Back In The Garden

Stormy weather and a heavy cold have kept me indoors for the last week. Today the wind has dropped to 20 m.p.h. and the sun has shone. I therefore took a walk in the garden. Jackie now has the cold and is currently housebound.

Our winter flowering cherry remains bright against the blue sky above.

The copper beech and the weeping birch still display their skeletal frames;

pruned roses are biding their time to burst forth in bloom.

Golden forsythia glows beside the patio.

Whichever way you look at them, the old cart wheels and the gazebo arches have designs on the gravel path,

visible beyond this end of the Phantom Path.

Camellias still bloom and bud throughout the shrubberies.

Daffodils still abound. Those in the patio are accompanied by tulips, pansies, and violas.

Primulas, bergenias, hellebores, cyclamens, comfrey, alliums, grape hyacinths, and pulmonaria all await discovery in the beds.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s piquant cauliflower cheese served with rashers of bacon, followed by lemon Bakewell tarts.

85 comments

  1. Soon it will be Spring and the weather will continue to get warmer and you guys will be spending a lot more time in the gardens. Nice fluffy clouds in the backdrop. Give my best to Jackie and hope she recovers soon from her illness. I know the feeling of being house bound!

  2. There is nothing like a bit of bacon to add interest to a cauliflower cheese dish. Your flowers are doing very well. Your colour makes our garden look rather drab but that is what 350 miles north does.

  3. Pulmonaria are one of my favourites. I have always known them by the name ‘soldiers and sailors’ because the flowers start out red and turn to blue. Your garden looks wonderful and is a good two weeks ahead of mine further north.

  4. It’s nice to hear you are out walking about by yourself. I realise we lost sight of the progress of your knee in recent weeks. Best to Jackie, your turn to do the nursing Derrick.xo

  5. At last the wind has dropped! I’m so pleased you were able to get out into the garden again and take some pictures but I’m sorry poor Jackie is unwell; I hope she gets better very soon. Your pulmonaria is looking lovely – much better than mine which has been severely pruned by a passing deer!

  6. Despite the beech and the birch, it seems spring truly has arrived. Here’s to good health for you all, so you can enjoy the bountry blooming and buzzing all around you!

  7. Glad you got out in the garden, Derrick! 🙂
    Prayers for Jackie to be well soon and back out with you!
    Your garden has beauty, whimsy, character, and looks so peaceful! The photos make me smile! 🙂
    HUGS!!! 🙂
    PS…Tell Jackie I send my best healing wishes and some gentle (((HUGS)) to her!

  8. Best wishes for Jackie’s recovery – i’m sure a rest is well deserved, even if it could be in better circumstances!

    The Primula are beautiful, but you gotta love the Daff’s as the harbinger of Spring. Now let’s hope Nature co-operates. 🙂

  9. I know how much work a garden can be, but you and Jackie make your garden appear to be self-starting. It’s already off to a great start!

  10. I hope Jackie soon feels better. Your pictures reminded me that pulmonaria is reputed to be good for the lungs – an inadvertent invocation for a speedy recovery, perhaps. The garden is looking wonderful as spring time approaches. It will do Jackie good to look at it – I hope you can see it from inside.

  11. What a week that was too Derrick, very wet and windy here all week too.. And like you today has been sunny with a few little showers, But It drew me back into the garden, cutting back Clematis, and pulling a few weeds..
    Your garden is looking loving as Spring opens her heart to blossoms..
    Enjoy my friend, enjoy 🙂

  12. It’s so wonderful to get outside after being cooped up, isn’t it? I’m glad you finally had some nice weather. Our weather has improved a bit here too, but I twisted my ankle last Monday, so have been laid up and not able to do much. It’s really hard not being able to go outside and enjoy the nice weather, especially after the long winter. The garden there looks so lovely, Derrick, and I do hope Jackie feels better soon! xx

  13. So glad the cold and the weather cooperated in letting you get outside! Your garden inspires me. Five new roses went in the ground this month and I will be adding lavender and rosemary, thyme and curry! Please give my best to Jackie! May you both be completely healthy soon!

  14. Glad this stormy weather has abated somewhat now, it was the same here Derrick, one storm after the other! But now it’s nice and calm, and there is much work in the garden. I’m getting quite familiar with your garden and it’s lovely to see what you have growing in spring flowers. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Jackie.

  15. “The old cart wheels and the gazebo arches have designs on the gravel path” I liked that very much, Derrick. I’m a bit slow with my reading – hoping Jackie is feeling much better by now. <3

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