Nature’s Umbrellas

Storm Jorge is not due to hit us until tomorrow. Just to get us in the mood, dispiritingly drizzly rain seeped from solid slate skies throughout the day. Even heavy rain would have been more stimulating.

Mostly I read, except when I donned a raincoat and wandered around the garden testing my camera’s imperviousness to the water that

glistened all surfaces

and bejewelled crocuses sagely keeping closed;

camellias on the bushes and

on the ground;

head-bent hellebores –

even those standing proud.

I realised today why these flowers invariably hang their heads.

They come equipped with their own umbrellas.

Daffodils,

primroses,

and mahonias brighten

the beds.

Raindrops cling to boughs until sliding down to drop to the ground.

This evening we dined at The Wheel Inn. Portions are so plentiful that we both opted simply for mains. Jackie enjoyed the thick, meaty house burger with chips and salad while I chose beer battered cod, chips and peas with tartar sauce. The crispy batter was better than most fish and chip shops could produce. Mrs Knight drank Kaltenberg and I drank Rioja.

 

68 comments

  1. You’re ahead of us by a small margin. Our daffs haven’t made much of an appearance yet though haven’t the hellebores been helleinteresting this year?

  2. Your beautiful photos of your beautiful flowers bring smiles and warmth to me on this cold winter night! Thank you! 🙂
    Love nature’s umbrellas! Also, that last photo is so beautiful! Looks like the boughs are decorated with little lights!
    Your meals sound delicious!
    How are Mr. and Mrs. Nugget doing?
    HUGS!!! 🙂

  3. Despite the dreary drizzle, you got some lovely photos. I like your glistening path and the drops on the blooms–and so many blooms! It’s definitely spring in your area of the world. I hope the storm is not too bad.

  4. How did you get to J? The last I remember, you were only at D. Here’s hoping you don’t get to W, Y, or Z — even your flowers would be depressed by that point!

  5. Hopefully you will not have t endure the alphabet of storms all the way through to Z! Your garden almost appears to be weatherproof.

    1. Thanks a lot, Anne. The garden is surviving well. Yesterday Jackie tipped water from some of the potted plants for fear of overwatering. As far as the alphabet is concerned we have gone from D to J – so we’ve missed a few storms it seems 🙂

  6. Your garden is looking lovely, no Nugget?
    My daffodils are not quite out, almost but not yet.
    For some reason, in the autumn I failed to plant any winter blooms, I usually have a number of pots outside each of the doors and full of cheerful colour. Perhaps it was because the extremely wet autumn.

    1. He tends to disappear when it is very wet – but we haven’t seen him for a day or two. Hopefully he is busy nesting. Thanks very much for asking, Sue. Jackie is tipping water out of pots!

  7. Today I think we’re getting your weather from yesterday. Intermittent rain and grey skies.
    I read the news recently that with all these fields flooded for such long periods, a good few butterfly species will be pushed close to extinction. Apparently they spend the winter as chrysalises in the roots of grass and other plants and will be killed by the water. How very sad. They brighten up so many summer days.

  8. I’m a bit late looking at your blog, so Jorge might almost have arrived. I hope you don’t have damage in your lovely garden.

  9. The rain has not dampened your spirits Derrick as your images have brightened my day as you share your beautiful garden full of glistening colour..
    Thank you my friend.. We have a break in the cloud right now and the Sun is shining… We make the most before more stormy weather..
    Take care Derrick.. and thank you for your wonderful photos 🙂

  10. I hope the winds have calmed down in the New Forest as they have here and that no damage has been done to your beautiful garden. The rain has been the most trouble again. I love the umbrella analogy, Derrick!

  11. I chuckled at the owl ogling bright yellow daffodils, Derrick. The pink camellias, minus those natural umbrellas, do not bend their pretty heads for the rain.

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