Gardening
Weather too unreliable for riding a bike so working in the garden. I'm a lumberjack, And I'm OK - remember the Monty Python song? Trimming a hedge, a Leylandii, then the lawn in my garden in Keswick.
Jardin Botanique du Villa Maria Serena, Menton: « la petite Afrique »
Visiting the fabulous gardens of the Villa Maria Serena in Menton-Garavan which border the frontier with modern Italy but are within sight of Monte-Carlo and Menton old town across the Bay of Garavan.
More photos: Jardin Maria Serena, Menton: « la petite Afrique »
Hedges in my garden in Keswick turn out to be like grass anywhere else, they all need a trim at least once a month plus a major cut twice a year to stop the spiky look. Otherwise I loose my views of the fells beyond. Much easier with power cutters than by hand, even so it’s a lot of work to maintain the illusion of the garden merging with the countryside. The shredder’s essential as well: I distribute the chippings around the garden, it breaks down surprisingly quickly in Cumbria’s cloud forest climate to a mulch that drives more growth.
The Long-tailed Tit visitors are new ones for me, lovely little balls of fluff at the moment. Turns out I’ve been growing nettles to head height as well!
Small and nice, Acorn Bank walled gardens near Temple Sowerby in Cumbria enjoy a site established by the Templiers, which was bought by the Dalton family in 1543. The house was renewed in the 1930s by the Yorkshire poet Dorothy Una Ratcliffe, then passed to the National Trust. The orchard at Acorn Bank has a fine collection of apple and pear trees including some rare ancient varieties. We’ve visited Acorn Bank garden many times and it continues to be an inspiration.
A pleasant surprise on opening my kitchen blinds these mornings: a touch of the Mediterranean in West London! The flowers are Nerium Oleander, commonly known as Oleander. You see these pink flowering shrubs all over the Mediterranean area so they are also called the Mediterranean Rose, although horticulturally Oleander are not at all from the rose family. Note the King of the Pippins apples coming on well.
