sQ7I/s320/CIMG1055.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broccoli Harvest Circa 2008</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<span class="s1" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This year I have reneged on my anti-brassica stance and depending on the outcome, I have The Blogosphere to thank or blame for this. After all, t</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">here is a limit to the number of seasons that a gardener can sit back and watch </span></span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: center;">glistening white cauliflower curds and beautiful </span><span class="s1" style="font-family: "helvetica"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">broccoli florets </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: "helvetica"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">paraded across a computer screen before a toe is tentatively dipped back into the brassica pond.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: center;">So far this gentle return to brassicas has involved seventy broccoli raab plants, more red cabbage than there is the spirit to braise, four varieties of brussels sprouts and a whole bed dedicated to swede or rutabega. I say so far because turnips are waiting in the wings along with kale, cauliflowers and winter cabbages.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-align: center;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4yBRiWBMZS-z-Cj53UaF0INHqk06Kaq_BBZzxnJuerApx9WVjodmmD1yhXteZhTIbc7sunSa9YgFWal_2-JZeXWFv65n4ue4FnBVAzCWabG026AXGaEekMw7xFUYBps9M_g69j_ZJGM/s1600/DSC09707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4yBRiWBMZS-z-Cj53UaF0INHqk06Kaq_BBZzxnJuerApx9WVjodmmD1yhXteZhTIbc7sunSa9YgFWal_2-JZeXWFv65n4ue4FnBVAzCWabG026AXGaEekMw7xFUYBps9M_g69j_ZJGM/s320/DSC09707.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Cabbage and Scarlet Kale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;">I am embracing nets in a manner I had never previously thought possible - not physically obviously, that would make for a rare sight in rural Norfolk, or anywhere else for that matter. The chickens have been given a stern talking to and the slug pubs are stocked and ready to welcome their first guests. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69OpUENov92bFYVdJ2NTgqgdjegts_hLTRZIaMhfJTGKJhyphenhyphenUKjc49YBDUR4CMuGsNQshyphenhyphennOpl-2w5cmYQ8pfJvw50BuRu9gkvS6yBFFwcMwK4QD-217g6h4y0mOj8dsXZSh1QXH-d9Zc/s1600/DSC09706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69OpUENov92bFYVdJ2NTgqgdjegts_hLTRZIaMhfJTGKJhyphenhyphenUKjc49YBDUR4CMuGsNQshyphenhyphennOpl-2w5cmYQ8pfJvw50BuRu9gkvS6yBFFwcMwK4QD-217g6h4y0mOj8dsXZSh1QXH-d9Zc/s320/DSC09706.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the unlikely event that these brassicas should </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">make it to harvest, there will be a glut to manage so I have been scouting around for delicious recipes. Love Your Greens is a site dedicated to brassicas and I am</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> salivating in an unseemly manner at the prospect of swede cake and swede ice cream (not necessarily together, but I am happy to give it a go). </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Perhaps it's time to sow another bed of swede... or three.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Love Your Greens may be found at:</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.loveyourgreens.co.uk/recipes/#top" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.loveyourgreens.co.uk/recipes/#top</a></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-55841373694845486712017-04-05T14:12:00.000+01:002017-04-05T14:12:21.089+01:00Kitchen Gardening and Mingling Springs<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At last! The propagators are fired up and</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> churning out seedlings on a daily basis; the cold frames, reassembled and reglazed after Storm Doris took them for a spin around the orchard, are stuffed to the gunnels; and the soil is warming up and looking as welcoming as it can, given its history. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7CmlXseVXuzd2k92Aj0EOUlPVNRXrFBUtEl1vnJJrgd5GyXPMeZzcI_w0bqrjjgnw_ZrCysuhB7_gdhXFo8BEGGrloSoaOK8WOGuKJHv2SsZXJdx8NMj-cHArL06mSshqYUh8ssg0fM/s1600/DSC09334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7CmlXseVXuzd2k92Aj0EOUlPVNRXrFBUtEl1vnJJrgd5GyXPMeZzcI_w0bqrjjgnw_ZrCysuhB7_gdhXFo8BEGGrloSoaOK8WOGuKJHv2SsZXJdx8NMj-cHArL06mSshqYUh8ssg0fM/s320/DSC09334.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Living on a former farm in rural Norfolk means that I have land on which to grow food, but the soil is riddled with flint, chalk and hulking lumps of clay muddled with detritus from centuries of building and farming. Last winter, the notion of a flowerbed was redefined when I unearthed a bundle of bedsprings. Every time I pulled at a spring, it either stretched and refused to budge from the soil, or it attached itself to a fellow spring. Knitted together they were lethal and I found myself under attack from all sides as springs already exposed and languishing on the soil rose up and propelled themselves towards me. They made untangling a hosepipe look like child's play </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">and the never-ending spaghetti of bindweed roots seem benign. I will never complain about weeding again (at least not this year)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">. Whoever thought that it would be a good idea to bury a bed? </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJwZzlA1l1q_M00QtY1wTZHj-01Vpbrv9t0QxFziq3iteViP8SingO5t7DUzllFOA-yM-T-1SSixt360KW2YONAdN_imXPeT0wtfDWR0GF7JKEJXiBwUH8BYZ1SaoHpO_N5ZndXf5f6k/s1600/IMG-20111029-00051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJwZzlA1l1q_M00QtY1wTZHj-01Vpbrv9t0QxFziq3iteViP8SingO5t7DUzllFOA-yM-T-1SSixt360KW2YONAdN_imXPeT0wtfDWR0GF7JKEJXiBwUH8BYZ1SaoHpO_N5ZndXf5f6k/s320/IMG-20111029-00051.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Good Old Days... a barrowload of stones circa 2011. <br />I thought this was bad at the time (little did I know)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is a few weeks since my last run-in with mingling springs. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The pile of masonry dug from the soil continues to grow, but progress is being made and every so often I am treated to the delights of sowing into something akin to friable.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFZ-wCk92tf7Qy7wvnxRFevmumoNZDZaUanSweJv6DlWfWumq6U26q0f5VSsnbSTdfTyeYwh_LTJInCgktK91VBmFflKinzAINADuirct-kpKqZ-mW4WEbJsacF6FPTQf5boDf1RbujA/s1600/DSC09343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFZ-wCk92tf7Qy7wvnxRFevmumoNZDZaUanSweJv6DlWfWumq6U26q0f5VSsnbSTdfTyeYwh_LTJInCgktK91VBmFflKinzAINADuirct-kpKqZ-mW4WEbJsacF6FPTQf5boDf1RbujA/s320/DSC09343.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hyacinth enjoying some better soil <br />- that really is her happy face</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My favourite gardening task for a rainy day is the allocation of crops to their place in the kitchen garden. I stick to a basic rotation plan, but</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I like to mix things up in each bed because the kitchen garden is the one place where I feel free to experiment with different plant combinations every year. Of course, I could do that elsewhere in the garden, but an annual shift of perennial ornamentals is beyond me and I suspect that the plants would vote against the whole shenanigans by turning up their roots.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJH94rDAXfihDTV1GmWpnpDHTAZsFNW-C4bpnFMPbR3AJUUHTUoQgRIRHvhABCz35rayJRAwl_wB0WFruwYuLKhnT16in2-WKUa0b5Mb4fTSKfNx1A55Q8Wmuxj9K80BRrfcr8f7ojio/s1600/DSC09106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJH94rDAXfihDTV1GmWpnpDHTAZsFNW-C4bpnFMPbR3AJUUHTUoQgRIRHvhABCz35rayJRAwl_wB0WFruwYuLKhnT16in2-WKUa0b5Mb4fTSKfNx1A55Q8Wmuxj9K80BRrfcr8f7ojio/s320/DSC09106.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Aubrieta </i>is definitely not rotating anywhere</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In a sense, there is a secondary rotation happening on my veggie plot because it is circular</span></span><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">. Although there may be an argument for maximising light to individual beds, I arrange them in this way because I like the idea of sitting in the middle, surrounded by food. That said,</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> the crop circles have been there for over half a decade and I have never sat down in the kitchen garden.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkGfqeqhzE7w0LNeccRD1Q3gOz3-x8NFmj7QAt-_Y2MJT7Xjb6uBThDyGF_FkJ9k8Zekq8ESO77YGKx7qJbRdQycAV5152lII98M8LNhfKpze1UXg_7aqkzt-_nwtmLxUzp8CXreI6rw/s1600/DSC09329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkGfqeqhzE7w0LNeccRD1Q3gOz3-x8NFmj7QAt-_Y2MJT7Xjb6uBThDyGF_FkJ9k8Zekq8ESO77YGKx7qJbRdQycAV5152lII98M8LNhfKpze1UXg_7aqkzt-_nwtmLxUzp8CXreI6rw/s320/DSC09329.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The area is bordered by fruit and nut hedging with views through the food to various focal points. One focal point is an oak, another is the pear tree under which I plan to put a seat on which I will probably never sit, but I do like to have a selection of benches to not sit on. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Is this complicated arrangement of crops necessary? Of course not! It just amuses me to grow them in this way. Gardening should be fun. Crop circles make me smile.</span></div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-78671429501335804032017-03-19T15:01:00.000+00:002017-03-19T15:01:15.016+00:00Fruit Blossom, Seed Sowing and the Joys of Spring<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fresh green leaves are unfurling on the gooseberries and mirabelles. The pluot has burst into flower and I am screaming "No! Not Yet! Get a grip on yourselves and wait a while!"</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhO5VEC04I26tABT_eM6S2B_PdEhPMOTGl1mIUENxcQikVAFpPlK108REk9ityxtCt5X9kt1EHJjxoR-dKD0qmyZ0yqskIf52i6zqEjpXmNv27BDIxaP89XScylOt6pDLOgALzXQIH_E/s1600/DSC08957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhO5VEC04I26tABT_eM6S2B_PdEhPMOTGl1mIUENxcQikVAFpPlK108REk9ityxtCt5X9kt1EHJjxoR-dKD0qmyZ0yqskIf52i6zqEjpXmNv27BDIxaP89XScylOt6pDLOgALzXQIH_E/s320/DSC08957.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pluot</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I might be filled with the joys of spring were it not for an all-pervading fear that Jack Frost will sneak into the garden and teach these precocious blooms a lesson or two in timing. </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5R3gPIKol-tvY-bcr2E4V2yYAHBiCP8GUM9I2Emu5PHUHk73kqSXMMj83V8B3SFKSuQcx6UtgNBlNjtS4wBd2ZyCXcWtTmQpNo09TnvD5XPR-XaQmPOoYfV8CmzluK7mySL_xe0Od7I/s1600/DSC08888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5R3gPIKol-tvY-bcr2E4V2yYAHBiCP8GUM9I2Emu5PHUHk73kqSXMMj83V8B3SFKSuQcx6UtgNBlNjtS4wBd2ZyCXcWtTmQpNo09TnvD5XPR-XaQmPOoYfV8CmzluK7mySL_xe0Od7I/s320/DSC08888.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Pyrus calleryana </i>'Chanticleer'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If, like me, you garden without a greenhouse in the UK, you are probably exercising more patience than you ever thought possible. Every year I exceed my own expectations in the self-control department and with gargantuan effort, I usually manage to put off sowing vegetable seeds until late March. Even so, my office window has already disappeared from view thanks to a handful of ornamentals.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkb1gZnixmVHqNJaYL5h9cCLWXvIrark9rg3OLjpDaxEIX7Xa11Ol43Ohx4vhDHKf6ysFvlt0DvZwuTby3XYLUfBTyiYwGO5gb6d-lliodNAcIWibW5LAbfWjESvQLvP-uE8ViN6fwApo/s1600/DSC08914.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkb1gZnixmVHqNJaYL5h9cCLWXvIrark9rg3OLjpDaxEIX7Xa11Ol43Ohx4vhDHKf6ysFvlt0DvZwuTby3XYLUfBTyiYwGO5gb6d-lliodNAcIWibW5LAbfWjESvQLvP-uE8ViN6fwApo/s320/DSC08914.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The table I use for seedlings has been backed by reflective foil and moved to a window. It is ready for action, and where am I? Still in the throes of bare root hedge planting. Meanwhile the weeds are having a field day hurling their seeds willy-nilly and the <i>Wisteria</i> is strangling a drainpipe. All of this activity means that while half of me is hoping that temperatures will not plummet, particularly as I am excited to try my first homegrown pluot, the other half is wishing that winter could last another week or three to give me a chance to catch up with long overdue gardening tasks. </span></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7o2z1r_kP79XNyD7idurQ7NrsxFUUxdh_SU60yhtCqbVoks3CCbk08J86kU_u8IZGXNSBfuu2PozvAW2WBlyHkFFhpElVdcXDkek1OMQVHwfkznBuycB4g6Si4RTmOzN9zRmlSfPejY/s1600/DSC08867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7o2z1r_kP79XNyD7idurQ7NrsxFUUxdh_SU60yhtCqbVoks3CCbk08J86kU_u8IZGXNSBfuu2PozvAW2WBlyHkFFhpElVdcXDkek1OMQVHwfkznBuycB4g6Si4RTmOzN9zRmlSfPejY/s320/DSC08867.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfurling <i>Ribes</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The answer, of course, lies in a cloak of fleece for the pluot to snuggle under</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> should the weather turn, and for me to tackle the weeds and <i>Wisteria</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">. The fleece is a must, but if spring turns wintry, I shall be holed up in the potting shed with my seed collection and, joy of joys, a packet of pristine plastic plant labels. After all, it would be folly to climb a ladder to deal with a wayward <i>Wisteria </i>in bad weather</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">, and as for the weeds, well, they can wait. They are, after all, a never-ending task.</span></div>
</div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-4388136331996827402017-03-04T17:21:00.000+00:002017-03-04T17:21:10.570+00:00#My Garden Right Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is a rarity: the Lesser Spotted Sitting Gardener. Brimming with to do lists and incapable of controlling the urge to weed, deadhead, sow and mow (not necessarily in that order or all at the same time), the Lesser Spotted Sitting Gardener is apt to instantaneously metamorphose into the Greater Spotted Sidetracked Gardener. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHsmRq1YUhwHzYg0mxz69blEI_aNDepCbJJQza4Cockzo6N62uL84k1zdpZSdfma0DX5nwrzKqehkk0LD4Uo1I2k2ROd__EJTc2eZy8_VAJ_I4zgouKvV89DMvdJaqcgvJAh7wSb3HaM/s1600/DSC08662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHsmRq1YUhwHzYg0mxz69blEI_aNDepCbJJQza4Cockzo6N62uL84k1zdpZSdfma0DX5nwrzKqehkk0LD4Uo1I2k2ROd__EJTc2eZy8_VAJ_I4zgouKvV89DMvdJaqcgvJAh7wSb3HaM/s320/DSC08662.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please d</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">on't let the turquoise mac fool you. It is machine washable and sees more non-bio action than your average coat. Shortly after this photo was taken, the Lesser Spotted Sitting Gardener scurried off to plant a yew hedge, and tested the mac's trench coat credentials to their gardening limits. Now the mac is resigned to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">spending yet another </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Saturday night dancing around a drum on a 30 degree wash.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This photo was taken today for the #MyGardenNow project. Details are here. Go on... join in. We all want to see your garden right now! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://vegplotting.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/introducing-mygardenrightnow-project.html">http://vegplotting.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/introducing-mygardenrightnow-project.html</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And if, like me, you have trouble sitting in your garden and doing nothing, why not try one of these?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://thegardeningshoe.blogspot.co.uk/2013_03_01_archive.html">http://thegardeningshoe.blogspot.co.uk/2013_03_01_archive.html</a></span><br />
<br />Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-56461809424247439612017-02-15T07:39:00.000+00:002017-02-15T07:39:18.630+00:00February Flowers for Bees<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">While weeding a border yesterday, I was </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">dragged from my winter torpor by a passing bee. Without a second thought for the hot drink I had been promising myself, I pursued the bee to see where it might be heading. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtmRtqJ7X-XtltbsdwDG5GRJbJ-qC_W1keBGaQA8EUiYhYlXV018icRO1iEQHtyj-2_xG9dxhaDF-izJ3wOAFY3dL9wQivWD7L5E-II0kQvu1hMMF_0DUwscskE9adExi_lYU_NDs4r0/s1600/DSC08604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtmRtqJ7X-XtltbsdwDG5GRJbJ-qC_W1keBGaQA8EUiYhYlXV018icRO1iEQHtyj-2_xG9dxhaDF-izJ3wOAFY3dL9wQivWD7L5E-II0kQvu1hMMF_0DUwscskE9adExi_lYU_NDs4r0/s320/DSC08604.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is plenty on the menu for early bees. Sitting prettily just above the surface of the soil are snowdrops, <i>Crocus </i>and <i>Iris reticulata</i>. </span><span class="s1" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hellebores hang their heads shyly, as if scared to be noticed. Who can blame them when they are towered over by winter flowering shrubs pumping out great nostril-</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">loads of scent and screaming for attention?</span></div>
<div class="p1">
</div>
<div class="p2">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmp-uNIqypxcGRdGYCywuI4jFhX_TEwg9LggI6pQaKDFQX-1ekf2t4UaO8EovOahGk3x1AEtnBQl1rpv6lUCEtWSCGkgJrAGpr8pQ0YT0uA-xwTJVpBdDxTUgghj2e576IlYwPoIC7j0o/s1600/DSC08612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmp-uNIqypxcGRdGYCywuI4jFhX_TEwg9LggI6pQaKDFQX-1ekf2t4UaO8EovOahGk3x1AEtnBQl1rpv6lUCEtWSCGkgJrAGpr8pQ0YT0uA-xwTJVpBdDxTUgghj2e576IlYwPoIC7j0o/s320/DSC08612.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Snowdrops growing through Ivy. A match made in heaven</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I do love a scented shrub. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the moment, the sweetest of the fragrance factories are the shrubby honeysuckles, <i>Lonicera fragrantissima</i> and <i>Lonicera</i> x <i>purpusii</i> 'Winter Beauty'.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Flowering from January to March in my garden, they are a valuable source of nectar for early bumble bees. Delicate creamy-white flowers hang on almost leafless branches. Their scent is not as heady as <i>Sarcococca</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> which is belting out fragrance at the moment, but <i>Lonicera</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> certainly packs enough of a punch to get attention. </span></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJR07ofivGEwfnjsHb-6lnael8PaNffLLv7yfJhFTCJ0dsQMbaaoJeWcYP6LL-5mPCOiUF4zlX9bF3buQMubNdLbh9oQ9dbhFBhqys09MAhtVAVWBIMd_4X8MwEXqYaceDmWsCfiW3Gw0/s1600/DSC08608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJR07ofivGEwfnjsHb-6lnael8PaNffLLv7yfJhFTCJ0dsQMbaaoJeWcYP6LL-5mPCOiUF4zlX9bF3buQMubNdLbh9oQ9dbhFBhqys09MAhtVAVWBIMd_4X8MwEXqYaceDmWsCfiW3Gw0/s320/DSC08608.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Lonicera fragrantissima</i> grows to about two metres, so it needs space. It might be big, but it is not a dense shrub and it looks great with winter flowering bulbs and hellebores at its feet. Later in the year, dark green hellebore leaves make a wonderful foil for the lighter leaves of <i>Lonicera</i>. </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVu-vLzrLF6S7jREvEbIUlCRg3bTorDjDf71AuHgHpsVbtOstVTqG1VMRwgud48ktW7v_n5knW6D3m9xbmjuyaVtA1IXWrcsuaNRox50y2-foJTuuJ8PLjorpLAzXY_l3uQIhDznM4rMA/s1600/DSC08618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVu-vLzrLF6S7jREvEbIUlCRg3bTorDjDf71AuHgHpsVbtOstVTqG1VMRwgud48ktW7v_n5knW6D3m9xbmjuyaVtA1IXWrcsuaNRox50y2-foJTuuJ8PLjorpLAzXY_l3uQIhDznM4rMA/s320/DSC08618.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crocus brightening up the car park border</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy in sun or part shade, if there isn't room to let it romp, it may be grown as a wall shrub, but take care not to over-prune. I only ever trim a branch if it is encroaching on a path. I certainly wouldn't cut away</span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> more than two or three branches in any one year. Pruning should be undertaken straight after flowering. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-gHNv4m59NX5Y9OpfwolGJY15Udyvw1Cmi-Zk-ymmRLkYraICfpe55aYDunYqaHHFxkxYxEUjd7vcqKMWjEHKGWdc9hslEI45_t-SXxnpoCGxHebusfFsi5Bh-stOAUoYk_o2q3PQNQ/s1600/DSC08606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR-gHNv4m59NX5Y9OpfwolGJY15Udyvw1Cmi-Zk-ymmRLkYraICfpe55aYDunYqaHHFxkxYxEUjd7vcqKMWjEHKGWdc9hslEI45_t-SXxnpoCGxHebusfFsi5Bh-stOAUoYk_o2q3PQNQ/s320/DSC08606.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Lonicera</i> x <i>purpusii </i></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">'Winter Beauty'</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> has purple-red stems in spring and early summer. I can't say that this makes a great deal of difference to me as it like the flowers, foliage and the form of</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> both <i>Lonicera fragrantissima</i> and <i>Lonicera</i> x <i>purpusii</i> 'Winter Beauty'. Best of all, they get the bee seal of approval.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am joining with other bloggers around the world to celebrate Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Why not pop over to <a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/">http://www.maydreamsgardens.com</a> and see what is blooming in gardens around the globe?</span></div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-90659883278904304112017-02-14T12:59:00.000+00:002017-02-14T12:59:32.989+00:00Planting for Wildlife<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I recently saw a post on social media from a gardener who was worried about overwintering her <i>Pyracantha</i> cuttings. While many replies were supportive, they were littered with calls for the gardener to destroy her plants. My hackles were raised. <i>Pyracantha</i> is hugely valuable to wildlife. Fancying myself as a knight on a charger, I thundered to fair <i>Pyracantha</i>’s defence (only I’m a gardener at a laptop and I’m a little bit scared of thunder). </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykKbka3ah3GKUFFjVYFCsvM5gMmT_6nCM8ILxZGiw9rpQYWqk_LTJ5J5BtJQg9xdMOeIzhsqDt7vE-EUOOQyLxLr15fI3zyPls2wIdvfnXyvinph3HFRhq7vx2Fghn_jhFi8edSQdVhk/s1600/DSCF2845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykKbka3ah3GKUFFjVYFCsvM5gMmT_6nCM8ILxZGiw9rpQYWqk_LTJ5J5BtJQg9xdMOeIzhsqDt7vE-EUOOQyLxLr15fI3zyPls2wIdvfnXyvinph3HFRhq7vx2Fghn_jhFi8edSQdVhk/s320/DSCF2845.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My thoughts have been published on the fabulous Guardian Gardening Blog. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I know it’s a big cheek, but I would be ever so grateful if you might take the time to pop over there and comment please so that I don’t look like a complete Sarah No-Mates.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The link is below. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thank you. </span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2017/feb/14/in-praise-of-pyracantha">https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2017/feb/14/in-praise-of-pyracantha</a></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'll be back here soon with gorgeous February flowers for bees.</span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-14673944966028817002017-01-27T11:16:00.000+00:002017-01-27T11:16:04.731+00:00The Life of a Kitchen Gardener<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was introduced to the wonderful world of nurturing, picking and eating homegrown produce when I was a child. I don't remember giving a second thought to growing food during my late teens; then I got my first home with a garden. It will come as no surprise to veggie growers to learn that I swiftly replaced the overgrown low maintenance planting with higher maintenance, but hugely rewarding edibles. An allotment soon followed. It was a neglected plot. B</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">ringing it back into full production was extremely hard work, but every particle of soil reclaimed from the tenacious grip of couch grass meant more space for growing glorious food.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnexpcymJPh_-pdHNMIBoj_yrlfWkmKtJIVk_VcKBwzuS-kfkkUQOBg8ZEk4IzqgG8g6gaLS9Z52LSeefiAkZbtZW32KB7UVOcCWG0uu6rnMMZ1PE6SemKuujS3kuATzWOXRR1KwSwYIs/s1600/DSC04313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnexpcymJPh_-pdHNMIBoj_yrlfWkmKtJIVk_VcKBwzuS-kfkkUQOBg8ZEk4IzqgG8g6gaLS9Z52LSeefiAkZbtZW32KB7UVOcCWG0uu6rnMMZ1PE6SemKuujS3kuATzWOXRR1KwSwYIs/s320/DSC04313.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Over the years my love for growing and eating homegrown produce has not diminished, but the assortment of crops I grow has changed. When I became a parent to three children under three years old, I stopped growing anything requiring too much attention in the kitchen. Podding peas became a thing of the past, while s</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">trawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, okra and peppers were grown in great numbers. I also embraced potatoes in pots, not because I was short of space, but because rooting around for spuds in a container is far quicker (and safer) than finding a fork and digging up potatoes with three hungry children trailing in your wake. The potatoes also came out cleaner than they did when lifted from the soil, which sped up the whole process of food preparation considerably.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NgcoEkU_Mi3DxPY07TlYdUAvfcLa1zHDlBYnJoj0BTeG8VODp2GVRJsEKwEpL676N0imHqsjL01HTQDgK2PAgLMZl08_91GtX2wdzSmT1ckBXcy4pwzhi9S_kPREViYtL2y5CgUrREw/s1600/DSC08483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2NgcoEkU_Mi3DxPY07TlYdUAvfcLa1zHDlBYnJoj0BTeG8VODp2GVRJsEKwEpL676N0imHqsjL01HTQDgK2PAgLMZl08_91GtX2wdzSmT1ckBXcy4pwzhi9S_kPREViYtL2y5CgUrREw/s320/DSC08483.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As our children grew older I added their favourite foods to the mix. Shiny aubergines, asparagus, purple beans and sweetcorn were welcomed into the greenhouse and onto the plot. Our strawberry patch expanded and raspberries were given a free rein to walk wherever they pleased, so long as they fruited. At harvest time the children would</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> run excitedly to the kitchen garden with their friends and delight in picking great bowlfuls of juicy tomatoes and succulent strawberries warm from the sun. Harvesting crops was a novelty for some of their friends. I hope that they will remember those sunny days of childhood and try growing food for themselves one day.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9WuZ8XnGkT751LUBiVkGkDj8S3rsbWT94Y8uDWNVTI0TdcLTCRESqMcfbhuqEDMY67yVQn87u0zon8elq72G6KaMq6KXSU12UxoOeN9IILgaIeh6xB_hOBZ8pmKGxCI8-oicQTrO2gU/s1600/DSC01019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9WuZ8XnGkT751LUBiVkGkDj8S3rsbWT94Y8uDWNVTI0TdcLTCRESqMcfbhuqEDMY67yVQn87u0zon8elq72G6KaMq6KXSU12UxoOeN9IILgaIeh6xB_hOBZ8pmKGxCI8-oicQTrO2gU/s320/DSC01019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now our children are teenagers with busy lives. For most of the year they barely have the time to notice that their food may have travelled only a matter of metres from the patch to their plate, but then in summer, when school’s out, I see them helping themselves to fruit from the kitchen garden or picking a salad for lunch.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmsF2115wNIXAYMhNUklM7cuCAGlH0DmfqZ0aL4ozjWeD2vKZQHL-4Mt2sokP3_WzXqHGXF5mEBMKbNP0cubDK2lNDABwtbb2CyhK23-TqHO3MoCzBPMK8FbAWZW0V5LY6XTkZFyFFZ0/s1600/DSC00308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmsF2115wNIXAYMhNUklM7cuCAGlH0DmfqZ0aL4ozjWeD2vKZQHL-4Mt2sokP3_WzXqHGXF5mEBMKbNP0cubDK2lNDABwtbb2CyhK23-TqHO3MoCzBPMK8FbAWZW0V5LY6XTkZFyFFZ0/s320/DSC00308.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the past two years one of our children has grown chillies on her bedroom windowsill. She also has an ever-extending collection of cacti. May this be the start of a lifelong love</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> of gardening for her. Our youngest teen likes to see flowers in the house. I am hoping that our new cutting garden will inspire her. As for me, I will be found in the vegetable garden, trying out new crops and looking forward to that point in summer when the school closes its doors and our children remember where their food comes from. </span></div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-42133937475000051762017-01-03T11:08:00.000+00:002017-01-03T11:08:19.518+00:00Garden Blogs and Good Intentions<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am one of those gardeners for whom the new year is like a starting gate catapulting open in a horse race. Waking up on January 1st is the point at which the door is released and the prize-winning filly</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> hurtles towards the finishing line, only in my case I'm a mare running like the clappers towards the seed catalogues, and there is nothing prize-winning about me (my track record with raffle tickets speaks for itself).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-kmNIaO2WnAxAKnJOkw9Cq2zw_14VGzqnIPw5VrbbeMHQkBVUWvcPCwmQCL3sksjHFjPmggRV4X6FvzxR3U20GhO1MCF2GKOv-JUw5ckecojvoUotFuOp-LEeynrrnKDdZomGQnOQfk/s1600/DSC08344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOjSfg5egJC0leC6VC3BkaOifP1k9jL6CI7OVlWXBN5QNL2mVmo169hKtJbug5CPvEmcwhrl86_NYNrsUtnKPPzH65EIMyzBjNyzepDshGNtUavSbOCSadsKKjx9VoMofk16647-n6cI/s1600/DSC08378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOjSfg5egJC0leC6VC3BkaOifP1k9jL6CI7OVlWXBN5QNL2mVmo169hKtJbug5CPvEmcwhrl86_NYNrsUtnKPPzH65EIMyzBjNyzepDshGNtUavSbOCSadsKKjx9VoMofk16647-n6cI/s320/DSC08378.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had planned to focus solely on ornamental seeds during early January, but my head has already been turned by edibles. Pipiche is an attractive Mexican herb, so it might be considered ornamental, but Carosello </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">looks like a hairy cucumber. Had I resolved to exercise more self-control, I would have failed in my resolution on day one. Thankfully, the older I get, the more resolved I become to never make a resolution, which is a resolution in itself. It only goes to show how unsuccessful resolutions can be.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlMJKbAJ-HwQZWqGjR-6NlpwUFRQ27nCkw45dzbwXwik65fGQK-twVo0v4AhyphenhyphenZtCAnqop9w3SGkqBaNAvFRAK1tT_9Ju96D8RSa-2fn9auQO-X-79uO0Oz3sIKJCo8srxCrHOXTGbghI/s1600/DSC08167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlMJKbAJ-HwQZWqGjR-6NlpwUFRQ27nCkw45dzbwXwik65fGQK-twVo0v4AhyphenhyphenZtCAnqop9w3SGkqBaNAvFRAK1tT_9Ju96D8RSa-2fn9auQO-X-79uO0Oz3sIKJCo8srxCrHOXTGbghI/s320/DSC08167.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I started blogging I had no clear idea of what I was trying to achieve. I knew that I wanted to share the joy of gardening with nature in mind. All of the photos in this post were taken over the festive period. Had I cut back and tidied the plants in autumn instead of leaving them to provide food and shelter for our wilder friends, imagine how flat and dull my garden would have been.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I might not win any raffles, but the wildlife and the sight of the plants on a frosty morn makes me feel like a winner.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJJkhCt7Uuw-x_DWsiM6Y_wIk4sBHxeGC5WU2eh8d00MykLiJ170zMxZwJ5Xwq1kds3Wuw8spghGyvfNulOKIc1rZEFRoxlC9EIe42SyUauUtujiZkpqrgnyfWz_DzcOEotke5I86gvw/s1600/DSC08151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJJkhCt7Uuw-x_DWsiM6Y_wIk4sBHxeGC5WU2eh8d00MykLiJ170zMxZwJ5Xwq1kds3Wuw8spghGyvfNulOKIc1rZEFRoxlC9EIe42SyUauUtujiZkpqrgnyfWz_DzcOEotke5I86gvw/s320/DSC08151.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It took a few months for me to pluck up the courage to publish my first post. I chose the easiest platform I could find and didn’t commit myself to a </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">domain name. I had read blogs for some time and I really loved the blogosphere. I still do. Being part of this global community has taught me to be </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">a better gardener. Now I want to learn to be a better blogger, so I am starting the year by asking for your advice.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-kmNIaO2WnAxAKnJOkw9Cq2zw_14VGzqnIPw5VrbbeMHQkBVUWvcPCwmQCL3sksjHFjPmggRV4X6FvzxR3U20GhO1MCF2GKOv-JUw5ckecojvoUotFuOp-LEeynrrnKDdZomGQnOQfk/s1600/DSC08344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-kmNIaO2WnAxAKnJOkw9Cq2zw_14VGzqnIPw5VrbbeMHQkBVUWvcPCwmQCL3sksjHFjPmggRV4X6FvzxR3U20GhO1MCF2GKOv-JUw5ckecojvoUotFuOp-LEeynrrnKDdZomGQnOQfk/s320/DSC08344.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">If I were to change the blogging platform, are there pitfalls I should watch out for? Would adding a culinary section to the mix be a good idea? What about historical posts and comments - do they travel well</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">? Have you ever changed the name of your blog? If so, was that an issue? What works and what doesn't about this blog? You may quite rightly be concluding that I have as much of a clue about what I’m doing as I have about growing that hairy cucumber lookalike, Carosello. Of course, if you have any advice on growing Carosello, it will be more than gratefully received.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPj5hYyFgWtKCKeQu3j10bfQF0a3cVWzrH4GPSPSezEap0ZoXqMh2O5nXSliVbg1rmq35DXCazTWv5vs-6MHoUqQ2aLsdRkJQ7vGQn5TVRUk4j8GwtoKDJqX2r4r-HN5QuMEzx3rC_Da4/s1600/DSC08154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPj5hYyFgWtKCKeQu3j10bfQF0a3cVWzrH4GPSPSezEap0ZoXqMh2O5nXSliVbg1rmq35DXCazTWv5vs-6MHoUqQ2aLsdRkJQ7vGQn5TVRUk4j8GwtoKDJqX2r4r-HN5QuMEzx3rC_Da4/s320/DSC08154.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Perhaps I should leave The Gardening Shoe well alone and go and focus on something more predictable, like selecting veggies to grow in 2017. The most predictable aspect of which will be the addition of a couple of ornamentals to the edible list. After all, there is bound to be something I forgot to order while I was getting sidetracked by Carosello and Pipiche. Such is the nature of seed catalogues and good intentions. </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you for all your encouragement and support over the years.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Wishing you health and happiness in 2017. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I look forward to reading your blogs and salivating over your beautiful photos this year. Here's to you!</span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-84872116602476654382016-12-05T11:26:00.000+00:002016-12-05T11:26:51.998+00:00Gardening With Dogs and Chatting With Chickens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chickens have been part of my gardening life for a few years now. They follow me around, listen to my ramblings, and rarely disagree with anything I say. They are an absolute joy! One morning when I was giving the chickens their daily weather update, I became aware that I was being watched. I</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> turned to discover a mother and child scurrying away with unseemly haste from the scary chicken lady. Happily it hasn't put me off chatting to my chickens. They are mighty fine listeners - and it has nothing to do with the corn in my pocket.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlN-EFj6YaqIK4WoV_xb35T01Jyv-mEDr-WWCYv3ckfaLfH7fSXf82CaRZmq_1-U4GmFjnGVPA32DczE0iSdKnCQ_hTgctc4Y_ZckBC7U8XctCD4yYD7oHA-1GurGel5NctsStQpNk3o/s1600/IMG_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlN-EFj6YaqIK4WoV_xb35T01Jyv-mEDr-WWCYv3ckfaLfH7fSXf82CaRZmq_1-U4GmFjnGVPA32DczE0iSdKnCQ_hTgctc4Y_ZckBC7U8XctCD4yYD7oHA-1GurGel5NctsStQpNk3o/s1600/IMG_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlN-EFj6YaqIK4WoV_xb35T01Jyv-mEDr-WWCYv3ckfaLfH7fSXf82CaRZmq_1-U4GmFjnGVPA32DczE0iSdKnCQ_hTgctc4Y_ZckBC7U8XctCD4yYD7oHA-1GurGel5NctsStQpNk3o/s320/IMG_0082.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our dog is a ready listener too, although the kids insist that it is cupboard love. Unlike the chickens, he talks back to me because in the age-old tradition of dog parents, I have given him a voice. To the uninitiated it might sound as if I am talking to myself, but it is simple enough to work out who is speaking as the dog adds 'mum' onto the end of every sentence, because obviously I am the dog's mother and not the other way around. </span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDBIEDoX7KDCSi-KVIN3_u3bOngtLbx2rDtAQ5bW0Lv1eITzhdFQgJ973VtpuTRcFcOT8wV16gqcPt5OsM7aHqnN30sKusxShf5j81Nm5R5scA6EO1CVOjQXraHNR_IY8B5dSYu1pRJY/s1600/IMG_1706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDBIEDoX7KDCSi-KVIN3_u3bOngtLbx2rDtAQ5bW0Lv1eITzhdFQgJ973VtpuTRcFcOT8wV16gqcPt5OsM7aHqnN30sKusxShf5j81Nm5R5scA6EO1CVOjQXraHNR_IY8B5dSYu1pRJY/s320/IMG_1706.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gardening is just one of the many topics of conversation we have covered since Basil joined our family earlier this year. We share certain interests in the garden. We both like to dig, for example. The only difference between us is that I like to dig holes to pop plants in; he likes to dig holes to get those plants out again.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoVUqM5jW6-26dFej1qW6tKZjqkGqn2H4Na1XGgUDOpfa438zoF3LeIKrl8jZAoDZqmFy5fJ1_p8m3L8_vOTqKA-ElR88metsJ_Di3-EaL1Br_NuCey4w8NRYbMWdVloeTS8ghDlD25Y/s1600/DSC05320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoVUqM5jW6-26dFej1qW6tKZjqkGqn2H4Na1XGgUDOpfa438zoF3LeIKrl8jZAoDZqmFy5fJ1_p8m3L8_vOTqKA-ElR88metsJ_Di3-EaL1Br_NuCey4w8NRYbMWdVloeTS8ghDlD25Y/s320/DSC05320.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Basil and I are united in our love of lying on grass, but you won't see either of us for dust on mowing day. Basil is so anti-mowing that he has taken steps to hamper any attempt at grass cutting by storing his extensive collection of treasures on the lawn. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxoh816fmVS_6D7M9CXCrIO8da_Shfm5Pem7IghchZOGBTPPfQpKzJAPFEQaFEuikblM-z1Zl945AZqdnFFICr5ZZvXDyobWaAWhvvmGimVOViVs9WMD2NN8Y-I5bwogskyC1_Sq-xho/s1600/IMG_2284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxoh816fmVS_6D7M9CXCrIO8da_Shfm5Pem7IghchZOGBTPPfQpKzJAPFEQaFEuikblM-z1Zl945AZqdnFFICr5ZZvXDyobWaAWhvvmGimVOViVs9WMD2NN8Y-I5bwogskyC1_Sq-xho/s320/IMG_2284.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We both deadhead flowers, although he doesn't think that it is necessary to wait until the flowers have bloomed; and his fondness for harvesting entire tomato crops irrespective of whether or not the fruit is ripe, is legendary. But the one thing he loves most is to see the garden filled with… well, filling.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiz3amg9xcLHuanoxGpsCKi6khSIgjDXSSP5eOEvQO4f4onDmrgSeJ-yEZTto0Jj0dKR3N2hRLVVnCxC6CCqkGOKR-FDA-yVLLbxVnJq6HKqMoJkZ03D6VmGHzOJjH-4-Rwfx2JcExA04/s1600/DSC06983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiz3amg9xcLHuanoxGpsCKi6khSIgjDXSSP5eOEvQO4f4onDmrgSeJ-yEZTto0Jj0dKR3N2hRLVVnCxC6CCqkGOKR-FDA-yVLLbxVnJq6HKqMoJkZ03D6VmGHzOJjH-4-Rwfx2JcExA04/s320/DSC06983.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is adept at tidying up sticks. Sometimes those sticks might have fallen from a tree, although more frequently they are actually entire hedging plants which have been uprooted and taken for a few laps of honour around the garden before being filed away in his collection of treasures on the lawn.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxsnfUW8pi4_WXt8HPE-QqXZqDF51fO25mOolqGtdHOljd6BODdABkeh_wmuXf4qiHP-mIj9N96K8qJLaILrw9L7KDksI9-cfVXvxF8JSR_XkO9MmBiBoFkizFIeLQqy0xAQwFTSvztQ/s1600/DSC04461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxsnfUW8pi4_WXt8HPE-QqXZqDF51fO25mOolqGtdHOljd6BODdABkeh_wmuXf4qiHP-mIj9N96K8qJLaILrw9L7KDksI9-cfVXvxF8JSR_XkO9MmBiBoFkizFIeLQqy0xAQwFTSvztQ/s320/DSC04461.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I am planting I can always rely on him to pick up any empty plant pots. If he should stumble upon a pot containing a plant, he will remain unfazed and dispose of the plant and the pot together. He even saved me the effort of tidying away my pink gardening clogs by rendering them unwearable. What a thoughtful boy! </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1U6h_NNX479qCE29uij-MbD6tRXw9hjbsYSQppxvyeam6lS0v_gWq5l7BLQ85cYfa66jwLNpQYugKfwKcq4X62vdJXTiAiJhi136p9fr5q2GWG0BaklhFygtJRqF7sdpxD5JZ7QXeQlE/s1600/IMG_2051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oRwm5DOV2IgTEMtuMoEK520dl8EWKSBWzw0By019sS72KD4S63xmI6FkVQnWH0EIMmOp8Pq2nlhjoM8R87taKGylwhZzVprJWijwsFrNFclJgYY4XZ2c7-Ag-o8j2MDhEJAEaD3LB00/s1600/DSC07727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oRwm5DOV2IgTEMtuMoEK520dl8EWKSBWzw0By019sS72KD4S63xmI6FkVQnWH0EIMmOp8Pq2nlhjoM8R87taKGylwhZzVprJWijwsFrNFclJgYY4XZ2c7-Ag-o8j2MDhEJAEaD3LB00/s1600/DSC07727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oRwm5DOV2IgTEMtuMoEK520dl8EWKSBWzw0By019sS72KD4S63xmI6FkVQnWH0EIMmOp8Pq2nlhjoM8R87taKGylwhZzVprJWijwsFrNFclJgYY4XZ2c7-Ag-o8j2MDhEJAEaD3LB00/s320/DSC07727.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our garden was once a farmyard and the soil is very stony. Basil is a hero when it comes to digging out stones. He will never let a plant stand between him and his one-dog mission to improve the soil and create stoneless borders.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1U6h_NNX479qCE29uij-MbD6tRXw9hjbsYSQppxvyeam6lS0v_gWq5l7BLQ85cYfa66jwLNpQYugKfwKcq4X62vdJXTiAiJhi136p9fr5q2GWG0BaklhFygtJRqF7sdpxD5JZ7QXeQlE/s1600/IMG_2051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1U6h_NNX479qCE29uij-MbD6tRXw9hjbsYSQppxvyeam6lS0v_gWq5l7BLQ85cYfa66jwLNpQYugKfwKcq4X62vdJXTiAiJhi136p9fr5q2GWG0BaklhFygtJRqF7sdpxD5JZ7QXeQlE/s320/IMG_2051.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When it comes to training shrubs, he takes hard pruning to a whole new level. Here is what was left of a standard rose after it had been 'Basiled'. Admittedly it's not the cleanest cut I have ever seen.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQ8m0O-b4l81bzzxDptXzauTt1Uzm8q8FoON_7Azrz0HzOQuEiyB-4w-Lq1btEvzx2AB9Jl_6fbqKd1CK9CwJW7WTev81UPXwcxGodF4xkbZdqf2jRY-8U5YbYT7W3zljfxWVMpNbv4w/s1600/DSC07783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQ8m0O-b4l81bzzxDptXzauTt1Uzm8q8FoON_7Azrz0HzOQuEiyB-4w-Lq1btEvzx2AB9Jl_6fbqKd1CK9CwJW7WTev81UPXwcxGodF4xkbZdqf2jRY-8U5YbYT7W3zljfxWVMpNbv4w/s320/DSC07783.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If I’m honest, I would prefer Basil to be a little less boisterous in my borders, but he is still young. It’s his first birthday this week. I am looking forward to the day when Basil is happy to relax on the lawn and watch me nurture the plants he so energetically uprooted during puppyhood. In the meantime, we will celebrate his birthday in style by planting and removing a new hedge together. He’s really looking forward to it… or so he tells me.</span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style><br />
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-74966689176964323422016-11-15T14:56:00.000+00:002016-11-15T15:05:11.122+00:00Sweet Peas, Gin and The Perils of Gardening Clubs<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">November is a month for harvesting leaves</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> for magical leafmould, planting bulbs, and preparing ground for new hedges, yet I am always overcome by the urge to sow seeds at this time of year. I suppose it is because it seems like forever until the next sowing frenzy.</span><br />
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQdOATUGfJHr3QJn8EZYn5B4rF-KYdbgHfMOkIc9LJlMw42G2BdzI8sr-klU3jGMz3oDrz4zZjouUVAMxBuRJCPS8vhzL8LDzS8DIYg_lfkhatMb91UCRSik-OCVKf2fPzYlff6BgPMM/s1600/DSC06978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQdOATUGfJHr3QJn8EZYn5B4rF-KYdbgHfMOkIc9LJlMw42G2BdzI8sr-klU3jGMz3oDrz4zZjouUVAMxBuRJCPS8vhzL8LDzS8DIYg_lfkhatMb91UCRSik-OCVKf2fPzYlff6BgPMM/s320/DSC06978.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I usually start sweet peas in November or spring. A few weeks ago I was told that October is the optimum time to sow them and it was music to my ears. My desire to pop some seeds into compost is at its height in October. I carefully selected the varieties I wished to grow and was all ready to sow, then life being life, did its thing and got in the way of my plans so I shall be sowing them this month as usual. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4dPcPox1J0EcTu8lhVLdB6wjOvl7vJ7E6dyV0GmeBkODpTKsiX1zcqfzTBDf6IwDKFSHgjVoAzF3TOk0GcS9n3hOpXz9FPDT8Zlhw2go3hccWputg6EimEEKelqpfbyuYLsQH-LTxjw/s1600/IMG_2840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4dPcPox1J0EcTu8lhVLdB6wjOvl7vJ7E6dyV0GmeBkODpTKsiX1zcqfzTBDf6IwDKFSHgjVoAzF3TOk0GcS9n3hOpXz9FPDT8Zlhw2go3hccWputg6EimEEKelqpfbyuYLsQH-LTxjw/s320/IMG_2840.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My sweet peas grow haphazardly up hazel poles with strings woven round onto which they can cling. I pick them all the way through summer and autumn </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(there are a few in a vase on my desk right now). These blooms might not be atop the longest, straightest stems you will ever see, but they smell divine and at the height of the season I pick them by the bucketful.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIO1cq05bEIiyybH6l8Ik-UFr_-Hh-2pUg-NQ3gzwjYnaq8wpP8gxTQ1sJ517HQhmVaG00b8-v6-4ou7YVJ947VZE6zv2kGJt5d4QG8k4RrIOjkMEq-KGzT2ZpJYWbhIjoMXodxY-Pew/s1600/DSC06879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIO1cq05bEIiyybH6l8Ik-UFr_-Hh-2pUg-NQ3gzwjYnaq8wpP8gxTQ1sJ517HQhmVaG00b8-v6-4ou7YVJ947VZE6zv2kGJt5d4QG8k4RrIOjkMEq-KGzT2ZpJYWbhIjoMXodxY-Pew/s320/DSC06879.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div class="p1" style="text-align: start;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remember many moons ago watching a television programme featuring an exhibitor who explained all the rigmarole of cutting off sweet pea tendrils, tying the peas in, and then laying them down and training them up a cane further along the line. I thought at the time that the poor man should get a life. Now I rather envy him. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CIRyoQ37WlcBI52gj7Z34x6DjWNnb0UdTUMfuHEKLG31b4GPqOdQ6NpmlyAZ8gg808c5qE_9h_uTgZxjlRSSu7ize9S71FWxP3MKXX3LFbLTCK6PDniobAhTGmJpN0j057PTDe70ke8/s1600/DSC06021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CIRyoQ37WlcBI52gj7Z34x6DjWNnb0UdTUMfuHEKLG31b4GPqOdQ6NpmlyAZ8gg808c5qE_9h_uTgZxjlRSSu7ize9S71FWxP3MKXX3LFbLTCK6PDniobAhTGmJpN0j057PTDe70ke8/s320/DSC06021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Royal Norfolk Show 2016</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The person from whom I learnt about October sowing exhibits sweet peas. He has won awards for the quality of his blooms. I have never had any urge to grow show standard flowers and arrange them in a bikini vase, or nurture a giant onion and enter it in a show. It would be like stuffing one of my kids into a pretty frock and shoving them into a beauty pageant. I realise that a lot of people do this, it’s just that I’m not one of them. Yet suddenly, after decades of gardening, I am inspired to grow exhibition quality sweet peas. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs66vRrz3Ofq0iDcOZ-WqPrX5d-TMac_NTylPPGJyUd6Ag-qrzp0t-MpalJkfYqABdjE7rKPG5Z7rE4BbvABSLHGeXof-wBbHhDQmdk9i6xO1Yc8ecxnA-RG0HM3Sm5zyRGihstUqZqeY/s1600/DSC06019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs66vRrz3Ofq0iDcOZ-WqPrX5d-TMac_NTylPPGJyUd6Ag-qrzp0t-MpalJkfYqABdjE7rKPG5Z7rE4BbvABSLHGeXof-wBbHhDQmdk9i6xO1Yc8ecxnA-RG0HM3Sm5zyRGihstUqZqeY/s320/DSC06019.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Royal Norfolk Show 2016</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This whole sweet pea obsession has caused me to start a cutting garden. I am landscaping it at the moment and pride of place will be given to my sweet peas (if I ever get around to sowing them). Such is the danger of going to a gardening club talk given by a passionate sweet pea grower. Needless to say, I was mightily relieved that last week's talk was about gin. I've never been particularly partial to gin, but guess what? I'm converted! At this rate, summer 2017 will be spent flouncing around horticultural shows, polishing my straight-stemmed sweet peas, gin in my hand. I daren't even ask what next month's talk will be about. </span></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The local gardening clubs I attend are:</span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/nofeargardening/?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/nofeargardening/?fref=ts</a></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.forncett.info/index.php/activities/diggers-and-dibblers/diggers-and-dibblers-events">http://www.forncett.info/index.php/activities/diggers-and-dibblers/diggers-and-dibblers-events</a><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607070511807868177.post-83651815336690033782016-10-19T12:12:00.001+01:002016-10-19T12:12:15.537+01:00Farewell to The Dillon Garden<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A summer of gallivanting has taken its toll on my borders. Deadheading (that delightful gardening task undertaken while enjoying a drink of choice) has been neglected in favour of inspiring trips to other gardeners’ gardens. I have returned filled with remorse and overflowing with ideas. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDaW3yE2DnWGR903Z9TjFO09ySXS2WHJqMMBPRdro82ml2cef5sg6XMk2Ttm1ztEPfBU_PBhPXJ94StLDFFsUztIrPb2zYc88XD2Td1V3oRLnxYaORJCXSuQuVuSyYPtKxiOSYFDZDDA/s1600/DSC07424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDaW3yE2DnWGR903Z9TjFO09ySXS2WHJqMMBPRdro82ml2cef5sg6XMk2Ttm1ztEPfBU_PBhPXJ94StLDFFsUztIrPb2zYc88XD2Td1V3oRLnxYaORJCXSuQuVuSyYPtKxiOSYFDZDDA/s320/DSC07424.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the gardens I visited was at Helen Dillon’s house in Dublin. Famed for her ever-shifting seasonal containers and no-nonsense advice, Helen Dillon’s garden was one of the most inspiring town gardens I have ever had the pleasure to spend time in. I say was, because the garden has closed. For good.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiK5xGUt5fVd_Ef3cW3T4tZQFG5SO2sLLzI8ABAVdwDLImD9H3Ga8Fu1kKqhNqV8SZtKHVtx7LtamRw3yo3IRRw4B7hdAclCIfmnU_-o_nRU8oMQzYZZWSPOpo0cyangd8VuEH-UPgok/s1600/DSC07406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiK5xGUt5fVd_Ef3cW3T4tZQFG5SO2sLLzI8ABAVdwDLImD9H3Ga8Fu1kKqhNqV8SZtKHVtx7LtamRw3yo3IRRw4B7hdAclCIfmnU_-o_nRU8oMQzYZZWSPOpo0cyangd8VuEH-UPgok/s320/DSC07406.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We all have to leave our gardens eventually. Sometimes the garden continues to open to the public, as is the case at Great Dixter. In other instances the gardener moves on complete with plants and embraces the creation of a new garden, as is Helen Dillon in Ireland, and fellow garden blogger Helene at Graphicality-UK* in London.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8RuEA-EXzTkquR1GJjIwbwkwvPiHenUo_lRQOlCk2OpUpTmJLzXg0wpfVvu8XP5RnLMkLWex3GeMkET0U35-xniiYoRGRau2rG1LiJ3e4Y5khnkpiwcZC54AYkxnZWawqopTQAV0nPs/s1600/DSC07485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8RuEA-EXzTkquR1GJjIwbwkwvPiHenUo_lRQOlCk2OpUpTmJLzXg0wpfVvu8XP5RnLMkLWex3GeMkET0U35-xniiYoRGRau2rG1LiJ3e4Y5khnkpiwcZC54AYkxnZWawqopTQAV0nPs/s320/DSC07485.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A relationship between visitors and much-loved gardens deepens over time, and with it something akin to a sense of ownership develops. As I wandered around admiring the fruits of Helen's labours on that cloudy Sunday, other visitors were keen to express their views on the garden and its future. One local lady had been a regular visitor over the years and was there to say goodbye to it. Another was outraged, claiming that in the UK we would have preserved this gem for posterity. I disagree. One of the many wonderful things about this garden was Helen’s use of containers. Plants in pots are perfectly capable of travelling a few miles down the road to add value in the creation of a new garden.</span><br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCZM9DUq40XYAmct-4fmRJukv-GO92MgVEZt4Bz4Jj16hHiMjXivnQ2q9xKZOTjmJbLkzZnf-96g7qzmHe8ok847UdqjVyc-pYIRGSuTebDHPM2PomIJ0heGifbcH5ljGK97dxrvdl0Q/s1600/DSC07356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCZM9DUq40XYAmct-4fmRJukv-GO92MgVEZt4Bz4Jj16hHiMjXivnQ2q9xKZOTjmJbLkzZnf-96g7qzmHe8ok847UdqjVyc-pYIRGSuTebDHPM2PomIJ0heGifbcH5ljGK97dxrvdl0Q/s320/DSC07356.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gardeners are a generous bunch. I have yet to meet one who refuses to share knowledge. Helen Dillon is a natural teacher. On the afternoon I visited she was in her garden, endlessly answering questions as if they had never been asked before, even though she must surely have answered those same questions thousands of times. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Since I am not a natural born staker I need plants to hold themselves well, so I was keen to pick Helen's brains on a particularly strong pink Phlox with sturdy upstanding stems. Realising what a good plant it was, she arranged for a piece of it to be dug up so that she could take some of it with her to her new garden. She also made sure that I had a little to take back with me to England. The plant had come to her from someone else’s garden and she didn’t know the cultivar. Unable to give me the name, she gave me something better. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxbKsIZEs7HXZyk0r6NgaW1JJS0vNeIZRmKR6SVoED6PrAu294l3iT209zdCUebDxeRnkflFQtluZWPtZCwPfVGbnVBxdwVk_q-M1jabCLktMSK4qNpBsPm2vrqJfCbUseYGsi8HDtUeo/s1600/DSC07443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxbKsIZEs7HXZyk0r6NgaW1JJS0vNeIZRmKR6SVoED6PrAu294l3iT209zdCUebDxeRnkflFQtluZWPtZCwPfVGbnVBxdwVk_q-M1jabCLktMSK4qNpBsPm2vrqJfCbUseYGsi8HDtUeo/s320/DSC07443.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Helen Dillon & I with the glorious pink Phlox</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now a little piece of Helen Dillon's extraordinary garden is settling into my shabby borders. Next year my garden will not look so sorry for itself. There will be pots aplenty and more than a few dustbins like the one behind Helen in the photo above. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54hJBt2cc96flIRroTirZBIQuncjTNpAqxdCxefE5kqDsrGvLVMX70oWa1atVYnm6tZhHfxOjJc0sZoelBlqqpqUhRAJ7lR-JPixyoDZoRdv66lAod-xVwzFfAmEMdoihI7Hq4JNlHO4/s1600/DSC07477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54hJBt2cc96flIRroTirZBIQuncjTNpAqxdCxefE5kqDsrGvLVMX70oWa1atVYnm6tZhHfxOjJc0sZoelBlqqpqUhRAJ7lR-JPixyoDZoRdv66lAod-xVwzFfAmEMdoihI7Hq4JNlHO4/s320/DSC07477.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It seems a tad strange to be writing about a garden that is unlikely to exist ever again in the form we see in these photographs, but gardens don't stay the same. Great gardens move on, and in this case a great gardener is moving on. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's to the future of all our gardens.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All photos were taken in The Dillon Garden, Dublin.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Helene, who moved hundreds of plants to her new garden in London, blogs here:</span> <a href="http://graphicality-uk.blogspot.co.uk/">http://graphicality-uk.blogspot.co.uk/</a></div>
</div>
Sarah Shoesmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03410745860215082568noreply@blogger.com38