ST GEORGE'S DAY IN THE GARDEN

Did you know it used to be traditional to wear a red Rose in your lapel on St George's Day?


The gardening group are back after the longest Easter break ever and the Garden House garden is in full bloom.

Lots of daffodils are still in bloom, including February Gold (?!) and the tulips are out in force.


Note no dragons were slayed in the taking of these photos

The sun is shining

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the flowers are coming out! Can it surely be spring?

It's almost spring

It's official, it has been the coldest winter since the last Ice Age, or was it Ice Age II: the meltdown, I always get the two muddled up. Anyway, there were signs of life in the garden this week.

One in the form of bulbs

and the other in the form of ...

Some people will do anything not to the recognised on this blog

and as for those hiding in the potting shed

Not very fantastic Mr Fox

There was sad news in the garden this week and it had nothing to do with the weather. A fox got into the chicken coup in the dead of night and killed all but one of the chickens. As Bridgette contemplated what to do with the solitary hen (apparently they don't like being introduced to new mates) there was suddenly a shriek from the end of the garden as one of the girls found another of the hens alive and well. This cunning chick had foiled Mr fox with an ingenious escape route. The plucky survivor is pictured above with Bridge.

END OF HIBERNATION

Tomorrow is the 1st February, and it's time to wake up.... Where have l been for TWO WHOLE MONTHS. Well I've been hibernating of course. The garden was covered in snow, it was too cold to venture out and I am the lazy Brighton gardener after all, so I just went to sleep. Anyway, I've woken up again. Got a bit hungry, and so did the birds. What with all this snowy weather going on our poor birds are starving (we don't count seagulls in this equation as they're seaside scum.) So Friday gardening to the rescue.

How to make a bird feeder.

Get lots of yummy ingredients (dried fruit, seeds, nuts) and mix them in a bowl with a load of lard.

Take some pine cones and attach some string to the tops.

With a spoon push the lard mixture into the grooves of the pine cone.

Then hang in the garden and watch the bird fight over this haute cuisine delicacy.

And you can make all sorts of other feeders using wire or Cornus stems.

This was mine. A Valentine gift for the birdies.

Happy new year by the way.. !

Today in the garden

Today, for the first time since records began, it stopped raining. 

With the new garden room installed, there was landscaping to be done..
Dig for victory girls! 

Tulip bulbs to be planted.

Borders to be tidied. 

Wheelbarrows to be pushed

Fires to be put out...?

The New Garden Room

It's finally arrived. The new and wonderful 'Garden Room' complete with wood burner was erected this week - just in time for the Winter Fayre tomorrow. .   

Another rainy Friday

We aren't defeated by the rain. Oh no. The show must go on, and so it did. Well, a few of us stayed  in the dry but these intrepid workers had deadlines to meet and so they battled on through the wind and rain. (l know it doesn't look like it's raining in these photos but trust me it was.)

The final posts went in for the foundations for the soon-t0-be erected gargantuan shed/classroom.

 and look at the wonderful NEW potting shed. 

and meanwhile indoors, seeds were being removed from dried flowerheads collected earlier in the year and left to dry out in paper bags. These were put in envelopes ready to be sold. 

The envelopes were even home made.

Fingers crossed it's better next week. I don't think we can take much more rain. I'm sure I heard the other day it's the wettest November since records began. For some reason, records apparently only began in 1955. Goodness knows why no one bothered to record it before then. 

Fantastic Mr Fox

Just in from my father. Apparently, a very tame fox probably a dog fox spent the entire day yesterday hanging out in my parents garden in Hampshire. Dad managed to capture the fox on his mobile. The fox was apparently unperturbed by Dad being feet away from him and was happy to oblige with a smile when the camera phone was produced. Unfortunately when the phone rang, the fox refused to take the call. 

Ode to the West Wind

(mahonia x media 'charity')

As we are being blown to pieces in Brighton today, here are some photos l took yesterday in my garden before it was all taken in the wind.  Poetry by dear old (well quite dead actually) Percy Shelley.

O Wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,

Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

(Blueberry Bluecrop)

Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,

Pestilence-stricken multitudes; O, thou,

Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed. 

(Cornus Alba)

The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,

Each like a corpse within its grave, until

Thine azure sister of the spring shall blow.

(Fatsia Japonica)

Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill

(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)

With living hues and odours plain and hill:

(Choisya Ternata)

Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;

Destroyer and preserver; hear, O hear!

(pyracantha 'orange glow')