Backing Up

Knowing that we were to expect further stormy weather today, Jackie helpfully took her camera into the garden at dusk yesterday and photographed

primulas,

cyclamens,

bergenia,

hellebores,

camellias,

clematis cirrhosa Freckles,

a pelargonium,

a mahonia with accompanying New Zealand flax,

snowdrops,

and Daphne odorata marginata all in bloom.

The Generous Gardener rose set to climb the recently heavily chopped cypress has taken well.

While she was at it the Assistant Photographer also added a fern owl for Pauline’s benefit.

Just about avoiding the rain that was to follow we drove early into the forest.

On Barrows Lane a row of daffodils were already in flower.

We were, yer honour, proceeding at a gentle speed along the narrow, winding Lower Mead End Road when

distant headlights reflecting on the wet tarmac alerted us to the approach of an oncoming vehicle,

As always in such a situation someone has to back up. Jackie is of the opinion that this is very rarely a BMW driver. So it proved today. My Chauffeuse did the gentlewomanly (You are chauvinist, WP – I did not type gentlemanly) thing and reversed until there was some degree of passing space.

Polite waves were exchanged as the gentleman in the other vehicle sailed by and we continued driving through the pools ahead.

The woodland and Boundary obscured grazing ponies,

yet cattle were quite visible among the moorland gorse.

You could be excused for imagining that this picture of Sway Tower against streaky pastel skies was produced either at sunset or sunrise. In fact it was 11 a.m.

After lunch Jackie brought back my first Easter egg from Tesco’s where these delicacies had been on sale for at least a week. Like the pictures that began this post her intention had been that I might like to “put it on the blog”.

This evening we dined on succulent roast beef, crisp Yorkshire pudding, creamy potato and swede mash, and firm, tasty, Brussels sprouts and carrots with which I drank more of the Garnacha Syrah and Jackie drank Maury 2013.

 

109 comments

  1. I am amazed that in the middle of winter, and regardless of the persistent storms, you still have an array of flowers in your garden, Derrick. The Head Gardener is obviously doing a fantastic job!

  2. Beautiful photographs yet again Derrick. By the way, I don’t know much about gardening, especially flower types. Could you recommend a bright, hardy flower that blooms throughout the year?

  3. Captured by the glimpse of a white and blue owl I biggified to ensure my feeling was correct – I haven’t seen this one before – and it is an absolute delight. Pottery? I think it must be my favourite of all the myriad owls that populate your garden. So imagine my delight when finishing my close inspection of the lovely chap I saw Jackie had thoughtfully captured him especially for me. ๐Ÿ˜€ Thank you Jackie xo

    But Derrick you forgot to include the pic of Sway Tower……….

    1. Not exactly a “riot” more the occasional (very welcome ), splash ! More than we have ever had at this time of year, a false spring I fear.

  4. Daffodils? In January? Good grief, your climate is certainly better than a couple of hundred miles further north! I envy your lovely garden blooms too.

    Oh, and I got started on ‘The Crown’ today. The system not fully fixed yet but I was able to get Netflix on the kitchen TV.

      1. So far so good. I watched three episodes today whilst knitting Joey pouches, and no guilty feelings for sitting in front of the TV all afternoon!

  5. Nice to see so many flowers. C. โ€˜Frecklesโ€™ is always a treat but Iโ€™d forgotten it was so early. Iโ€™m looking forward to seeing R. โ€˜The Generous Gardenerโ€™ grow – thatโ€™s one of my favourites.

  6. I’m amazed at all the flowers you have in January. Jackie has done a wonderful job–with photos and flowers. I was confused about the Sway Tower.
    Like Pauline, I loved the owl.

  7. I’m so envious of your flowers! We have cold earth and shivering tree branches. I bought a bunch of closed up daffodils though today. Will happily watch them open up near my fireplace.
    And um, I’m a BMW driver (2007 reaching its last legs) and I’m always the kind of driver who would back up to leave room on the narrow road. ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. The growth of all these plants – particularly the flowers – is fabulous, as well as worrying at this time of year. Our garden, too, is ‘springing up’.

  9. I was briefly but completely discombobulated by the mention of the Easter egg. Suddenly, I had a sense that I might have missed Valentine’s Day! No… it’s still January. Flower-wise, those snowdrops are sheer delight. I found exactly one in my area last year, but at least I know where to look this year. They don’t do well here, generally — like tulips and daffodils, our climate doesn’t suit them.

  10. Easter eggs already! The new school year has just begun here, so the shops are filled with ‘back to school’ specials – overflowing with pens, files, folders, writing pads and the like.

  11. I canโ€™t believe the Easter candy is out already! Everything is dead where we are – our winters donโ€™t allow anything to survive outside it seems so I loved the flower photos!

    1. Thank you very much, Lisa. It is quite ridiculous to start Easter when Christmas is barely over. They were selling hot cross bums as well. I’m pleased you loved the flowers.

      1. Hot cross bums! Well, depending on who those bums belong to, I might have to get myself some. ?? unless they are just people who are bums. Then I donโ€™t want any. ?

          1. Yes, there is bums as in butts and bums as in โ€œthat guy is a real bum.โ€ But some use that term for homeless people and I donโ€™t like that use because it dismisses those individuals as simple losers and itโ€™s much more complex than that in most of those cases.

  12. Jackie, Your photos are lovely! We had a gloomy weather day here…so looking at these precious flowers with their magnificent colors…a definite day-brightener! Thank you, Jackie! ๐Ÿ™‚

    An Easter Egg already! You are a lucky duck, Derrick! ๐Ÿ˜€

    (((HUGS))) ๐Ÿ™‚

  13. The unseasonal weather is encouraging premature growth, I hope it isn’t a false Spring.
    Two hundred miles or so further north the garden is not so far advanced.

  14. I love those Latin / Greek names.
    “hellebore”. A term applied to sixty minutes being talked at by Uncle Jack.
    “clematis cirrhosa” A plant used to decorate the special offers section at the bottle shop.
    “Daphne odorata marginata” I’m not sure about that girl’s perfume. I can’t work out if it’s too strong or too easy to miss.

  15. Jackie was right to stay in the car … I imagine the “nice words” of this driver
    ps: I would have liked to come and eat with you, the menu interested me very much and seemed appetizing; all that I love

  16. Derrick, are all these flowers blooming right now in your garden? If yes, what kind of the winter we have this year around the World. It is definitely something wrong with the climate. Hopefully, it is just some kind of fluctuation not dramatic change in general.
    Anyway, it is nice to watch the flowers in the garden by that time of the year. Enjoy!

  17. One of our customers reported sighting his first daffodil of the year yesterday. We are not quite as advanced as you, and our pelargoniums are still under cover.

    I saw Creme Eggs out earlier in the week, which seemed a bit early, seeing as we are still three weeks from Valentine’s Day.I can only cope with one thing at a time.

  18. Those are charming beings close to the ground and up in the canopy. Jackie is rather fond of owls. I suspect the posturing of the BMWs is a universal phenomenon, although there is no telling what a miffed BMW owner might do to one on the roads of India.

  19. Much enjoyed all your winter flowers in your garden, I took note of the Clematis Cirrhosa as I think that is beautiful and to have it flower in midwinter is great. I hope that the coming storm did not do too much damage. Here our dividing fence came down, it has been very wet and very windy here too but today was wonderfully sunny ๐Ÿ™‚

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