Visit to the newly opened Shoemakers Museum in Street

For Friday date day last week, Mr S and I took ourselves off to the Newly opened Clarks Shoe Museum in nearby Street, having booked our tickets on line before we set off.  The tickets for the Shoemakers Museum last a year and we shall certainly be returning.

As my school shoes even in the tropics were Clarks, I was really hoping that they may have a pair of those.

I felt that the finish on this sandal was rather flat, and when I used to go to the shop to get fitted up with a new pair, I always used to favour what I have just come to understand as flat grain. The leather was quite variable but always matched.  This flat grain leather is visible in the pair of red Joydance sandals further down.

My father had what I now realise as high standards and loved his shoes and clothes.  Although when I was living in Mauritius we had staff, he very early on taught me to clean shoes and that was my job first thing each morning to clean the shoes, and always outside if it was not raining.  In the tropics with the humidity at certain times of the year you could get mould grow on the outside as a slight bloom.  I am still the 'chief shoe cleaner' and love cleaning our shoes.  However I do insist Mr S removes the mud from the bottom of his trainers or boots himself!

When I posted the picture of the brown pair of Joydance shoes on my Facebook page, several of my friends from my youth posted memories of our school shoes.  It was interesting to hear that at some stage 

The description of these explained that The Joydance sandal was first introduced in the UK in 1933 for women and children. Later in the 1960s it was also being manufactured in Ghana and went under the name of Achimota sandals, named for the Achimota College in Accra, that led the trend in adopting this sandal as part of their school uniform with many other education establishments following suit.

A couple of my English friends posted that they had red pairs, and then uploaded this pair which I also photographed.

Clarks Red Joydance Sandals

Another local friend posted: 'My father went to Ghana to help set up the Happy Shoe Company as part of the training team back in the 60s . We also had two of the Ghanaian workers stay with us. While they visited Clarks quarters. We have photos somewhere.'

These are just a few of the shoes on display. The displays are well lit and nicely set out, and there were some delightful shoes where the design and quality are really lovely, and if for sale now, I would certainly buy.

For those who are interesting in advertising there were fine examples and this shop interior will no doubt spark memories.

You get a free 4 hrs parking ticket which needs to be collected from the Museum reception entitling one car to be parked in the Shopping outlet car park.

There is a very pleasant cafe in refurbished Old Grange Building. 

The Museum is very well set out, and for our first visit, we went quickly through the introduction taking you through the Clark's original business to the present day, when sadly shoe production is no longer in the UK and the Company is now majority owned by a Chinese company.

We shall certainly be returning, and I hope to go on one their guided tours too. 

Plain and Simple In a Vase on Monday

 I am going through my plain and simple phase in almost everything folks.  Will probably be that way for some time I feel.

Enjoying the details of the Cosmos picked yesterday in the anticipation of a frost.  We haven't had one so far!

Linking in with Cathy who was the creator of the weekly meme.

Viola cucullata alba

 

Viola cucullata alba photographed in April 2024

When I bought this viola on a visit to Broadleigh Gardens in 2024 ,  it came with a little hand written label 'Viola alba'. A few minutes of searching found the 2015 Broadleigh catalogue on line which gave the plants full name as Viola cucullata alba though it is wrongly spelt 'cuclulata'  The cucullata bit of the name which is the species explained much to me. Viola cucullata usually called marsh blue violet occurs naturally in Eastern North America.   

This year I thought I had lost it, but it was simply the case that it was in a position difficult to see,  hidden by overarching shrubs, and  being deciduous it was barely visible, quite unlike the other violas in the garden. Not knowing exactly where best to place it, I thought it a good idea to dig it up and pot it up, so that when it is in flower next year I can find the best position for it.  I can also keep it away from the slugs which rather favoured the plant this spring. I found the knobbly rhizomes to have increased and broken up the easily made three pots.  I shall trial them in different parts with differing sun and shade aspects.

Six things from the Garden in Mid November

I am writing this on Friday evening with the sound of very heavy rain outside, courtesy of Storm Claudia, but thankfully no heavy winds at the moment.  Maybe others are writing their posts, and I am sure Jim is just tidying up his, as it is always full of excellent garden plants, hints and tips etc.

1.  The three Cistus x hybridus 'Little Miss Sunshine' which I bought early September still has not been allocated any space in the ground, that is they have not been planted out yet. 

Cistus x hybridus 'Little Miss Sunshine' now repotted

They were starting to root through the base of their plastic pots into the soil.  With all the rain and very poor light this week, it was a treat to go out one dreary but not wet day and get these three potted up.  This picture was taken on the one sunny day this week. Each went into a vacant pot, and will hopefully add a little sunshine to the pot garden, and they can be moved around and again placed on the garden where there is a gaping hole.  

Described as being really compact relatively new hybrid variety of Cistus, it was its wavy edged primrose yellow variegated margins on mid green leaves which first attracted me. At the time, I thought they would look good in the front garden with all the other cistus, but I need to observe where the tulips and other bulbs are coming up before deciding whether and where they would go amongst the other Cistus. 

2. The forecast for next week is for night time temperatures to approach freezing, and the Canna probably won't like it in its pot stood in the wet and cold.  I definitely want to keep it for next year, and hopefully I shall be able to divide it.  Since its leaves are quite attractive could it be moved to the conservatory? Yes it could, but will the conservatory be too congested, if so it will have to sit in a corner of the shed.

Canna 'Tropicanna'

3. I've made little miniature gardens with  arrangements of one, two and maybe three plants in a little containers for as long as I can remember. When I came across the concept of Kusamono and Shitakusa I was beguiled by the various plants and ceramics used.  I rather like the characterful hand made pots such as the ones I saw when in Grange over Sands a few weeks ago. I have a few old bonsai pots which I pick up from Charity Shops which I used for my sempervivums. I took an empty one off the shelf in the shed, and enjoyed making this one up from plants I already had in the garden.  

The 'tree' is a rooted piece of Lonicera nitida 'Baggesen's Gold, and the low growing soft feathery leaved plant is Leptinella squalida 'Platt's Black. In the sun it will turn bronze black and should be a good foil for when the leaves regrow after I have attempted to 'bonsai' the little shrub.

4. When I visited Broadleigh Gardens early in 2024, one of the plants I came back with was Scilla hughii.  During the very hot and dry weather it died down completely unlike 2024, and thinking it was probably dead, did not give up and planted it in the garden.  Thankfully it is up now Comparing it with the Scilla Peruviana, there is a distinct difference compared with Scilla hughii, or at least the one I have. 

5. The Jasmine nudiflorum is one of the few original plants from the previous owners.  It is getting in the swing of things now, but not sure that this crop of blooms is bearing up well to all the rain.

6. Over the years I have grown several Pelargoniums, and have not necessarily continued all from one year to another.  Now I have very few, but one that did exceptionally well is Pelargonium 'Salmon Angel'.

Close up of flowers of Pelargonium 'Salmon Angel' in July

There are still a few flowers on it this week.

I took some cutting only a few weeks ago, and have repotted up three good ones to a pot ready for next year. Thank goodness I took them into the shed before the deluges of yesterday.

Succession planning with cuttings

Pelargonium cuttings can be taken any time of the right if you have the right conditions, so I am taking some stems to the HPS meeting today.  Some potted up Pulmonaria Sissinghurst White will also be in my basket: for why not spread the joy, if you can, by taking cutting and divisions and sharing them with other gardeners

From the garden on 8 November 2025

 This is the usual Six things from the Garden: a meme called SOS which links us all to Jim's post

Each week I wonder whether I'll have anything worth writing about the following week and I surprise myself.  

1. This has to be the best hardy Chrysanthemum in the garden this week.  It has stood all the various storms and droughts, since 2021 when I received this from Brenda.

Chrysanthemum Hillside Apricot

I was delighted when a friend who is a very good gardener dropped by this week.  I was able to share the garden with her, pointing out the various plants she had given me, and she was very taken with this Chrysanthemum Hillside Apricot, so that will be divisions made next spring when the new shoots start to appear. These give so many cut flower stems that I was able to send her home with a few with no visible depletion. If you are trying to guess where I cut them from, it was from the other large clump on the other side of the garden, 

2. There is only one Alstromeria in the garden, to be truthful it is in a pot rather than in the ground, and it is still flowering.

Alstromeria Indian Summer

I last divided it in 2022 and it is ready for that, though I have read that this is a job best done in the spring.  I've been moving my large pots around and I almost used one in which I was intending planting half of this clump, and stopped just in time. Diving this next year in 2026 means that it will have been in the pot for four years.  I think in future I shall make this a 3 yearly job.

3. Another plant that is sorely in need of division/repotting are the  Hakonechloa Macra Aureola.  They are now so pot bound, that the water just runs off the top of the pots.  I have read that early in the new year just as the shoots are emerging is the best time for this job.

Hakonechloa Macra Aureola 

There are two large pots each side of the bench.

4. Yellow in the garden, but only until the frost bites!  It was strange that the hot dry weather really did not suit the nasturtiums.  This is a self seeded one trying desperately to set seed before the end of the season.

5. I was actually not so very impressed by this little white Pelargonium recently, was it because it was overshadowed by everything else in the garden?  It was however the only small pot of flower, and a little bit of a preen involving removed spent flowers, and yellowing or nibbled leaves has restored it to a reasonable specimen rather than an eyesore to look at from the kitchen window. I may well keep this one, and take a few cuttings early in the new year. (*)

 

White Pelargonium 'New Century White'

6. The tall unknown variety of Cosmos have finally come into flower, so all the colours have been revealed.  During the winds this week I lost the very tallest comos with the largest blooms of the conservatory bed cosmos, but I was able to cut the flowers. I think the height and the large size of the blooms were its downfall in that they caught the wind so badly.  It is nice to see a white one amongst those growing in the old vegetable border.

This Six on Saturday of course it not about anything like keeping up with 'The Jones'.  You should see the other posts...fab photographs, plants and plantman/womanship which I can only but learn from, or at the very least admire.  I like it not only because of being able to read several other posts but to keep a record of my garden: how I like to grow things, and what may have been inspiring me to try different things.  Of course there is the repeat factor which is as much about celebrating how well old favourites are doing, and reminding me of cultivation needs and jobs.

(*) When looking up about this Pelargonium I came across an interesting concept: that of physiological aging in plants made me realise that by propagation from cutting or division over many years  means that my new perennial plant is similar to a 50 year old plant. Whereas of course grown from seed a plant is brand new. I found it here a little down the article under the heading What were the problems with old geranium varieties?