A little snapshot today of some spring highlights from the garden. First up a trio of tulips. Orange Emperor, a bunch from the allotment and a mix of Sunny Prince and Purple Prince. Which are your favourite? I love the allotment ones, which come back reliably each year, I must dig some up for the garden. A view of the garden from the south-east corner. … Continue reading Spring delights
The weather isn’t playing ball this year, it continues to be mainly cold, wet and windy. Yet seemingly in defiance, the transformation in the garden is picking up pace, and there’s a sense of anticipation despite the somewhat uninspiring conditions. It’s the same every year, the undisputed star of early spring in my garden is Clematis armandii ‘Apple Blossom’, which spreads 7 metres or so … Continue reading The stars of early spring
Hello from sunny Brussels! There’s no competition for the top slot on this week’s six on Saturday garden tour – it has to go to the Clematis armandii ‘Apple Blossom’, full of the joys of spring, and the incredibly lovely weather we’ve been having makes it even better. Its browning leaves are forgiven and forgotten. This year I will try to water it in summer, … Continue reading Clematis steals the show: six on Saturday: 26 March 22
We’ve been enjoying the sunshine this week, it’s almost impossible to resist the temptation to go outside and get gardening. There’s plenty to do at this time: cutting back of dead growth to allow the new green shoots to come through unhindered, moving plants to better locations (an unhappy Rugosa rose to a sunnier position), weeding (or in my case eating my weeds – if … Continue reading Springtime: Six on Saturday: 12 March 22
After a short break in the Ardennes last week for my birthday (snowy treks, a visit to a war museum, an unexpected detour to Luxembourg, but no parties, absolutely no parties, not even ‘work’ ones, not even the ones where you send someone out with a suitcase to get booze, not even one held during a national lockdown when nobody else is allowed a party! … Continue reading Six on Saturday: 15 Jan 2022: party time
Oh what a capricious time of year, as spring toys with us, flitting cruelly between a glorious taste of summer and the slap of a ten degree drop in temperature and the threat of snow next week. Today, we’re being slapped, but for the past week, we basked in the magnificent sunshine. Mind you, I did not sit on my laurels, I was busy as … Continue reading Six on Saturday 03 Apr 2021 – Happy Easter
Strange to think that this time last year, we were in our first lockdown in Belgium. Strange too that I have pleasant memories of it: glorious spring weather, afternoon tea in the garden, our first chickens to fuss over and tut-tut indulgently as they sampled my plants in an all-you-can-eat buffet, commuting time freed up to do more gardening…all enjoyable, but the wider context less … Continue reading Six on Saturday: 20 March 2021
Our twig supply has increased greatly thanks to the windy weather we’ve been having. Earlier this week, I audaciously went for a very breezy bike ride in the forest (wearing a helmet) – anything for a thrill these days, right? As the wind got up, I was caught in one of those flurries of leaves that race around with the frenzy of school children let … Continue reading Six on Saturday: 13 March 2021
I’m still a little high on the novelty of a patch of blue sky and a few weak but welcome rays of sunshine, which arrived here yesterday after weeks of grisaillle (the Belgian/French word for miserable, grey weather: as grim as it sounds). Today also looks promising and mild. I had a lovely bike ride in the forest yesterday, getting a bit carried away with … Continue reading Six on Saturday: 23 Jan 2021: Catkins
Nipped out into the garden on Friday afternoon to take some photos, nearly froze my hands off, there was a very lively, bone-chilling easterly blowing. This could be the one that finally strips bare the Lime trees, adding the final valuable consignment to the leaf mould pile. The sky was wiped clean to reveal a raw, stunning blue. In keeping with this winter season of … Continue reading Six on Saturday: 05 Dec 2020
