While it is early Spring, there is still a high chance of colder weather up until May. I am enjoying the early flowering plants, such as this unnamed camellia.
Hellebore Ice and Roses is doing beautifully, with really tall stems and more upward facing flowers.
The unnamed double camellia which Mum gave me quite a while ago now is looking lovely too. I think this may be a camellia williamsii.
The flower colour is very zingy!
The cyclamen coum and snowdrop pot has been bringing colour to the shady patio.
While cardamine quinquefolia is lightening up the shady border. It does spread, but so far isn't trying for garden domination...yet.
The hellebores in the garden are flowering now but seem to be a little less prominent than they were. Perhaps they were affected by the heat and lack of rain during the last couple of summers.
These are Harvington speckled ones and you do need to lift the flowers up to see the patterns.
I think this one may be a self-seeder from the original but I am happy to leave it in the garden. It is a joy to welcome these lovely plants each year.
For a birthday treat last month, I baked a yummy chocolate cake. It is my usual go to chocolate cake recipe which always makes a moist cake that keeps well (not that it has much chance to!). I decided to break with tradition and have a Cadbury's Flake on the top, rather than Chocolate Buttons. It was delicious and didn't last long!
I follow Rebecca at Railway Cottage on Youtube and she has been trying a WWII diet. She provided a recipe for Crumb Fudge which uses dry breadcrumbs mixed with margarine, cocoa powder, sugar and golden syrup. This mix was one Mum always used with Cornflakes to make us Cornflake cakes for parties. I think I may have had too many breadcrumbs as the base is a bit dry, not soft and squidgy as it should be. I had some left over chocolate so topped the 'fudge' with it. It is a recipe I will try again (great use for left over bread) but with fewer breadcrumbs this time!
It does taste good, but best eaten accompanied by a cup of tea!
Here are more photos from the visit to Doddington Hall last weekend.
I do enjoy photos where you are looking through door or gates or hedges.
Here is a close up of the rhododendron which you can just see in the middle of the previous photo.
It is such a peaceful place.
This is looking at the back of the house, and there will be lots of bearded irises in flower here later in the Spring. Look at that blue sky - something we haven't seen that much of this dull, grey, wet winter.
We saw a single iris, probably a reticulata, which was just going over, but which had very painterly stripes.
Around the ancient sweet chestnut trees (at least 450 years old), there were more crocuses, early daffodils, cyclamen and snowdrops.
Those trees are incredible.
The crocuses were loving the sunshine.
Back in the kitchen garden, the bug hotel 'sculptures' were looking good.
These birch tree trunks had been drilled to provide more insect homes - perhaps for solitary bees. They made a striking feature too.
It was a lovely visit and the weather made it so much more enjoyable.
Last Saturday, when it wasn't raining and there was some lovely winter sunshine, we set off to Doddington Hall, just outside Lincoln, to see their snowdrops and other plants. We had a slow journey due to an accident on a main road, which meant we had to go round the villages just like everyone else. However, we got there and enjoyed our look round. Above was from the kitchen garden and I liked the grasses and seedheads which hadn't been cut down yet.
They looked lovely with the sun on them.
We headed off into the gardens and there were large drifts of snowdrops, together with crocuses, enjoying the sun too.
So beautiful!
There were also Leucojum (Spring Snowflakes), looking like giant snowdrops...
...and cyclamen coum.
The snowdrops were the stars.
Around the corner wafted the most delicious scent, which was coming from this Daphne.
Views across the gardens were lovely.
Some early rhododendrons were in flower.
The foliage of this Arum italicum marmoratum is stunning, although this plant is poisonous.
The white stems of the bramble (Rubus Cockburnianus) shone out across the grass, completely overshadowing the wire unicorn sculpture.
Above is a video from Youtube by someone who went to the exhibition. Lucky them!
(These are my photos from my copy of the book - they are not great quality thanks to the grey and dull weather, but give some idea of some of the images)
I was very lucky to receive a beautiful coffee-table book which is the catalogue of the V & A exhibition about Marie Antoinette Style which is on at the moment, but sold out, unless you are a member of the V & A. While I would love to be, it just isn't practical as a trip to London is not a cheap day out and to see the museum in all its glory would take a week, not a day!
However, there are many videos about the exhibition (such as the one at the top of this post) which give a good taste of what it is and the book is a beautifully produced accompaniment and looks to be an interesting read in its own right.
There are lots of gorgeous photos of jewels, furniture, clothes, shoes of the time as well as discussions about her influences, from the films about her to fashion, interiors and many things in between.
There are also videos about the book on instagram and facebook (neither of which I am part of) but I am sure they will give a good idea of the book. I am really looking forward to sitting and reading the book (in stages, as it is quite a tome).
There are lots of blog posts about the exhibition too, so here is just one. I am sorry that I am not able to see the exhibition in person, but with all the articles, videos and reviews, and a copy of the book, it's the next best thing.
I am pleased that it's February. While I don't want to wish the time away, January always seems to be at least twice the length of any other month. I was having a wander in the garden yesterday and these old stems from a herbaceous clematis caught my eye.
There's something very sculptural about them.
Then further down the garden, there were some snowdrops looking fresh, elegant and gorgeous.
They are definitely one of my favourite flowers.
Hopefully I will get out to see some in the big drifts where they look so wonderful. Yes, welcome to February!
When we moved in, over thirty years ago, we had all new windows and doors, as you do. They have done pretty well, but we knew the back door was on the way out, although we kept putting off doing anything about it. It decided to lock shut one day and that was that. We had to have a new door. We got a man in to fit the door and that went well, although he said our previous door had been fitted too far in, so he would rectify that, which he did.
Chris said he would finish off around the door, so he got the various bits and pieces needed and set to (after having a few issues because the framing pieces had been curved to fit in the car and then wouldn't straighten out!). However, Chris persevered and has finished the framing, which looks great. (The photos aren't the best, thanks to the miserable grey rainy day and lack of light!).
We also got another cat flap fitted, which looked good, but we have since discovered doesn't have a very strong magnetic fastening, so when there is any sort of breeze, it flaps open, letting draughts in! Another one with a better magnetic catch may be in order...
The door is lovely - and Chris did a great job with the framing!
Although it is still quite early for a lot of plants to be flowering, there are plants to enjoy. Above is Hellebore Winter Ballet Lulu, recovered after having a snowy hat.
Here is a Hellebore Credale double with just one flower so far, but a beautiful looking pink picotee edge to the petals.
Hellebore Hello Ruby just starting to flower.
Hellebore Ice and Roses Red looking very glamorous.
Cyclamen coum with its silvery leaves and pink buds.
Snowdrops, which really do need dividing this year. They used to have lots of flowers but these have dwindled so I really need to dig them up, divide and replant them, giving them more room. Of course, the heat in Summer is not really to their liking, so that won't have helped.
Three more flowers.
Finally, Hellebore Ericsmithii Winter Sunshine, again flowering but perhaps not quite so happily as in previous years. It may not have liked the heat either, but may need to be in a bigger pot now. Lots for me to do when the weather is slightly less wet!
