Tag: pansies

A Fernery

First thing this morning I watched savage nature in action.  The early sun glinted on a side-lit spider’s web, displaying the splendid shape of this wonderfully crafted construction.  A child’s chalk drawing of an airplane streaked across the clear sky above.  A bright blue fly darted straight into the unwound skein.  In a fraction of a second, a spider emerged from a corner and was on the fly.  Quick as a flash, I was upstairs in search of my camera.  Quick as I was, on my return the spider had already wrapped up its prey which now looked like a ball of grey wool almost as large as itself.  My attempt at securing a photograph was rushed, and consequently out of focus.  During the brief moment it had taken me to ascertain this, arachnid and prey had disappeared.  I could not locate them in the foliage.  After a great deal of persistence I spied the predator so well camouflaged against a dying leaf as to be well-nigh invisible.

I found another golf ball on the lawn.  This set me wondering whether to emulate Winchester City Mill.  They have a web-cam carrying out an otter watch.  Otters can then be filmed whenever they investigate the millstream.  If we set up a web-cam we could satisfy ourselves as to the identity of the phantom supplier (see 8th. September post).

After lunch the three of us visited Arturi’s garden centre to buy some ferns for a new bed Jackie has created.  She and I drove Elizabeth back to The Firs and shopped at Hillier’s for snowdrops, narcissi, and grape hyacinth bulbs; pansies; and all-purpose compost.  I then finished mowing the lawns I had begun this morning, and Jackie planted up her fernery.  This fills a very shady corner bearing compacted soil covering massed tree roots.  Our head gardener has created a decorative container for shade-loving plants by encircling a nutritious mix with the sawn up sections of the acacia which fell down during the May storms (see 26th. May).  The mix consists of a layer of pond weed extracted a year ago which has produced wonderful compost; then seaweed enhanced plant growth stimulant; next a layer of bracken, and finally multi-purpose, composts.  The centrepiece is a garden ornament known by us as ‘The Three Graces’, which had previously stood at the edge of the front lawn.

Pansies 9.12

For our evening meal Jackie produced fillet steak with which she drank Hoegaarden and Elizabeth and I Roc des Chevaliers Brodeaux 2010.

A Long Drop

Raindrops on blade of grass 8.12

This was a dreary day, covered in cloud and drizzling.  However, we were able to continue in the garden; Jackie with her general maintenance, and I making further inroads into the ivy-clad corner.  A framed nursery bed is to be returned to grass.  I had removed the frame in readiness for creating the scented bed.  Jackie dug and sifted the soil so it is ready for seeding.  She also weeded and potted up some plants which require a certain amount of thought for their final resting place to be determined.  The head gardener, Jackie, and the lady of the manor, Elizabeth had both bought carloads of plants this week.  I had never thought we could run out of available space.  Until now.

Over lunch we discussed, among other subjects, plant varieties and boundaries between properties. ¬†The subject of plant names came up because I had misinformed Michael Watts as to the identity of the Leycesteria photographed for yesterday’s post. ¬†I confused it with Abutilon, which we don’t have. ¬†Michael, the qualities I described do apply to the Leycesteria, but the Abutilon is not hardy. ¬†Hopefully this will demonstrate that I am definitely the under-gardener in this partnership. ¬†It was natural, given that we were eating an unusual variety of cucumber, that our expert was able to tell us that there is one called ‘Burpless’. ¬†I thought that did bear repeating.

In retrospect, the boundary issue was a little more alarming.  Potentially.  Apparently Richard Barbe-Baker (see 26th. May), when splitting up his land for sale, ensured that the neighbours on all sides would be responsible for fences, wall, hedges, and the like.  This caused a minor dispute when one set of neighbours wanted to replace the laurel hedge which I had been attacking all morning.  Whoever is responsible for the fixture dividing properties, the people on the other side must agree to the nature and materials of what is proposed.  Elizabeth and Rob did not want their wonderful, well-established, hedge replaced by a fence.  Perhaps having been unaware that I had been tugging away at thick stems of ivy entwined around that very laurel, Elizabeth casually remarked, in passing, that there was a sheer drop the other side.  I was a little less vigorous in the afternoon.  The neighbouring houses, you see, were built in a disused gravel pit.

Something similar pertained at Lindum House in Newark. ¬†Our garden ran along the side of the back gardens of Wellington Road. ¬†Ours was on a higher level than the others. ¬†There was therefore a similar drop on the other side. ¬†Against the wall between us and No. 10 Wellington Road, on their side, was a small ladder. ¬†This had been placed to enable the small boy who lived there to hop over and play with our previous owners’ dog. ¬†When we took up residence we left the ladder so the lad could nip across and play with Sam and Louisa. ¬†Paddy, our dog, when she arrived into our household, and when the little boy had made way for two other canines, took to leaping from our side into the new neighbour’s garden, relishing the opportunity to frolic with her own kind. ¬†Being, until she ruptured her stifle chasing a hare, a nimble creature,¬†she would scale the ladder back to us when she’d had enough. ¬†Unfortunately the ladder eventually disintegrated. ¬†This meant the owner of her playmates had to lift her up to the level of our wall. ¬†This was all right when he was at home. ¬†When he wasn’t she would have to call for assistance from our side. ¬†Which might take some time.

Danni and Andy joined us this afternoon and stayed on for Jackie’s evening meal. ¬†This was a very tasty Shepherd’s Pie, which, among other ingredients, contained mushrooms. Jackie drank her usual Hoegaarden, Andy orange juice,and the rest of us, assorted red wines. ¬†As usual at The Firs, this was followed by the eponymous mess. ¬†This consists of applying whatever is available to the bed of a merangue, and crunching it all up.