Ramblings
This morning I recovered two pictures for the post: https://derrickjknight.com/2019/11/19/the-dental-riskits/
After lunch I carried out a weeding and dead heading task before
photographing a few flowers, each image of which bears a title in the gallery. Scented roses are now coming into their own.
This evening we all dined on Jackie’s tangy lemon chicken and colourful savoury rice with which she drank Dellie Venezie Pinot Grigio 2022 and I drank more of the Rioja.
The day dawned dull yet dry; the air cool and cheerless. Nevertheless
Compassion rose, its neighbouring geranium palmatum; rose Penny Lane and her accompanying clematis Dr Ruppel flourished well enough as I made my way into the garden to gather up clippings from the Head Gardener’s morning graft.
After lunch I carried out an extensive but by no means exhaustive dead-heading exercise in the Rose Garden.
Absolutely Fabulous, For Your Eyes Only, Créme de la créme, Laura Ford, Festive Jewel, a pink rambler, and Aloha are among those that received attention.
A little later we visited Otter Nurseries where we bought another wooden bench. This was the last one in the store. It was the display item. As it was already at a reduced price there was no discount, but there was a bonus. Because it was on display we did not have to assemble it ourselves and it will be delivered tomorrow because we couldn’t fit it this form into the Modus. In football parlance this was a result.
Afterwards we continued into the forest where
beside the tidal lake at Beaulieu, a swan family were taking their cygnets for an outing, and
a human family were feeding the ducks.
Outside the Abbey two pregnant donkeys dozed and one dined on hedgerow while her son grazed for his own dinner.
Outside The Oak Inn at Bank ponies gathered on the green
and wandered in the woodland.
One in particular bore a negative tattoo of an intriguing mud pattern.
This evening we very much enjoyed an Indian Takeaway meal from Red Chilli, a new outlet in Old Milton. My main course was probably the best King Prawn Naga I have ever tasted; Jackie’s chicken biriani was equally good. My special rice was very good, and we also liked the sag poneer. There was so much that we have enough left over for tomorrow, including the plain paratha which we didn’t even unwrap. The whole meal passed what we call the poppadom test – if they are good, the rest will be. Mrs Knight drank Hoegaarden while I drank more of the CEO.
The wind lessened today, so we made a start on recovery.
There is nothing to be done about windburn such as this on the red Japanese maple, but
we did carry out an extensive hard prune in the Rose Garden where Mamma Mia and Absolutely fabulous prevail.
Bees were confined to their hives yesterday and made up for lost time today. Here they may be seen in Absolutely Fabulous, in bidens, in Laura Ford, in pelargoniums and in erigeron.
Another heavy storm is forecast in two days time, so we saw no point in much more tidying this afternoon and went for a drive instead.
We turned off Salisbury Road into
Ivy Lane, at the end of which lies Ibsley, and
‘Moyles Court School [which] is an independent day and boarding school for pupils from 3 – 16 years old.[5] Moyles Court was the former manor house of Rockford, and later for Ellingham as well. The 17th century manor house was once the home of Dame Alice Lisle, the last lady to be publicly beheaded in England following a judicial trial.[6] In 1940 the building was requisitioned by the RAF, who stationed the headquarters for the Ibsley Airfield there for six years.[7]‘ (Wikipedia) This was the base for both RAF and USAAF.
This afternoon the verges outside the school were lined with reconditioned army vehicles, enthusiasts of reenactment, and members of https://www.mvt.org.uk – Military Vehicle Trust.
There are good number of WW2 airfields and military sites in the New Forest. A member of the convoy explained that they were touring these locations. In the process they attracted photographers and visitors, including children, who were most intrigued.
Another attraction was the regular ice cream van. Take a boy to the forest and he will come home with a stick.
During the holiday season the forded stream always encourages a gathering, members of whom will often rig up a makeshift swing.
This evening we dined on baked gammon; boiled new potatoes and crunchy carrots; piquant cauliflower cheese; and tender cabbage, with which Jackie drank Becks and I drank more of the Saint-Chinian.
Having been informed by Bob on https://lovewillbringustogether.wordpress.com/2019/05/29/blue-skies-smilin-at-me/ that Australia’s Perth is having its driest spell on record I thought that today’s overnight visitors from that city might not be too sorry that our day has been overcast and wet.
Nevertheless, our cordeline Australis, eucalyptus, and yellow bottle brush plant, all beginning to bloom, may give them more of a sense of home.
Before the rain set in I photographed this unknown peach rose nodding to Compassion, at bit further back.
When I stayed with Mick and Gay at Christmas 2007 on the occasion of Sam’s wedding to their daughter, Holly, the sun was so hot that it burnt all Gay’s roses. It seemed appropriate on this occasion to photograph raindrops on some of ours, bringing us full circle with the pair that began the day dry. They are, of course, https://youtu.be/33o32C0ogVM
Late this afternoon these Australian friends arrived to spend time with us. We all dined on Jackie’s wholesome cottage pie; crunchy carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli; with flavoursome gravy, followed by strawberries, meringues, and ice cream. Hoegaarden; water; and The Long Way Round reserve Carmenere 2018 was imbibed. Afterwards we enjoyed convivial conversation including cultural exchanges and reminiscing before departing to our respective beds.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE. REPEAT IF REQUIRED.
Beginning with roseraie de l’Hay, Jackie and I continued our work in the Rose Garden by bashing stakes into the ground and tying the stems to them. Brambles are very sneaky when they send their deep roots down beside roses. The worst of these, masquerading as the rose, had to be dug out with a trowel and great care.
Rosa gallica, here fronted by Laura Ford, also needed a lengthy stake;
shorter ones sufficed for Lady Emma Hamilton and Festive Jewel.
Laura Ford, standing between roseraie de l’Hay and rosa gallica,
had produced a rambling sport which we needed to remove from its cultivated host. New varieties are produced by grafting onto the wild rose stock. A tendency to revert to the original produces what is called a sport. This dog rose looks wonderful when flung over a hedgerow, but rather detracted from our plantings.
It probably envied Ballerina her gleeful dance celebrating her freedom to roam.
This afternoon we transported two large orange bags of garden clippings to the Efford Recycling Centre, then went for a drive in the forest.
Sometimes we do find ourselves admiring cyclists who tackle the slopes with such splendid effort.
Here was another at Burley, climbing the hill above The Queen’s Head.
Walkers were also doing well with this.
We, on the other hand, were enjoying a drink in the front garden of the pub. Katherine Parr was the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, and the only one to survive him. It is, we think, her portrait that adorns the inn sign. (See Lord Beeri’s comments below. He is right to put the finger on Lady Jane Gray)
Strike out the first two guesses. Becky, in her comment below, has come up with the definitive answer, from https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/404444/elizabeth-i-when-a-princess.
From this point we noticed the dragon on the roof of A Coven of Witches, thus combining the two myths upon which the prosperity of this village is built.
Even the Art Shop has a scary window.
We had stopped here because we could see that a Burley Wagon Ride was about to get under way.
On the approach to the car park, a tree was cut down some years ago. Someone obviously carved the name of the village into the stump. Only three and a half letters remain.
No forest drive would be complete without at least one pony mooning in the middle of the road.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s deliscious chiken tikka, mushroom and onion rice topped with an omelette, and onion bahjis She drank Peroni and I drank Isla Negra merlot 2016.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE. REPEAT IF REQUIRED.
On another dull morning I scanned the last few colour slides from 1980.
In October Becky enjoyed pushing the buggy in Tooting Common.
There was someone in it. That was Sam.
Jessica was also on the walk.
Here is Matthew the following month,
and in December with Sam, who,
on 25th was helped by Michael to open his first Christmas presents,
And, of course, we had a festive tree.
This afternoon we took a trip to New Milton to buy a posting tube for Pauline’s parcel, post it, and take a waistcoat to Johnson’s Cleaners. We began with the tube from the art suppliers. We made up the parcel outside the shop, parked a bit nearer the Post Office, and went our separate ways – Jackie to the cleaners and me to the Post Office.
On the way I walked past two garden chairs of the perfect size for me, displayed outside Hand Made New Forest. Following the invitation, I tried them, and found them to be extremely comfortable.
When Jackie met me outside the Post Office a short while later I asked ‘Did you see those chairs?’. ‘I saw them,’ she replied with a broad smile, ‘and I sat in them’. ‘Shall we get a pair?’ was my next unnecessary question. We ordered a couple, of a different colour.
By early evening the weather had cleared enough for us to take drinks in the rose garden, where
Roserie de la Haie is flourishing;
and the mirror behind Golden Showers happily reflects the similar hued Laura Ford filling the gap between between the two levels of the climber.
This evening we dined on spicy pork with vegetable risotto, followed by profiteroles. Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the malbec.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM. REPEAT IF RQUIRED
Most of our roses are now in bloom.
We have, for example, Laura Ford;
Summer Time;
and, sharing the blue painted arch with Madame Alfred Carière, Summer Wine;
whilst the pink ones at the front are beginning to festoon the trellis.
A couple of times in recent days, when we haven’t had time to stop, we have seen ponies in the forest attached to very young, limpet-like foals, their Pelham puppet legs only just out of the box. Today we went in search of some. For the first hour we saw none. It is a Bank Holiday weekend, and Jackie speculated that the parents had led their babies off into the forest for their protection from grockles and their groping fingers.
All we encountered was lowing cattle leading their larger offspring across our path.
Then, at last, on the moor along the Beaulieu/Brockenhurst road, our patience was rewarded.
This mare and her foal were part of a larger group, initially keeping their distance.
The mother decided to lead her infant away from the others,
but, despite an abrupt change of direction, couldn’t shake off the determined member of a smaller breed who was clearly well imprinted, so,
in a vain attempt to escape, she initiated her lanky infant into the arts of traffic control.
The rest of the team loyally followed.
Further on, its mother close enough, another young pony dared to be inquisitive.
It jerked to its feet when she moved a few metres away, reached the safety of her flanks,
and stood, chomping, alongside the mare.
This evening we dined at Royal China in Lymington, where we enjoyed the usual excellent food with very friendly service. We shared chicken satay, king prawns in a chilli sauce, and plain chow mein with bean shoots; and both drank Tsingtao beer.
This morning Jackie continued her winter planting, such as this hanging basket and I pruned roses.
Here are today’s offerings from the rose garden:
Laura Ford,
and the climber, Golden Showers.
Following yesterday’s post, Jackie has given the Gazebo Path its correct sign.
This afternoon Jackie drove us to New Milton for me to visit the bank and to buy a return ticket to Nottingham in readiness for my trip to Louisa and Errol and the girls on Sunday.
I then prepared the next section of the saga of the garden, namely the Brick Path.
On 15th April 2014, the cracks were full of weeds, and the urn had yet to be planted up.
By 21st, Jackie had made considerable progress in eradicating weeds on the urn circle;
and by 30th, made her way along the composite brick section.
We tackled the older, original length from opposite ends. It was then that Jackie uttered the phrase: ‘Last one to the chimney pot’s a sissy’.
Some of our visitors, such as my Mum, need sticks for walking. These original bricks had become rather uneven over the years, so we asked Aaron to reset them. On 9th August 2015, his friend Lee, the carpenter who had fitted our stair rails, made a start with him. The following week Aaron finished the task alone.
By this time, the overgrown foliage that had bordered the path on 31st May 2014 had been thinned somewhat.
Two roses and a Virginia creeper were meant to be supported by a rickety wooden structure, most of which had fallen into the undergrowth. By 14th June that year we had bought and installed a new Gothic Arch, retrained the existing climbers, and added a couple of clematises.
This was the south easterly view from this point by 28th September 2015,
by which time the path had mellowed, and an owl had taken up residence in the dead snake bark maple.
Beyond the Gothic Arch and nearer the house, Wedding Day, a huge rambling rose, romped confetti-like across the red-leaved Japanese maple and a mature hebe. It needed some special support. We provided this in the form of an Agriframes Gothic Arch, installed on 30th October 2014.
Even this is insufficient for the prolific climber. It received further heavy pruning on 2nd October 2015.
This evening we dined at the Royal China restaurant in Lymington. Taking the advice of our friendly waitress we halved our order from last time, and just about managed to finish everything. We both drank Tsingtao beer.
I began the day by watching a recording of the England v. Australia match in the Rugby World Cup. In case there is any rugby fan in either hemisphere who is yet to watch it, I will say no more.
Encouraged by yet another warm, sunny, day, Jackie began work on clearing, and settling down for winter, the bed between the Heligan and Phantom Paths. We will call it The Unidentified Fir Bed, in honour of the large evergreen that enhances it. My contribution was to gather up and shift the debris to the respective compost and combustible heaps; to dig out a tree peony that encroached upon the Heligan Path; and to rake up fallen leaves from the gravel.
In addition to releasing a number of choked plants that had not seen the light of day for a year or two, Jackie discovered another row of large rocks, and a length of perished buried hose from an ancient irrigation system.
This afternoon, deciding to dig over the exposed ground, she found much rubble therein. I, oblivious of this added difficulty, watched TV rugby matches between Argentina and Tonga, and between Ireland and Italy.
Elsewhere in the garden this morning I had discovered yet another owl perched on a stump,
and the aerator acquired from the dump yesterday piercing the grass patch. The pheasant and kiwi didn’t look impressed.
One of Margery’s hollyhocks still stands sentinel to the left of this scene.
Today’s bouquet of roses includes
Laura Ford,
Festive Jewel,
and Absolutely Fabulous.
Butterflies like this well camouflaged Speckled Wood (thanks to Paul Clarke for pointing out that this is not a Wall Brown) have not yet given up,
neither have the slurping bees.
This evening we dined on cod in mornay sauce with broccoli florets; and crisp carrots, cauliflower and cabbage. We both drank Cimarosa Pedro Jimenez 2014.
Substituting scissors for secateurs, the Head Gardener began the day by cutting my hair. We settled the dispute about how long ago she last performed this pruning, by referring to our customary aide-memoire – this blog. It was 14th March. There were no pestiferous flies to eradicate.
It seemed only fair for me to cut the grass.
Before that, in the dim light penetrating the complete cloud cover, I photographed three of yesterday’s rose purchases.
Mum in a Million, yet to be planted, is positioned in front of Love Knot, already ascending its obelisk, as does Laura Ford, named after the contemporary sculptor, seen here on Wikipedia which tells us that the artist ‘[grew] up in a travelling fairground family to the age of sixteen and attended Stonar School in Wiltshire. [She studied] at Bath Academy of Art (1978–82), whilst spending a term at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York City. She was invited to take part in the annual New Contemporaries at Institute of Contemporary Arts(1982). Ford has lived and worked in London since 1982 since studying at Chelsea School of Art (1982–83).’ She is photographed working on China Cats, commissioned by Shanghai Sculpture Park in 2012.
On the former compost bed
the gladioli have opened out; the echinaceas have taken on their natural pink hue; and pollinating bees vie for position, plundering the remaining poppies.
By this afternoon blooms had appeared on the roses
Summer Wine, already slaking the thirst of a hoverfly,and Jacqueline du Pré, named after the great cellist.
Wikipedia, featuring this photograph of du Pre with her Davidov Stradivarius of 1712, and her husband Daniel Barenboim, has this to say about her:
‘Jacqueline Mary du Pré, OBE (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987) was an English cellist. At a young age, she achieved enduring mainstream popularity unusual for a classical performer. Despite her short career, she is regarded as one of the more uniquely talented cellists of the second half of the twentieth century.
Du Pré is most famous for her iconic recording of Elgar‘s Cello Concerto in E Minor, her interpretation of which has been described as “definitive” and “legendary”.[1]
Her career was cut short by multiple sclerosis, which forced her to stop performing at the age of 28. She battled the illness for many years, which ultimately resulted in an untimely death.’
Everyone of my generation will remember her well.
We completed more planting.
Jackie moved the Mum in a Million, and, in honour of her late, beloved mother, flanked it by two Veronicas. Then came the turn of Hot Chocolate, and Rose Gaujard, known until yesterday as lost label. This bears the name of its mid-twentieth century breeder, Jean Gaujard. It was slightly disappointing to learn that there was no-one called Rose for whom the plant was named.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s sublime cottage pie, enhanced by the inclusion of ground cumin and coriander leaves; peas, cabbage, and carrots; followed by profiteroles. My accompaniment was more of the merlot. Jackie had already finished her Hoegaarden.
Afterwards, I made the mistake of watching the highlights of the first day of the Lords Ashes Test Match in which Australia scored 337 runs for 1 wicket. That’s good news if you are an Aussie.