Thoughts on a Winter garden

It seems like an age since I last posted about the garden.

In many ways my garden is a typical cottage garden and looks its very best in spring just as winter is casting off its gloom, with plants bursting into growth and bulbs beginning to flower in their pots and in the beds. It looks glorious again in early June when the perennials and annuals are in full bloom but then gradually declines as each month passes. I still haven’t learned how to plant for all seasons, I really think there is an art to this and each year I promise myself that I will create an autumn and winter garden too. At the moment I just have a couple of evergreen hebes and a Hedera colchica ‘Sulphur Heart’ brightening up a particularly dull corner. The climbers are still doing OK such as the jasmine around the front door, a passion-flower by the side of the cottage and across the hurdle fencing and of course the firethorn which has been amazing this year.

I posted some while ago about the back border by the flint wall. I already have a mature wisteria which looks lovely in the summer but I need to add more shrubs and I’m thinking of making this my winter garden – I particularly want to plant Hamamelis intermedia ‘Westerstede’ (witch hazel) which bears fragrant, ragged-petalled flowers on leafless branches; skimmia japonica and vibernum.

This month has been a particularly wet one and the earth feels cold, heavy and sodden – not conducive to planting spring bulbs but I must get cracking soon if I want the garden to look its best again next Spring. I like to grow iris, grape hyacinths, narcissus and scilla in large pots for a good early spring show, with crocuses, primroses, aubrieta and Anemone blanda in the beds.

Already in the woodland bed I’m noticing the first tiny shoots of crocus, cyclamen and snowdrop – a sure sign early winter is on its way and in my little raised vegetable bed I will be planting shallots and garlic this weekend. On the subject of veggies I’m making an all too rare appearance at the Allotment at Sue’s on Friday to help with some winter digging and to hopefully harvest some parsnips, leeks and Brussels sprouts if they’re ready. Due to pressure of work I just haven't had the time to help out as much as I would like, so thanks for being such a star Sue, for your understanding and for 'holding the fort'!

I took some photos of the garden but the light was so bad they just looked gloomy, so this is a rare no-photo post!

Talking of gardens the very lovely Jo at The Good Life has kindly bestowed upon me this Best Blog award.


I was in the very esteemed company of some great gardening blogs so I’m very honoured, particularly as my blog isn’t a gardening blog per se but then it’s always a good idea to widen the net and extend the threads that link all of us – the love of blogging. So thank you so very much Jo.

The rules are that I choose up to 15 of my favourite newly discovered blogs to pass the award on to, but I'm going to be a bit of a rebel and nominate just one.
I would like to pass this award to:

Harmony and Rosie

I hope you accept this award Kate.

Monday Poem :: The Cat and The Moon

By W B Yeats (1865-1939)

The cat went here and there
And the moon spun round like a top,
And the nearest kin of the moon,
The creeping cat, looked up.
Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon,
For, wander and wail as he would,
The pure cold light in the sky
Troubled his animal blood.
Minnaloushe runs in the grass
Lifting his delicate feet.
Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?
When two close kindred meet,
What better than call a dance?
Maybe the moon may learn,
Tired of that courtly fashion,
A new dance turn.
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
From moonlit place to place,
The sacred moon overhead
Has taken a new phase.
Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils
Will pass from change to change,
And that from round to crescent,
From crescent to round they range?
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
Alone, important and wise,
And lifts to the changing moon
His changing eyes.

Tonight (Monday) is a New Moon or Dark Moon and is when the Moon is directly between the Earth and the Sun and therefore hidden. This is a time of new beginnings and new undertakings.

Our feline friends and the Moon are a delightful if not heady mix and thereby the subject of much folklore and mystery. Yeats often used a symbolic reference to the Moon and the twenty-eight day lunar cycle in his poetry, contending that physical existence grows steadily until it reaches a maximum at the Full Moon - phase fifteen. Yeats described this as perfect beauty.



Thank you Jess my beauty, for taking the role of Minnaloushe to illustrate this poem!

xmiaowx

Cottage envy

I have a severe case of cottage envy this evening, River Cottage envy. Yes, HFW is back on Channel 4 and not a day too soon. He brings a breath of fresh (winter) air to the screen with his easy laid-back manner and off the wall dry sense of humour. I love his foraging, fishing and hunting expeditions, his totally picturesque and well-run smallholding and what was the other thing – oh yes he can rustle up a storm in the kitchen! Agreed?

His vegetable plot is to be marvelled at – the size of a small football pitch and super-productive for the whole year – where do I go wrong? We also get to see inside the said wonderful kitchen too – bliss!

Everything HFW prepares is achievable, using the best of British (if not home-grown) ingredients, never failing to come up with dishes that in their simplicity are totally scrumptious and satisfying. For anyone who doesn’t know about HFW, perhaps only my lovely foreign blog friends, press the link for River Cottage on my sidebar.

While talking about cottage envy just check out these little beauties – from Suffolk to Cornwall – there’s nothing quite like a cottage, and I can never resist taking a photo of it!

Orford, Suffolk


Ickworth Estate


Veryans, Cornwall


St Ives Cottage


And my absolute favourite - this delectable cottage in Zennor, Cornwall



Happy drooling! xx

Monday Poem :: The Soldier

Photo courtesy of The Theatre Royal

In honour of Remembrance Day on Wednesday, I have chosen a poem today that for me, sums up the futility of war and the love of one's own country.

This poem is one of my all-time favourites and never fails to bring a tear to my eye each time I read it. Like many of you I'm sure, I will be thinking of our soldiers based in Afghanistan, this Wednesday.

This is for all the brave men and women who have given their lives in conflict since 1914.

The Soldier by Rupert Brooke - read about his life and poetry here

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

x

Afternoon Joy

bring in the logs and the kindling ...


gather cones and sprigs of fresh rosemary from the garden for a sweet-smelling fragrance ...


... add to the fire and watch the flames dancing in mesmerising light


Relax in your favourite chair ...


with a good book and a glass of wine ...


Add an adorable kittie ... and what do you have?


My recipe for a lazy Autumn Saturday afternoon, a welcome treat - what's yours?


xox

Coco Before Chanel

(Image courtesy of Google Images)

Last night I went with a girlfriend to see the film Coco Before Chanel starring Audrey Tatou. It was so gorgeous it took my breath away – in French of course with English subtitles – perfect for the subject in question. Tatou (Amélie) possesses the kind of face that cameras must have been invented for.



(Image courtesy of Google Images)

The film begins in 1893 with Coco and her sister being dumped at an orphanage and quickly ages her to Parisian chanteuse, drawing lascivious glances from rich men and returning them with irresistible indifference. One patron, the race horse millionaire Étienne Balsan, pursues Coco and she exploits this, moving into his mansion estate, hidden from wealthy friends who would disapprove.
As the film ends, in around 1915 Coco is just beginning to leave her mark in an era of male dominance, freeing women from pastry fashions. Coco’s aesthetic is still very much evident in today’s designs and the Chanel bag has become the must-have.

Here is the real Coco, looking absolutely divine, darling!



(Image courtesy of Google Images)

Have a great weekend. Jeanne x

Contemplating : Birds

While I was sitting at my desk earlier, trying to hit a deadline with some legal documentation that I was typing, I heard a loud call. I took off my headphones and listened again, it was the unmistakeable hoot of a pheasant and suddenly there he appeared on the kitchen roof directly opposite. I grabbed the camera, zoomed in and took a photo through the window.

He’s a handsome fellow ...




Thanks to all those who have left get well wishes on my last post – it’s gratifying to know that not only are these ramblings of mine even read in the first place, but that you care as well, and not just on this post but with previous posts too. So a big thank you!

The thing is, as I lay feverish in my bed on Monday morning all I could think of was that I hadn’t posted a Monday Poem – I know we should never apologise for missing posts or not commenting enough but there you are … guilty as charged!

Back to bird matters, I'm aware that for the past week or so I’ve neglected the feathered visitors I get in my garden each morning, due in so small part to the arrival of Jess & Bobbi who in their totally endearing way have taken over my life, and the garden! I’ve always enjoyed enticing birds into this little haven and get regular visits from blue and great tits, blackbirds, finches, thrushes, sparrows, robins and of course wood pigeons and colly birds.




They have food, just, in their feeders (need to stock up with some more super big bags of peanuts from the market) and they have fresh water, however there are now two potential hunters in their midst who have been climbing trees and scaling walls, as cats do. So, how to reconcile the two? It’s difficult and hopefully the garden can accommodate both. I certainly want to keep any visiting birds out of harm’s way.




I’m coveting something like this, maybe incorporating a very high feeding table … a beautiful dovecote we came across when visiting The Lost Gardens of Heligan




I recently bought this great bird feed from Baileys Home and Garden – I love the tin and the illustration! I’ve been scattering it on high ledges that I know the cats haven’t discovered, yet …




I feel that with cats, you either have to keep them in from kittenhood at the very beginning and have them as house cats or, as in my case with adoption, they must be given the freedom they experienced before, unless you want some very unhappy kitties roaming around the house miaowing to get out and scratching the doors down! So there we have it - a dilemma!

Xx

Goodbye to a glorious month

The glorious and colourful days of October may be over as far as the calendar is concerned, but autumn colour and beauty may yet be found in the hedgerows, along well-trodden footpaths and in woodland glades. We had promised ourselves a walk in Thetford Forest today but a combination of truly awful weather this morning and the beginnings of a nasty head cold for me meant we stayed at home instead. So apologies but I'm feeling a little sorry for myself whilst writing this!

November is upon us so swiftly - where does the time go - bringing with it unsettled days of wind and rain and relentless grey. I don't mind misty or even foggy days - they can be hauntingly atmospheric - but grey skies make me feel sad. I start to look ahead to spring long before I should - before experiencing the joys of a snowy mid-winter, with its promises of icy ponds, gorgeous low winter sun and exhilerating winter walks; snuggled up in thick woollies, scarfs and hats.

I hope some bright skies return and dispel the grey and drizzle - wherever you are!

Xx

Jess's First Outing!

After my last somewhat scary post, this is just to let you know that all is well at Cottage Garden and here is a nice fluffy post to end the week!

Jess had her first taste, well in this home anyway, of the outside world this morning and my, did she enjoy it. She spent over an hour exploring her new territory and was very, very pleased with herself! After sussing out the garden she ventured further away and was familiarising herself with the little lane that runs down the side of our property. I kept a discreet distance to reassure her that I was still around and she took one mischevious look back at me as she dived into the bushes. Oh dear. I decided that she was experienced enough to know her limitations so I took a step back and returned to the garden, feeling really quite stressed.

I waited nervously at the garden table, cup of strong tea in hand, for her to reappear. She suddenly scooted up the path, eyes wide like a cartoon character, divebombing me and rubbing herself furiously against my legs miaowing with excitement, her little motor working overtime; re-affirming her friendship with me. It was such a lovely moment and it felt like she was now truly part of our family; this is where she returned to for a nice cuddle and a soothing word; this was home.

After she had calmed down and was feeling just a little sleepy after her exertions, I managed to film this. She is so sweet.

If you want to know where Bobbi was, she was asleep upstairs and missed all the excitement!!

A Woodland Walk in October

My walk in the woods looks and feels very different at this time of year.



Russet red, flaming yellow and burnt orange are the predominant colours on any autumn walk but the greenness and minute detail of this lovely moss caught my eye.




Part of my walk was hindered by fallen or felled logs, not quite sure which...




It felt strange and eerie in the woods today, strange noises and unfamiliar rustling emanated in the otherwise silent space. I could feel the blood pounding in my head. I swung around at yet another branch cracking. Was I alone? I felt very alone ...






The clearing is sparse and open at this time of the year and I could see through the woods into the fields beyond - non-one seemed to be around. Sometimes I see the occasional dog-walker but not today ...






By now I was feeling very uncomfortable - I had the weirdest sensation that I wasn't alone - that I was being watched; from afar, I could hear a heartbeat, I felt hot and then cold. My head was hurting.




I felt into my pocket, yes I had my phone, I had contact with the world, I could get help ... if I needed it ... but could I get a signal? SNAP! I swung around again, half expecting to see ... something?




It was then that I started running - my legs felt stiff and awkward - my breath coming fast and shallow. I tripped and almost stumbled but I could see the edge of the wood ahead - I would soon be free of the tangled branches and smell of decay.




Safety lay ahead.



Did I fool you? HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Jeanne x