Tresco Island - The North and North West

 After time on the delightful island, one of several inhabited and the second largest of islands in the group called The Isles of Scilly, it is time to post a few pictures before I launch into the delights of the Tresco Abbey Gardens, for which other posts will follow.

Tresco is a small island, measuring just over 2 by 1 miles, and a saunter out each day means that most paths can be taken very easily in every direction.  The north of the island has a completely different feel to the luxuriant semi-tropical gardens which are on the southern side of the island.  The waved maritime heath at the northern end of the island grows on shallow soil on top of the coarse granite, of which there are some dramatic exposures.  

The area is strewn with the remains left behind by the last retreating ice sheet some eighteen thousand years ago,  and the strong northerly salt wind leads to tight undulating heathers, through which from time to time tell tale stones from Bronze aged cairns, flint works etc stand out above the vegetation.

Here Plantago coronopus, a plantain commonly known as the Stag's-Horn Plantain, is growing in the shelter afforded between two lichen rich granite boulders, together with Rock Samphire which grows more prolifically near the sea along edges of cottages and walls. 

For any lover of lichens there is plenty to see both on stones or any wood that happens to be even just a few years old. 

If you want to see lichen encrusted benches then Tresco will delight you.

I believe this to be Teloschistes flavicans,  this intricately branched golden yellow lichen is very sensitive to sulphur dioxide, so its existence here growing on the north west of the island about 20 metres above sea level.

Teloschistes flavicans growing on Tresco

Lower down the wild flowers such as gorse, honey suckle and on more open sites thrift were in full early summer bloom.

At low tide one distinct type of thickly growing sea weed rings the coast and here looking towards Cromwell Tower you can see its tops floating sideways on the retreating tide. I know virtually nothing about sea weed but their different forms and colours are fascinating and there were many different ones to amuse me in particular during walks on rocks or the more sandy beaches. 

Sea Thrift carpeting the slopes facing Bryher

In a Vase on Monday - Parrots and Wisdom

 After all I said last week, I have gained inner wisdom for a little time, and realised that IVOM has so much to offer, too long to list, with connections to people. to thoughts and to plants.  Here I am again! Joining in and supporting Cathy in this weekly get together.  I may come and go, and falter, but Cathy despite everything is here.

For the first time however here are Parrot Tulips of great beauty and intricacy which almost all of nature exhibits if one looks closely. I've also learnt from Cathy that these Parrot Tulips can come back the following year, so I shall be looking for a place to plant these in the garden.  Foliage are the largest of leaves produced of the Arum Italicum.

I had a second pot of these and having picked them all will be able to replant the pot ready for Summer.

The arrangement is on the dining room table with my two parrot pictures behind the Parrot Tulips.  

Wise words are written on the picture of  The red-tailed black cockatoo which I often ponder over.  Whether it is written or thought, there is no dishonour on leaving those behind, moving on, and finding new ways of achieving a balance. 

When I walked passed a Charity Shop in Kenilworth and spied these two prints on the floor, I hardly thought they would be gracing our walls all these years.  Its a trick of the camera but our walls are the pale green rather than the acqua.

Six on Saturday - 13 May 2023

We have had deluges of rain, but also a couple of days of sunshine. Already the Holm Oaks are starting to go through their summer moult, as evergreen trees do and this is when I hope that we don't have too many easterly winds as we did on Friday as they shed over on my garden rather than on the other side of the wall where they are growing. 

Here are my Six this Saturday:

1. The Nemesia Vanille Fraise was left in situ over the winter with just a light prune and just look it now, growing in the 'Willow Pot' in full flower and filling the garden with its scent. 

2. Another plant which I hope will flower year after year is the Choisya 'Aztec Pearl'.  It is somewhat dominated by the Persicaria Red Dragon that seems not be at all snuffed out by the huge amount of rain, in fact the converse is true. It was just a small new plant last November.

3. One of the plants in full flower and much admired was again a white:  Centaurea Montana Alba.  Over three weeks I have had requests for this plant and having divided this and positioned it at various points in the front garden over the last couple of years, was able with my trowel to provide some good plants straight away to friends.

What is so good about this silver leaved perennial cornflower is that as soon as a flush of flowers is over, I cut it right back to the ground, and it spring back and flowers again.  I get at least three repeats, and this year I shall monitor this clump to see how many regrowns I get.

It  is not just one way with plants: this week I received a piece of Brunnera macrophylla 'Hadspen Cream' from Brenda,plants were exchanged when we visited Batcombe House, this week. That has been planted in a shaded area.  Once it grows and I can judge its habit here in the garden, it will be a good one hopefully to place in different areas. I've visited Batcombe House previously but went mainly to meet up with gardening friends.

4. This is the view of looking towards Gooseberry corner but with the planting and with the fruit trees growing on nicely. It was looking at this border which featured in May 2021, early this morning, which illustrated to me how worthwhile taking a weekly overview of the garden is.

5.  Always a favourite area of the garden, the gravel garden is looking fine and for the last couple of weeks the creeping thyme 'Jekka' has been attracting pollinators. It easily roots along its long stems into the gravel and I have been placing 'new' plants to start to give the front Mediterranean themed garden some early carpeting cover and colour.

I've read that it is a good culinary thyme, and I really ought to put that to the test.  Also I understand if you cut this one back it bounces back with perhaps another display to follow.

6. Another little plant which has given pleasure since first planting three years ago is the heart leaved globe daisy: Globularia cordifolia.  Batcombe House also have this trailing off a short brick wall to great effect.  It was obviously very happy there as it had been in for years as seen from it thickish woody base. Here it is just starting to flower today:

Globularia cordifolia

Finally: 

Since high profile people can made a U turn, I hope readers won't be dismayed that after writing recently about my decision to temporary halt my weekly posts linking in to memes, I feel it important to return at the very least to SOS which is hosted each Saturday by Jim. 

For one I won't be silenced:  after receiving

 'Your post titled 'Apple D'Arcy Spice' has been unpublished' Your post titled 'Apple D'Arcy Spice'was flagged to us for review. We have determined that it violates our guidelines and have unpublished the URL

I have no idea what caused an infringement, but I have removed the links to apple suppliers to the RHS and others, and now it is accepted. How those links were an infringement I do not know, however on resubmission it was 'uncancelled'!

Secondly I had some friends round for a Book Club and luncheon, and their comments regarding the garden and some of the plants made me look at the garden with fresh eyes.

And looking back at my post in May 2021, I realised that these weekly posts allow me to note my feelings and also views of the gardens and plants which I enjoy looking back on myself. They give me so much pleasure....

In a Vase on Monday

 I've been contributing to In a Vase on Monday for a few years, and most of the plants have featured once or twice in vases.  In some cases many more times that that.  This time it may be first that the Ajuga reptans 'Atropurpurea' is featuring,  

I am going through a period when I feel that I wish to have a little space, to be quiet and post to my own rhythm.  My friends who log in regularly to my blog will understand and forgive me.  Of course your support and comments on posts are always welcome and I shall respond to them.  I may also pop in to view the memes and comment as and when I feel I have the time or inclination, and of course I have my good friend's blogs that I shall continue to follow.  Fear not, there is nothing wrong, but it is time to step back a little.

This is April/May's book club read, which quite surprisingly I enjoyed, and can't quite put into words how Clare Chambers managed to write about these various topics with 'In a Good Light' which piqued my curiosity and got me turning pages. With different characters and unusual situations it is indeed a good read.  As I went to check reviews just now I read that 'Without even noticing, Esther Fairchild has become locked into routine'.  The penny has dropped: that is how I have been feeling for a few weeks about my interests and blogging!

I picked this book up second hand at our last HPS meeting, and I shall be dipping into this over the coming days.  Mr S and I visited Highgrove just before the Queen died last year, and the gardens were totally inspiring. 

Although I have kept the title this week, as it is Monday and I am showing a vase of flowers from the garden picked today, I won't be linking my post to that of Cathy's, and the same goes for SOS which is on Saturdays when I write about six items from the garden.  I shan't be linking in, but as and when I find something interesting to say about plants in the garden, these will be written about in an ad hoc manner.  I have used the label Garden Posies which I used to  use before joining in with IAVOM.

Six on Saturday - 6 May 2023

I'll be posting this, then preparing for the Coronation..ie getting into suitably respectful attire, and sitting down with Mr S to watch the TV.  The Quiche Smoked Salmon and English Asparagus Tart was made yesterday, and other tasty morsels to keep us vitualled during the day.  I had a day of baking yesterday but at the same time received several gardening friends as they arrived to pick up divided plants.  I've been busy this week and decided to ditch the tall growing Thalictrum as it had been growing in the spot for a number of years, and I am ready for a change, new planting as yet to be decided! Several other divisions of emerging plants admired by these callers are hopefully now planted in their gardens.

1.  Growing auriculas is a fairly easy and pleasing preoccupation.  I seem to need preoccupations to keep me going.  Topics of interest come and go, and sometimes return.  For me the interest in growing auriculas started when  growers of auriculas who won Chelsea Gold Medal gave a talk at Kenilworth Gardening Club many years ago,and I was lucky enough to be given a piece of the  'Clouded Yellow' which was slip off the the RHS Gold Winner, the Queen's coins were required of course!  I think it is because 'Clouded Yellow' used to be at its best when we had our local shows, explains why it won several prizes for a few years on the trot.  Of course the plant was an excellent one but I am no expert grower.  Each autumn I used to pot it on and plant up the divisions to make new plants. 

Primula auricula 'Nessun Dorma'

Auricula 'Nessun Dorma', which again was bought years ago, first featured on my blog in 2016.   Instead of reducing and removing all the offsets when I repotted it last year, I chose to leave side shoots but pot on in a larger pot.  When I came to buy my plants this year it was a little late, and choices restricted, so early ordering is advised, so I shall choose another half a dozen slowly and with excited deliberation to complement the ones I have. Spares after division are passed on to my local gardening friends who also share this passion. I have already potted up a three rosetted flowering Nessun Dorma and delivered that to Sally Gregson, and have agreed a nice swap.

The Primula auricula 'Two Steeples'  has  a yellow centre and reddish brown outer.  I like the way the colour is darker towards the centre. This is one of the new ones this year.

2. If you are going to hang out fairies' smalls would they look like these, only if they are pure white!

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba'

Last year I moved a couple of self sown seedlings to a shadier border and this year they are flowering just a couple of years after germination, which I am delighted with.

3.  This particular Geum plant was given to me by Maggie, a year of so ago, and is now flowering for the first time.  

I also realise that I bought a very congested pot last year in the autumn which I split with Alison..Oh well!  I shall be comparing pictures, but with just the first flower out on the later plant, they look very similar.

I couldn't resist zooming in to this Geum. I think it may be Pink Petticoats. 

4. You may love this plant, or wish it wasn't so prolific, as I do for most of the year, I reduce the amount soon after flowering, but for now when it is in flower, and the bees visit, it would be unfair not to include it. I acquired it years and years ago before all the named varieties and just know it as the purple leaved Ajuga.  Several forms grow wild in the area, so it is well suited to the garden.

5. Parrot tulips doing their thing: this is the second 'shift' of tulips, the species are now over.

6. Ferns unfurling, and unfurled, I just love them. SEveral pictures but just one topic so squeezing these in as My Special Coronation Six Pack for Six on Saturday.

There is a third pot similar to the above two, but the old chap hasn't yet emerged from its bed of moss.

At least we haven't needed to have the watering can out here this week, but there have been some spells of great gardening weather.  I shall be popping over to link my post to Jim, who is the standard bearer for this weekly write up about six things in the garden.  The rest of us tag along with a wonderful colourful mix.

Coronation Tart my way

 Coronation souvenir purchased in the form of a golden syrup tin from Tate & Lyle, and of course we shall need vitals for tomorrow.  May well have porridge for breakfast with a drizzle of syrup!

The Quiche made with goat's and sheep's dairy items: cheese, soft cheese, milk, and butter in the Clive Mellum pastry.  Filling is smoked salmon smoked by friends and lovely english asparagus, with garden chives.

Home made potato salad, other salads etc, roast chicken with a 'Coronation Dressing' etc will mean we are just going to sit back and enjoy the spectacle tomorrow.

I even used all the pastry trimmings to come up with some delicious cheesy small biscuits, dressed with black sesame seeds, sea salt flakes and cayenne pepper!  They are so yummy that never will a single morsel of pastry leftovers will ever be discarded again.