Weekend Wandering: A post-Doris walk

Today dawned bright and fair, unlike yesterday when dark clouds scudded across the sky as storm Doris made her presence felt. Luckily we got off fairly lightly, and the after-morning's bright sunshine tempted me out for a quick walk around our estate. How rewarding it turned out to be... perfect for a weekend wander here on't blog...

Pulmonaria and snowdrops - an excellent combination for early foraging bees

We're pretty much at peak snowdrop now and I'm rather taken with the Pulmonaria combination in the guerrilla garden out front, especially as it's a good one for bees. Trouble is, I don't remember adding the snowdrops. I wonder if the local squirrels lent a paw to my efforts.

Self-colonising moss atop a garden boundary wall

The early morning sunshine was just skimming the top of the high wall round the corner and added a striking brightness to the colony of moss there. Moss is usually much maligned in our gardens, but here nature's chosen to highlight its fragile beauty.

A show-stopper tree on our estate

This cherry tree's been a striking feature all week. We're blessed with some superb specimen trees on our estate, and these early blooms herald much more to come. The dark pink flowers show it's not Prunus x subhirtella 'Autumnalis', which is the usual winter flowering cherry we see.

Looks like it's Prunus 'Kursar'

Closer inspection and the profusion of blooms leads me to think it's Prunus 'Kursar', confirmed by Alan Down via Twitter who adds: "Another of Captain Collingwood Ingram's selections and a really good small garden tree". The warm weather earlier this week must have tempted it into bloom ahead of its usual flowering in March.

The earliest daffodils this year

The first daffodils are out on the main road through the estate, perfectly placed for the sun's first few rays slanting through the trees to find them.

Hazel catkins enjoying the early morning sunshine

Turning back home now, I followed the line of an old hedgerow by Hardenhuish Brook. The hazel catkins looked good against the blue sky and I felt this particular tree was trying to stretch out towards the disappearing contrail.

A white form of the Washfield Double hellebores

Our final floral highlight is one of the 'Washfield Double' hellebores I planted this time last year. They've turned out to be a mixture of dusky pinks, creams and yellows, but the three I've planted amongst the snowdrops in the guerrilla garden are all white. Quite a coincidence.

I hope you've enjoyed our quick walk around my neighbourhood. Where will your weekend wandering take you?

Update: I've added this post to Les's fab Winter Walk-off 2017 meme, which I discovered via Loree's walk around Portland (which in turn reminded me of my bench photo over at Sign of the Times). It's been great to have a virtual wander around everyone's neighbourhoods.

 You may also like: I posted about a longer autumnal walk a while ago over at Sign of the Times, which shows you a little more of Chippenham.

Comments

  1. rusty duck24 February 2017 at 22:02

    Good to hear that you escaped too much Doris related damage. And that the squirrels have done something productive for once..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP25 February 2017 at 11:53

      I have crocuses in the back lawn Jessica, and the nearest ones are over 4 feet away which I reckon is the result of squirrel activity. So I'm not surprised if they've been up to their tricks out front as well ;)

      Delete
  2. Flighty25 February 2017 at 06:38

    A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. I took a walk round the allotments to see if all was okay, which it mostly was thankfully.
    That's a lovely cherry tree. My daffodils aren't out yet but they won't be long.
    My weekend wander tomorrow morning will be to the plot then on to the horticultural society trading shed. Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP25 February 2017 at 11:54

      Thanks Flighty - I hope you enjoy your weekend wanders :)

      Delete
  3. Sheena25 February 2017 at 08:06

    That does look like a lovely walk with a lot of great plants. Doris didn't do much damage but there was a lot of heavy, wet snow so, unfortunately, the snowdrop peak has turned into a snowdrop flop. The Leucojums are pretty flat as well but the Hellebores have managed to stand up again with no damage to the flowers. Really are such good plants and love the double white you show.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP25 February 2017 at 11:56

      Hi Sheena - I hope your snowdrops and Leucojums recover and you stay warm if you still have all that snow. Doris was kind to us, but not my mum in Brum, whose fence blew down!

      Delete
  4. Pauline25 February 2017 at 12:40

    Yes, I enjoyed wandering with you,all your daffodils and friends are beautiful. I'm glad Doris didn't do too much damage, we too got off pretty lightly with just the side gate warped!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP26 February 2017 at 09:43

      Fingers crossed today's storm Ewan doesn't get us instead Pauline!

      Delete
  5. Sue Garrett25 February 2017 at 13:05

    Doris didn't really hit us either.

    As for moss I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lucy Corrander Now in Halifax!25 February 2017 at 17:27

    Hurray for moss!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP26 February 2017 at 09:44

      Hurrah indeed - I'm thinking about getting a macro lens for my camera. Moss in detail would be a good project for it...

      Delete
  7. colleen26 February 2017 at 00:21

    I'm with Lucy on the moss. We came across the most vivid green specimen a few days ago.

    Doris let us off lightly. Our bamboo canes scattered over the allotment, a soaking, and a struggle walking across the Millenium Bridge, but other than that all in one piece.

    Shaking off a cold, so not much wandering for me this weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP26 February 2017 at 09:45

      I haven't dared go up the allotment yet, Colleen so who knows what awaits me. Get well soon!

      Delete
  8. Anna27 February 2017 at 23:19

    Glad to hear that Doris was gentle in your neck of the woods VP. She was rather nasty here bringing down two trees just round the corner. That cherry tree is fabulous against such a blue sky. My weekend wonderings took me to the cinema to see 'Hidden Figures' and the garden centre to get some seed potatoes - other items managed to slip into the trolley though. You know how it is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP28 February 2017 at 09:24

      I hope your post-Doris world has settled down now Anna.

      We saw 'Hidden Figures' last week - I thought it was much better than La La Land.

      Delete
  9. Anna27 February 2017 at 23:21

    Just an afterthought about your surprise patch of snowdrops. Have you added any soil there recently that could have included hidden bulbs?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP28 February 2017 at 09:25

      No, I leave that patch well alone, so they've hopped across the path!

      Delete
  10. VP28 February 2017 at 09:58

    Vannessa at home, life and allotment used my Contact form to add her comment.

    'Such a beautiful photo of your double hellebores and I must confess to loving snowdrops x'

    Thanks Vanessa for getting in touch. I love snowdrops too and I'm a recent convert to hellebores. I've just been looking at my garden pondering how I can squeeze some more in.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Les19 March 2017 at 13:12

    Thank you for adding this post to my Walk-Off. I love all of your winter flowers. We typically have many of the same things blooming here in Norfolk (Virginia), only this year it was so warm that many of our March blooms came out in February as well. My favorite shot is the double Hellebore; I have many, but no doubles. I will put it on my list. Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP19 March 2017 at 17:29

      Welcome to Veg Plotting Les! I particularly liked the mermaid photos over at your blog. I see you've run your meme for a while - I must look out for it again next year :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from you and welcome thoughtful conversations :)

Comments aiming to link back and give credence to commercial websites will be composted!

Your essential reads

That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide

Image
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it ...
Read more

Jack Go To Bed At Noon

Image
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl...
Read more

Red Nose Day - Gardening Jokes Anyone?

Image
The nation goes ever so slightly bonkers on Red Nose Day - hurrah! Previously, it's been very easy to join in - usually via a dress down day at work plus lots of people up to mad things at the station and in the office. Everyone smiling for once - it's a real feel good day and all in a good cause. This year's different - every day's a dress down day for me now - my friend L suggested yesterday that perhaps I could have a dress up day instead and whilst that's a good idea, I confess that ballgowns and tiaras don't really feature in my wardrobe: scruffy student's always been my favourite look. So my Red Nose Day contribution for this year is to compile a list of gardening related jokes. For each one (clean ones only please) you leave in the comments below, I'll make a donation of 50p to the cause. Here's a few for starters just to get you warmed up: Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled. Q What did the grape...
Read more

Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

Image
I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on. The idea is to grow as many of the Tried and Trusted lettuce varieties last year's Salad Challengers helped compile, then provide a visual guide and as many lettuce facts as I can muster. So far I've found around half of those listed**. Then naturally whilst I was out searching - because such is the way with seeds - a number of other varieties found their way home too ;) A couple of weeks ago I sowed 22 varieties***. Just the simple act of sowing them has me intrigued. Why are some lettuce seeds black and others white****? They split into about half white to half black in my sample and as far as I can tell it's nothing to do with whether they're a type of cos, iceberg, or whatever. I sowed them indoors and popped them into a propagator on the windowsill. The soil's too cold outside for sowing ...
Read more

VPs VIPs: Derry Watkins of Special Plants

Image
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Derry Watkins at her home, garden and nursery - the acclaimed Special Plants - just a few miles along the road from me. I first met Derry at one of her open garden days last year and was keen to find out more about her wonderful garden and running an independent nursery. She specialises in tender perennials and regularly goes on plant hunting trips to find new treasures, particularly in South Africa. As well as running Special Plants and opening her garden under the NGS scheme , Derry holds day courses at her nursery, hosts Special Tuesdays from April until September, lectures and has written a couple of books. How did you find your way from Connecticut to the UK? I'd started a biodynamic vegetable garden in Connecticut and we used to have people come along at weekends to help out. A particular young man turned up: he returned many times and at the end of the summer I married him. So it was all down to love? Isn't that the...
Read more

#mygardenrightnow: heading into summer with the Chelsea Fringe

Image
Ahhhhhh, that's better! I love walking through dewy grass in bare feet, not that there's much in the way of grass on my back lawn this weekend. My wild and woolly lawn has morphed into meadow of sorts this month, which even NAH admits looks attractive*. It's also proved a great source for my Flowers for mum project so far, yielding self-sown perennial cornflowers, lamb's ears, and lemon balm in addition to the blooms you can see. These originated from elsewhere in the garden, the ox-eye daisies must have blown in from the A350 nearby. * = he got very stroppy about the weeds aka self-sown foxgloves in the lawn one year, so he's come along a bit since then. Skimble's demanding to say hello to you too. He does enjoy the patio when it warms up. If the embedded video doesn't work try this link instead. The Nectaroscordum are a revelation. I planted the bulbs around 2 years ago, but it's only this year they've bloomed properly. The bee...
Read more

Make Use of Mildew

Image
On my garden patrol this morning I spotted some powdery mildew on a couple of my new Verbena bonariensis plants. I suppose it was almost inevitable as I prefer to grow my plants hard - this means no water for them unless they look absolutely desperate. This approach means plants root themselves more deeply and have a better chance of survival during spells of dry weather like we've had lately. However, it also means I run the risk of problems like today's, especially with any garden newbies planted late in the season. We've had a good drop of rain overnight, so this should help my plants survive. I'll mulch them later today to help lock in the moisture as it's water stress which encourages the mildew to take hold. I've also removed the infected leaves and sprayed the rest with a milky drink.* I'm also pleased to find there's a use for my infected leaves. Oliver Ellingham at Reading University has started a PhD - sponsored by the RHS - researchi...
Read more

The Resilient Garden

Image
  Part of Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court I've been pondering VP Gardens a lot lately. Last year's drought conditions set me off initially, then our harsher than usual winter combined with this summer's flip and flop weather means the thinking continues. It's a huge topic which I freely admit I'm struggling to get my head around. Tom Massey's Resilient Garden  at Hampton Court recently  tackled this topic brilliantly and was a timely interlude which gave me much food for thought. There he encapsulated the detailed research he'd found which informed both his show garden and book of the same name. I think it's one of the most important show gardens I've ever seen. It's clear the way I garden needs to change so that I have my own resilient garden. I haven't worked out the exact details yet, but Tom's book plus a couple of others (see below), alongside the rainwater management handout from the show garden's  sponso...
Read more

Chelsea Fringe 2014: Shows of Hands - Episode I

Image
The gloves NAH used to build the raised bed . The effects are L to R, top to bottom:  Original photo, Warhol, HDR, Green tint, B&W, Posterize, Boost, Cross process and Sepia Welcome to Shows of Hands - my Chelsea Fringe project for 2014! As you can see I've been having a bit of a play around in Pic Monkey for my first contribution. You're welcome to join in between now and 8th June 2014. The idea behind this year's project is to highlight the tool most precious to a gardener: their hands. How do I take part? It's simple. All you need to do is take a photo of hand(s) in a gardening context and then share it via your blog or other social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), then make sure I know you've done so. I've set up Mr Linky below for your blog contributions. The Chelsea Fringe photo on the right sidebar links to this post, so you can easily find it again when you're ready to add your contribution. If you share your photo on Twitter, ...
Read more

Testing Times: Tomatoes

Image
  I've run a couple of tomato trials this year. The first is a revisit of the biochar trial with Oxford University I attempted some years ago (with a different organisation this time), and the second is a trial of a water gadget called Plantsurge which I was given to try at Malvern Spring Show earlier this year. Most of you have probably heard of biochar already and the claim that this inert, carbon-rich material can help soil fertility and plant health. The RHS information in the above link says results can be mixed, with reduced effects found in alkaline soils. This may help to explain the lack of difference I found in my previous trial as VP Gardens is on a lime-rich soil. Plantsurge is a different beast altogether. It's a strong magnet which is attached to a hosepipe as shown in the photo above. It's claimed that it softens water, with the result more like watering with rainwater. The higher nitrogen found in rainwater is thought to be beneficial to plants. Gardener...
Read more