Garden – derrickjknight

Recycling Rocks

What we now term the Pond Bed runs along the Kitchen Path to the

Patio Bed. During the last few days, Jackie has been planting such as these primulas in this stretch of ground.

These images show part of the rim of the rocky water feature that lay buried beneath this area when we bought the house 11 years ago. What we hadn’t realised, and Jackie had now discovered, was that many of the rocks had joined rather thin soil in filling the large sculptured pond. This is clearly why nothing of any depth has satisfactorily grown there. The Head Gardener had managed to prise out a few of these rough-hewn slabs of stone, but had to leave most of them for Martin to tackle today.

Our friend has recycled the stone to strengthen the walls around the beds and to create a footpath through the pond one.

He cleared up the refuse and tipped some of the sifted soil into the bed which he

then levelled off with more redistributed earth and compost.

Before lunch I took another poles practicing walk down Downton Lane.

I spent the afternoon reading enough of ‘Devices and Desires’ for the end to be in sight.

This evening we dined on second helpings of yesterday’s spicy merguez casserole boosted by the addition of Ferndene Farm Shop pork and garlic sausages and fresh vegetables, with which Jackie drank Diet Coke and I finished the Shiraz.

Harbingers Of Spring 2025

When the heavy rain and stormy winds seen as the precursor of storm Eowen made way for a sunny afternoon I rambled around the garden perusing plants in search of signs of Spring.

Those I pictured bear their titles in this gallery.

I spent the rest of the afternoon learning more about ‘The Brontës’.

This evening we dined on tempura prawns and spring rolls on Jackie’s colourful savoury rice; and tender runner beans, with which I finished the merlot.

Seeing Off Magpies

On a morning colder and gloomier than yesterday I spent some time watching birds through the window.

Magpies dominated the crab apple tree,

until the blackbird saw them off

and repossessed his larder,

to which he welcomed Nugget’s great-grandson.

Back came the magpies and this cycle continued throughout the day.

I read more of ‘The Brontës’ this afternoon.

Our dinner this evening consisted of meaty pork and garlic sausages and gravy; strong fried onions; boiled potatoes; crunchy carrots; firm cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, with which I drank F. Stephen Millier’s Angel’s Reserve Merlot 2021 and Jackie drank Diet Coke.

Very Little Damage

I wandered around the quite still post-storm garden this morning and was pleasantly surprised at the limited damage we had suffered.

On Friday evening Jackie had performed the usual battening down of the hatches, such as laying down plant stands and

the items that can be seen in these images of the patio except for the downed owl planter and the broken pot she had thought too heavy for the 75 mph winds to blow down.

The Head Gardener had tucked the watering cans out of the usual danger area, but some were scattered around as can be seen on the Kitchen and Brick Paths.

Apart from the owl in the first picture, and the hanging basket loosened from the eucalyptus tree most flowers in pots have remained unscathed.

One owl has been tipped a little as his support has been dislodged;

the copper beech has retained a few leaves, while depositing the rest on the soil and gravel beneath. We can always do with more bagfuls.

Some readers my remember that recently we transported two lidless dustbins to the local dump. Over this weekend we acquired another we could hear rolling around the front garden. This morning it was standing upright on the front drive. Jackie stood it outside in the street. We can’t take responsibility for everything that blows in.

Because strong sunlight burns out the colours in flowers I waited to show some roses still thriving until the

sun was about to retire for the night.

This evening we dined on tender roast chicken; crisp Yorkshire pudding; boiled new potatoes; firm carrots; flavoursome Brussels sprouts, and tasty gravy, with which I drank more of the Fleurie.

The First Camellias

Today the last few of our roses including the pink climber; the light pink Generous Gardener reaching the top of the lopped cypress; pink Festive Jewel and yellow Absolutely Fabulous in the Rose Garden; the Westbrook Arbour red carpet roses representing the three thriving examples of these, cheerfully welcomed

the first of our Camellias.

During the last two days I have returned to making good progress with “The Heart of The Family” by Elizabeth Goodge.

This evening we enjoyed further helpings of Jackie’s flavoursome, aromatic, and colourful chicken jalfrezi and savoury rice meal, with which I drank vino Argentino Bebida Nacional Mendoza Malbec 2022.

A Workroom Behind The Shed

After having cleared the footpath through the Cryptomeria Bed, Martin has now paved the area behind and alongside the garden shed that Jackie had spent some days tidying and levelling, thus providing her with a good working space without tripping over rubbish and requiring mud removal from her shoes. A couple of days ago she disturbed a wasps nest beneath this soil and set about it with a long-handled blunt instrument and effective herbicide. So incensed was one of her enemies that it lodged itself beneath her right spectacles frame leaving enough venom over her cheekbone to produce a very nasty hard lump down that side of her face. It is not so visible now.

The Head Gardener has completed her refurbishment of the planting in front of the garage door trellis with the addition of a basket hanging from the porch roof.

I added pictures of token roses in the form of New Dawn and Festive Jewel.

I didn’t manage much culling today, but this picture, my first entry into digital photography, appears in https://derrickjknight.com/2012/06/24/choosing-a-camera/

This is the header from https://derrickjknight.com/2012/06/28/dinner-with-the-mayor-2/

In January 1965 I was working in a building that no longer exists on the east end of Westminster Bridge, well able to watch the lengthy queues waiting to view Sir Winston Churchill’s lying in state lined up along the embankment and bridges from 27th to 30th which appear in https://derrickjknight.com/2015/01/24/1000-days/

Having perforce, at least until my cancer treatments are completed, to resort to more medium curries, I enjoyed my first ever king prawn biriani while Jackie chose her favourite ponir shashlik at Rokali’s restaurant this evening. The food and service was as excellent as ever. I drank Kingfisher and Jackie drank Diet Coke.

Gardening Spanning Eleven Years

Here is another batch of photographs which have escaped my cull of those in my iMac Photos:

While spending the weekend of 15-16 June 2013 with the Thompson Family we helped them lay out their garden in Mapperley: https://derrickjknight.com/2013/06/16/nits-2/ has more.

The next weekend saw us tending Elizabeth’s garden in West End: https://derrickjknight.com/2013/06/24/pick-the-bucket/

Then, the following day, Jackie’s garden around the side of our flat in Castle Malwood Lodge, Minstead,

before taking a trip to Mottisfont at Romsey: https://derrickjknight.com/2013/06/25/graham-stuart-thomas/

This horse having its hoof attended to in London Minstead features in: https://derrickjknight.com/2013/07/01/sir-william-harcourt/

The total in iMac now stands at 57,336. I have some way to go.

Now Jackie has added some from her work today:

New Dawn rose and spent rudbeckia flower heads;

and this mushroom sprouting from the top of the Weeping Birch trunk.

This evening we repeated last night’s Chicken and vegetables stewp and focaccia meal.

More On The Front Drive

Today Jackie spent two more long sessions on clearing the east side

of the Front Drive; the first in the morning, taking her about half way;

the second after lunch, taming a stretch of rose Félicité Perpétue.

I rendered minimal assistance in chopping and bagging some of the clippings.

This morning I had posted

Four-And-Twenty Blackbirds

This evening we dined on a rack of pork spare ribs in barbecue sauce with Jackie’s savoury rice and melange of onions, mushrooms, runner and broad beans flavoured with oregano and basil. I drank South African Coastal Region Pinotage 2022

Clearing Front Drive

Jackie has spent some time each day recently clearing the rather overgrown front drive. On another oppressively slate grey day she came to the end of the task.

Much of the solanum, roses, and honeysuckle trellis has been cut back; as have

shrubs on the other side, and the euphorbia by the front door cut down. The mossy soil is now mulch around roses.

I filled four more spent compost bags ready to add to the next dump collection pile;

Jackie then swept everything,

including these channels previously full of soil and weeds now replaced by gravel.

Later I read ‘Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds’ by Agatha Christie which I will feature tomorrow.

This evening we dined on Southern fried chicken; savoury vegetable rice; oregano and basil flavoured melange from yesterday, with which I finished the Morgon.

Which Season?

The side effects of my BCG procedure have subsided today, and squirrels and moles have ceased burrowing.

When I returned from wandering around the garden with my camera on this shirtsleeves-mild-slate-grey-air morning listening to the

trickling of the Waterboy, I found that unless I culled my 57 pictures I would be in danger of flooding my readers, so I managed to reduce the offerings to forty.

Having neglected to water the nasturtiums in front of the garage trellis we thought they had died.

New growth is now flourishing. Will we see them Bloom?

The last of the smaller crab apples seen in this image alongside fuchsia Delta’s Sarah have been abandoned by the wood pigeons,

and blackbirds are moving on to the larger red ones.

Other fuchsias such as Army Nurse continue to adorn the shrubberies.

Busy lizzies and erigerons alongside each other drape the patio’s low wooden wall.

Violas are potted everywhere.

Some can be seen alongside cyclamen beyond the stumpery ferns.

Such as these nerines and this lace cap hydrangea brighten beds.

Dahlias we would of course expect at this time of year;

But maybe not so many pelargoniums and geraniums.

This viburnum and our numerous bergenias are also in season,

but solanum sharing a perch above a dead trunk is perhaps surprising at this time.

Leaves from the copper beech flitter rustling down to

the Rose Garden,

to nestle among seedlings of forget-me-nots, campanulas and aquilegias and rose petals,

many of which have yet to bloom or to fall. As usual all these images are labelled in the gallery.

in closing with this blue geranium, orange and yellow bidens and mauve petunias I have to acknowledge that I have no idea which season we are experiencing.

This evening we dined on chicken Kiev; boiled potatoes, spinach, carrots; cauliflower and leek cheese; and a melange of onions, tomatoes, runner and broad beans, and mushrooms flavoured so well with oregano and basil as to make the delicious smell match the taste. I drank more of the Morgon.