The promise of things to come

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I was almost blinded by a blue sky recently, I simply cannot recall the last time I saw one.

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Most days have been like this, bitterly cold, grey, gloomy, wet and windy. I’m so glad I wrapped the lemon tree, although I suspect it’s dropping it’s leaves under the cover.

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I’m surprised by how well these manuka bushes have done. They were tiny when I bought them last year. I was told they were hardy but was a little skeptical. They seem to like our sandy soil.

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Bulbs are powering through now, they don’t seem to mind the cold.

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Each year I am surprised by emerging bulbs. Being scatty, I always forget what bulbs I’ve planted.

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My very first snowdrop, what joy!

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Honesty seedlings, I do like their pretty seedheads.

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These mysterious holes are appearing everywhere, mice? Bees?

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My birthday plants arrived, sighs…they don’t look much yet, but will in a few months.

Just for Chloris, I shall give them their Latin names, ready? You may need a stiff drink while reading this list.

Here goes…..

Acanthus mollis, Agastache Blue Fortune, Ajuga reptans Burgandy Glow, Dierama pulcherrimum, Liatris spicata Kobold, Monarda Beauty of Cobham. Penstemom Sour Grapes, Meconopsis baileyi, Oenothera biennis and Amaranthus caudatus.

I also have a rhodo and a yellow witch hazel from Christmas, it’s far too dark and cold to go outside to read their Latin names.

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I also ordered these seeds. I am quivering with excitement just looking at them.

 

Of course the dogs get to enjoy the boxes.

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And Finally….

Hubs and I went shopping for holiday clothes at the weekend. We obviously got a little sidetracked as we ended up buying a six- berth tent. Hmmmmm…..

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!

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46 Comments

  1. I’ll bet the sunshine felt good. We have had sunny skies lately, but cold. I’m envious of your bulbs peeking up, ours are still fast asleep. So, apparently the dogs will be going camping with you? Plenty of room to spread out.

    • It’s been really cold here too, I can cope with that but dislike the grayness and dark nights….still, spring is on it’s way for both of us, here’s to you seeing the bulbs peeking out too!
      I will have to try and work out how to contain Sam when camping as he does run off at speed when he catches a scent…xxx

  2. I have several of the same plants growing in my garden. 🙂 Agastache and monarda are big, beautiful bee magnets. 🙂 If buying plants is a birthday gift, then I must celebrate continually!

    • Lol…you and me both re buying plants! I’m hoping to attract more bees, each year I strive to ensure the garden is wildlife friendly. xxx

  3. What a lovely post … six birth tent!!! LOL!!!

    I do like to see the snowdrops, and yours are the first I’ve seen, I’m sure I will see some more soon.
    Gardens (nature) is simply amazing whatever the weather throws at us nature eventually comes through – I just wish at times we could work more with it than against it!

    Children and dogs … always enjoy playing with boxes, mind you cats often love to sit in them too!

    I hope your weekend is going well.

    Our house is smelling lovely with the waft of a casserole cooking and a glass of wine close by – can’t be bad.

    All the best Jan

    • Yes, re the tent, note to self, stop impulse buying!!!
      You just can’t beat a snowdrop at this time of the year, they are always MOST welcome. I agree wholeheartedly re working with nature, we can be such a destructive species.
      What it is about boxes?
      Oh…..can I pop around, your house sounds most homely!xxx

  4. Fabulous seeds for wildlife! I know exactly what you mean about quivering with excitement just looking at them. They are probably the very reason you inadvertently bought a six man tent on your clothes shopping trip. Don’t worry – where you lead we’ll follow. Every fashionable blogger will be sporting a six man tent in summer 2017.

    • Thanks Sarah, I’m hoping the wildlife will appreciate the new plants.
      Hahaha, you have me laughing re your camping comment!xxx

  5. A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. There’s clearly lots to look forward too later in the year. xx

  6. Have you had success with Meconopsis before? I don’t dare even try, I’m told they are very fussy. Beautiful, though. I’m very fond of the Agastache and Monarda, I grow a great deal of them.

    • I grew Meconopsis from seed one year and ended up with many strong plants which did really well in the back garden. Unfortunately they all died off after a year of prolonged rain, they seem to like our sandy soil but loathe extremes of weather. I shall keep it in a pot this time, that way I can take better care of it.xxx

  7. Great images. Manuka are NZ natives? We are still waiting for summer.

  8. Menhir had me grinning — glamping indeed.

    I was a little worried when I saw oenothera biennis… but I’m sure in your climate, these little yellow blooms will be well-behaved. Here in So Cal, we have oenothera berlandieri, or Mexican primrose, that looks delicate but is really a determined weed-like thing sneaking roots under pathways, leaping fences, satisfied with any crevice whatever type of soil. In clay soil, it was down right pernicious. Took years to eradicate.

    I see the canine residents appreciating the boxes 😉 Enjoy your birthday plants and seeds, Dina. Wishing you wonderful success with them.

    • Glamping…..it sure does sound fun!
      Oh….re the evening primrose, that was an error on my behalf. I grew evening primrose from seed one year and planted it out in the front garden, as you say, they spread like weeds and now grow everywhere, even in the cracks of the pavements, they’re huge too!!!
      I always look forward to getting new plants out in the spring and starting seeds….bring spring on I say!xxx

  9. We’ve had quite a lot of blue skies recently, coupled with bitterly cold temperatures. Didn’t put me off going out to see if I could do any gardening though! 🙂 (I couldn’t, the ground was frozen.) A six berth tent sounds perfectly spacious and very practical. I had a four berth for me and my son so that there would be room for clothes, kitchen area, etc. Home from home, in fact! A camping holiday sounds very exciting – do you know yet where you’re going? PS do let us know if you find out who was making the holes – I reckon it could be bees. I’ve seen bees coming out of holes in the soil on the allotment. Cxx

    • Lucky you having all those blue skies! Shame the ground was frozen though…
      You paint a lovely picture re camping, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of room, I just need to figure out how to contain Sam as he can be a runner when he catches the scent of something wild. We’ll have to research camp sites, a week in the summer somewhere sounds fun. I suspect it is bees making the holes, I haven’t seen any coming or going though.xxx

  10. It’s wonderful to see a blue sky, isn’t it? Still grey here today but the sun’s trying to peek through so that’s encouraging. What a lovely selection of plants, your garden will be positively blooming come summer, they’re wonderful gifts as they just keep on giving.

  11. Blue skies? 🙂

    Snowdrops, how lovely to see them poking through the ground. Still waiting for mine to show a little sign. They will come but not while the ground is frozen.

    What a beautiful collection of birthday plants.
    Look forward to seeing their progress once planted in your garden.

    Ha that really made me smile. Looking for clothes bought a tent. You will have some fun with that.
    15 years ago my husband and I went out to buy a bench, we ended up buying this house.
    We had not even thought about moving at the time 🙂 The things we do.

    Happy post, thank you.

    • I do hope you get to see those snowdrops soon, and blue skies!
      I’m looking forward to seeing these plants growing, and getting my seeds started, that’s when you know it’s spring.
      You have me laughing here, I thought impulsively buying of a tent was odd….but a house??? WOW! What a wonderful story.xxx

  12. Although I am sitting here in Canberra in a heat wave, you have just reminded me of the tail end of winter in the garden…..the only good thing is all the little shoots coming up. Lovely that you are nearly at the end, and the lemon tree can soon escape!

    Just love your 6 berth tent……you could have a bloggers party!

    • Yes, those little shoots really are exciting…I do hope my lemon tree has survived, time will tell.
      Oh, a bloggers party, now that’s a smashing idea!xxx

  13. A tent? Glamping? That surely must be glamour-camping, and that’s something I could go for. Actually, I’m fairly much beyond the tent phase of my life, but I’ll certainly hang around and murmur appreciative sounds when I see the photos.

    I laughed out loud at the dogs and their boxes, and loved that you’re seeing some flowers — or shoots — at last. We’ve finally gone all gray and brown, or mostly so, and everyone is pretty happy about it. It’s no fun moving into spring if you’ve had no winter!

    • We bought the tent on impulse and now we shall have to use it. It should be quite a challenge with the dogs, especially as Sam is something of a runner!
      I’m, glad you are finally experiencing winter, here’s to your spring.xxx

  14. I’ve forgotten what blue sky looks like. Great to see bulbs shooting,

  15. Love the doggies having fun with boxes photo! I look forward to seeing all your plants and seeds in the months to come. Have fun with the tent – you’re a better man than I am Gunga Din! xx

  16. Signs of spring are so cheerful. I’m wondering how many dogs you are planning to take …..six berth tent! All the best. karengimson.wordpress.com

    • Hi Karen, thanks for visiting. I’m wondering how camping and dogs works out, especially as I have one that likes to go awol. xxx

  17. I am impressed with your Latin names. It is exciting to see the little signs of spring showing at last, they are taking their time this year. It has been very cold here, but lots of blue skies. The ground is frozen solid, but never mind, instead of gardening I have become addicted to cycling. Muffled up in long johns, onesies and layers of jackets, with a black balaclava I look like a michelin man off to rob a bank.
    I am intrigued to hear about your huge tent, what’ s that all about? Where are you going in a tent? I have never fancied it myself as I like a nice comfy en suite loo.

    • Oh, you paint a marvelous picture, you have me smiling! good on you for cycling, you put me to shame. I haven’t been out on my bike all winter!
      I shall have to invest in some type of toilet methinks….I obviously have much to learn being a newbie to the camping game!xxx

  18. I’m impressed with your glamping collection. Don’t forget the comfortable floor coverings and the blow-up 3-piece suite. The sleeping quarters have to have beds on legs, or at least a raised frame with comfortable air mattresses. (Pumps desirable). You’ll also need to add some things for tittivating yourselves and for a final flourish, you could park your own flower pots at the door flap, or the front awning. Then you can have open tent-house for the family and neighbours!

    It is surprising isn’t it, just how confused the plants are, all that early sprouting takes some effort. I haven’t seen any snowdrops yet. I do like to see them with their pert white clusters.

    Like you, we’re having a sharp cold spell, the upside is that we see some sparkling daylight hours and super blue skies.

    Happy glamping!! xxxx

    • I see I have much to learn re camping!!! I shall certainly take your suggestions on-board. I have never owned a tent and have only camped once before, many moons ago. We will have to give it a go now, have tent, must camp! I have been looking at little stoves, it all looks such fun, we’ll just have to figure out how to secure Sam as he’s prone to racing off after some scent or other.
      Wishing you many more blue skies. Thanks Menhir.xxx

  19. It’s so exciting watching the bulbs emerging, knowing that soon there will be flowers once more. That blue sky is such a wonderful colour, it makes you feel so much better than a grey one! We keep getting frosty nights but soon we hope it will get warmer, although it will be foggy as well as frosty tonight, might make some interesting photos.

    • I agree re emerging bulbs, I think it’s my favourite time of the year. Blue skies certainly lift the spirits, how I miss them. xxx

  20. PS: If you learn who’s making those holes, let us know. Maybe a leprechaun? 🙂

  21. Oh, I do love all those plants, and your blue sky, too. I love so many of those plants, will look forward to seeing your varieties!

    I haven’t been posting because there’s little to photograph here but gray, wet, fog, cold, ice and cloudiness! Gad! At least we might get some snow tomorrow.

    I’m excited to see your tent…is it necessary for your holiday? Sounds like a camping castle!

    Always good to see Sam, Buddy, and Annie having their fun. My boys need a good run. The dogpark’s been so muddy that it’s more work than it’s worth, but the snow will be a good chnage. 🙂

    Once we’re through Jan. and Feb, it’s smooth sailing, so trying to hang in there; your lovely posts and photos sure help! Take good care and be merry.

    • I’m really looking forward to spring and getting all the plants in the ground and seeds started. Oh, I can’t stand gray days, they are so very depressing, I hope you get that snow!
      No, we don’t need the tent for our hols, it was an impulse buy and now I’m wondering how to go camping with dogs, Sam puts his nose to the ground and takes off, I’m thinking of taking a tyre and tying him to it on a long lead, we’ll have to practice before we go anywhere.
      Dogs and mud are an awful combination, my house is testimony to that.
      Hang on in there!! Thanks Kitty.xxx

  22. I do laugh when I read your posts….a six birth tent hmmmmm indeed. I wonder where that will take you, and as soon as I saw your header picture with the furry angels ripping boxes apart, I burst out laughing:):)
    It is so promising to see the bulbs and snowdrops….because it is very foggy and frosty here. We did have much sunshine with blue skies last week (still very cold) but now it’s seriously chilly……however, as we both know spring will be with us soon.

    Keep warm, enjoy your seeds and plants…..and continue to create glorious stuff.xxxxx

    • Lol…I too wonder where that tent will take us, hopefully we’ll take to it…!
      Oh yes, spring is coming, a least we can see a light at the end of the tunnel now…..here’s too blue skies! Take good care of you.xxx

  23. Wow – how many people are you expecting to take with you?? Or will the dogs have a berth each??? Gardens can be so exciting, especially this time of year when the shoots start peeping through the cold. It lifts one’s spirits and gives one hope.

    Where are you going for your holiday??

    Hugs xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    • We bought the tent on a whim I’m afraid so don’t need it for our forthcoming holiday, but now we have it use it we must….at least it looks beautifully roomy!
      We are just putting the finishing touches to our holiday, I shall let you know in my next post.
      I think seeing the bulbs breaking through has to be one of the highlights of gardening. They certainly lift the spirits! Huge hugs to you too.xxxxxxxxxx

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