A sad day...

Feeling rather miserable tonight as unbelievably a Great Spotted Woodpecker has demolished not only the nest box with an almost ready to fly blue tit family by drilling a hole in the bottom of the box but has also managed to do the same with our other nest box containing almost ready to fly Great Tits... all gone I'm wondering with the continued cold weather if perhaps there is so little around for birds to feed their young?

I wonder if anyone else has had any similar experiences?  In the 10 yrs we've been here I've never seen anything like this... two nests demolished in one afternoon...

Celebrating 100 Years of The RHS Chelsea Flower Show

This is a stunning book, which is beautifully written by RHS Historian, Brent Elliott and takes the reader on an insightful journey through the 100 years of The RHS Chelsea Flower Show's existence and also includes the many years which lead up to the very first show.

 

This book could be as easily read cover to cover as it could be "dipped in and out of" being packed with interesting information as well as being beautifully illustrated with a great collection of past and present photos of show gardens, garden designers, growers, plants, famous visitors to the show, ticketing and show posters as just a few of the subjects which I enjoyed. There are far too many to mention them all here.

 

I've tried to pick out just some of my favourite parts of the book to give you a flavour of what to expect... to discover the rest you'll just have to go and buy a copy or give a few unsubtle hints to friends and family to buy it for you for a birthday or Christmas... or even as a surprise gift!

 

The subject of the weather is never far away from the minds of both gardeners and those organising a show like Chelsea! With so much in the news this year about the weather, it was amusing to find this Cartoon from the 1829 "Horticultural Fete" as it was known as then - showing some disastrous wet weather that year - the Morning Post had reported "when the doors were opened, what a rush took place! The standing nearly ankle-deep in water, coming from wet gravel; shrieks were dreadful and the loss of shoes particularly annoying!"  So extremes in weather existed back in 1829 too.

 

I loved this other cartoon - by W K Haselden for the Daily Mirror on 20th May 1936 - "Dreams at Chelsea Show" - it is probably even true today!

 

There were some great pages showing adverts for some of the interwar garden machinery - I was surprised to find that reasonably sophisticated garden tools existed at such an early date - the Little Wonder" hedge clipper caught my eye - I bet the guy ached from head to toe after using that for a day!













The other product so obviously influenced by the tank is the Oxford "Roadless" Barrow shown below - easy to imagine these being useful on early landscaping projects resembling something of the Somme Battlefields! Seeing these helps one to appreciate what we have now although I have little doubt that these products would have done an excellent job!

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

I couldn't leave out the "Bunty House" from my posting... I guess this was an extremely posh version of a Wendy House... being supposedly fireproof, a sporting or fishing bungalow or suitable for open-air treatment - the mind boggles!!

There is plenty more on the early years of Chelsea as well as a great record of everything up to the present day. For the purpose of this review I've concentrated more on the early years... you only need to wait a few more days and I'm sure 2013 at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show will have its own story to tell. 

 

There's only two more things I'd like to add here - firstly I'd like to mention the quality of the actual book - its presentation is fabulous and I can't recommend this enough. Secondly - if you're tempted to buy a copy - they are available at the RHS Online Shop or via Amazon.

 

Do hope you enjoy reading this and if you get a copy do post a quick comment....

Fox Cubs Part 2!

Thought I'd quickly post these photos - taken early evening of a new fox cub family... I can't believe my luck in getting so close - they are unbelievably cute but undoubtedly younger than the family in the other location... I went for an evening stroll after battling with lots of long grass today... and amazed to see these two little cubs curled up in tight balls - separately but within striking distance of the den entrance... enjoy!

 

Foxes & Owl Boxes...

Lots of fun has been had this past few weeks... more recently it's been the local fox cubs that have taken my attention.... I've never seen fox cubs up close like this ever ... literally a few meters away when I've taken the photos.  What has amazed me is that they haven't rushed away when they've seen me - they've almost been inquisitive I think :-)  If other work wasn't keeping me so busy I'd be tempted to camp out at the side of the field all day and watch them coming and going from the den!  This photo was one of the most recent - it was a really windy evening but still warm in the sun.... this little chap was enjoying the last rays ... how cute!  They are v. amusing to watch... here a area a few of my photos...



Hope you've enjoyed these... this wasn't the only excitement - a friend Richard came and has put up a Barn Owl box in our woodland.... if you click on the link you can see it in use (where it was previously) complete with Owl!  Please take a look at Richard's blog.

The box has been put with easy access for the birds to fly in -

Here are a couple more close up views of it... all we need now are two birds to make a home here so watch this space!

 

I found an amazing Emperor Hawk Moth the other day... which appeared to have hatched from the compost in our window boxes!!

 

I also discovered this caterpillar and wonder if some clever person reading this can tell me what it is? 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend... and thanks for visiting my blog.

Passion, Plants and Patronage - a voyage of discovery....

The title of this book says it all - a definite "must have" book for anyone interested in gardening or garden history - would make a lovely gift or a treat for yourself!  You really won't be disappointed.

A beautifully written and illustrated account of the enormous impact made by the generations of one family on some of Britain's best known (and some not so well known) gardens and estates over the course of 300 years.  Some of the places included in this book are Kew, Cardiff Castle, Highcliffe in Dorest, Dumfries House.... I could go on but will leave you to discover the rest! 

The Bute family's influence on landscapes and gardens across the UK - not to mention art and architecture - is astounding and the book takes the reader from Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute, off the south west coast of Scotland, on a journey of discovery from the early 1700's to the present day.

As a gardener, the insight into horticultural practices so early on was a real eye opener - to say they were adventurous was an understatement!  In the early 1700's - "holly berries, hornbeam seeds, yew berries, beech mast and a peck of English Acorns to be sown in the tree nurseries " at Mount Stuart.  During a visit to Kew Gardens in 1766  it was noted that there were Proteas from South Africa covered with overlapping oilcloths and a banana tree in fruit.  Other mentions were made of grafted Cedars and Lime trees!

In reading through this book I discovered all sorts of interesting information - did you know that Kew as it stands today is actually an amalgamation of 2 Royal Estates in 1802 - consisting of Kew to the east and Richmond Lodge on the west bordering the River Thames? Each of the respective Royal owners had a longstanding dislike of the other - so it was ironic that these two estates be divided by Lover's Lane which was then a public road - (Holly Walk as it is know today follows roughly the same course).

The chapter on Cardiff Castle was fascinating - if you've had a chance to visit Cardiff  you may have enjoyed a little visit to "Pettigrew Tea Rooms" - these are located at West Lodge near to Bute Park Aboretum, not far from Cardiff Castle.  The Tea Rooms named after Andrew Pettigrew who originally came from Dumfries House to take over the care of the Castle grounds in 1873.  The reputation of the grounds grew, following a series of articles written in garden journals.  What Pettigrew acheived was incredible given that much of the land was nothing but marsh.  In 1899, the Gardener's Magazine explained the enormous task that Pettigrew had in organising the transportation of thousands of cart-loads of soil from various building sites throughout Cardiff to bring the ground level well above the water table... without the aid of trucks or mechnical diggers of course!  By 1901, two years before Pettigrew died,  the network of driveways, the excavation of the Friary site, formal avenues of Lime Trees and the framework of today's tree planting had all been put in place.  We have much to appreciate today when visiting some of these amazing places!

I hope this will inspire you to go out and purchase a copy -  currently available at Amazon UK with free home delivery.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Bee aware....

You read a lot about how we need to provide more for all the bees in our gardens and with the continued cold spring we've experienced this year , it has made me think even more carefully about what we should be planting to provide an adequate source of pollen for all types of bees and butterflies as some have already come out of hibernation here! (Brave!) 

Over the last few weeks I've seen a variety of different bees in the garden including Honey Bee and various Bumble Bees plus Peacock, Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Brimstone Butterflies too.  Many of the plants I've taken photos of are great pollen providers early in the season and reasonably easy to grow too.

There are plenty of wildflowers in our woodland area - the Primroses have spread like mad over the past few years as we've cleared more areas...

There are also wide margins of wild planting - including, at this time of year plenty of little yellow Celandine.

Another of my Spring favorites are the little Anenome Blanda that have only been out properly these last 10 days - a great early flowering plant for providing plenty of pollen for insects - easily accessed with its open flowering form.

Every garden has to make space for one of my favorite Viburnums - the perfume of the blooms which are just starting to emerge is incredible!  Viburnum x burkwoodii loves a sheltered spot with some sun.

This is the early flowering Lonicera fragrantissima - again the perfume is amazing - flowers on bare stems - the leaves follow... ideal shrub for planting a later flowering clematis up through... giving all year round interest.

Talking of Clematis - the two I've photographed here are not fully out, but definitely worth condsidering  - this one is Clematis macropetela "Jan Lindmark" - a small bell-shaped nodding double flowered clematis with beautiful seed heads to follow.

The other which is a new one - Clematis macropetala "Octopus" is fantastic and out rather early consideirng the weather and that it is supposed to bloom April/May!

I'm afraid I couldn't resist putting a few more photos of the Hellebores this year - it's been a particularly good year for them - so many different colours and markings - many which have cross pollinated with others. 

Forsythia is also out late this year but a real favorite for pollinating insects!

This Comfrey plant was smothered in bees the other day - once this is over, the leaves make a great plant feed or addition to the compost heap!

These two different photos of Erysimum are also invaluable for bees and insects alike.

This particular variety is Erysimum linifolium "Variegatum" and like other varities fully hardy.

This Ribes sanguinium (Flowering Currant) was taken as a cutting a few years back - it certainly adds plenty of vibrant colour to the mixed border at this time of year.

Pulmonaria is great for most pollinating insects and being one of the earliest flowering perennials in the garden, also providing good ground cover, I couldn't leave this one out!

Rosemary is another must for the early flowering garden... planted up against a sunny wall, it has been in flower for the past 3-4 weeks and on sunny days smothered with bees!

This early flowering Camelia was in our garden when we arrived - it normally flowers early - it's open form is great for bees and provides a shelter for the birds as well! My guess is it is japonica Adophe Adusson... any thoughts?!

Seeing raised temperatures on the forecast for next weekend at 20 degrees I will await with baited breath - that said do remember the difficult plight of may of the insects, bees and butterflies in the garden who play such an important role in the garden - we'd be lost without them - so  we maybe need to give them more consideration...

" Bees work for man, and yet they never bruise Their Master's flower, but leave it having done, As fair as ever and as fit to use; So both the flower doth stay and honey run." George Herbert

If you want to read more on the subject of planting to help bees - try "The Bee Garden" by Maureen Little - this is full of helpful information and some great photos too