Six on Saturday - 8 February 2020

Quite a bit of cutting back, and dry weather on some days sufficient for me to dig up some one plants from the front garden side border as far as jobs this week.  There are signs in the garden that spring is on its way, but also there appears to be a little 'absenteeism', which makes me sad.  Let's hope it is just a little SAD as a result of no cold spell worth noting.

The PROG has some nice fresh arrivals, and I am sure there is much from contributors to inspire us this week.  I often dip in during the week, notebook in hand, or to be truthful little scraps of paper, and later notes made properly somewhere I can hopefully access easily aka spreadsheet.

(1) Slow gardening - sowing seeds to grow herbaceous plants is certainly a form of slow gardening.  Since germination of seeds of Eryngium Silver Ghost in situ in the gravel garden, seeds from another Eryngium alpinum superbum are biding their time in a little pot under some gravel.  It may be a month or two before the seedling emerge.

Eryngium alpinum superbum seedpan

(2) Why no show for some snowdrops?  

Lady Beatrice and  Lapwing early flowering types now over, and  Magnet and Viridapice amongst the specials in peak form this week, are up and showing blooms.  The standard doubles and singles are slowly appearing.

Galanthus nivalis 'Viridapice'

Galanthus 'Magnet'

Worronowii, Elwesii, Blewbury Tart, Mrs Macnamara, and Diggory have not even emerged.  Are they just being shy?  

Galanthus nivalis Flore Pleno

(3) To see or not to see?

That was the question this week.  I did not foresee how far the Erigeron karvinskianus would tumble.  I decided to have a little prune mostly of the old underlying growth.  As I moved the growth, I could see some little crocus leaves emerging.  Along the edge of the border, they would be worth seeing, and I also wondered whether they would even survive another year if they could not have their own unencumbered share of the spring sunshine.Within three days Crocus tommasinianus  Barr's Purple flowers emerged . Sturdy flower heads now are easily seen above the leaves, with the sunshine highlighting the soft silvery sheen of the outer petals.

Crocus tommasinianus 'Barr's Purple'

Even this little patch of Tete a Tete is positioned behind the semi denuded fuchsia, which will most probably be snipped back some time today.

First daffs of the season 

(4) Gardener's Tumble and Blush

I was trying to get down low to take this picture, and you can guess: I took a tumble backwards from my low crouching position, being more careful to safeguard my camera rather than myself.  Safety clothing aka woolly hat saved the day, but not my blushes!  Next time kneel....

Cyclamen coum Maurice Dryden blush

(5)  Small but beautiful, with a blushing up of its tips in the cold.....

Hebe Silver Dollar

(6) Temptation - Is fast gardening a sin?

  

If so, all I can blame is my weakness and the snake of a fine display at Rocky Mountain Nursery.  I was missing my aconite left in the previous garden.  Yes I had just one plant which must have arrived in a pot with another plant from a friend.  

Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite)

In a Vase on Monday - Harmony in Blue

What a great way of logging beautiful flowers and their differing season.  Cathy this week is posting on the green theme. Do join in or just enjoy viewing Vases on Monday which was Cathy's great idea to bring us together.

This week and for the past week, the bright blue blooms on the Iris Reticulata Harmony have been adding a joyful tone to the garden.  Snowdrops apart, this is surely the Plant of the Month.  However it is only the first week of February, and no doubt other precious spring beauties will be vying for Plant of the Month.

Iris Reticulata Harmony In a Vase

A few leaves from the fern leaved corydalis: Corydalis cheilanthifolia join in a small vase to show off the iris with their intricately marked falls, all set against an old linen napkin.  There is a veining on the peals of darker blue, which I am finding hard to capture. 

There are sort of blooms that demand very close attention.  In the garden they have been adding an eyecatching splash of colour, and I showed them in the garden as part of Saturday's SOS  Cutting and bringing them indoors where one can easily admire their beauty if a bonus. 

Seeing that I am spending some time upstairs, the little posy has now settled on the windowsill.  The birds are beginning to tune up, but the little Jade bird who has migrated across the globe is quite still and quiet.

I can understand how these early flowering iris are often chosen to grow in pots for displays during the winter.

In the Southern Hemisphere and particularly in Australia, people are fighting the ravages of drought and fire.  Having just joined the Wells WI bookclub, I had this one thrust in my hand.  We are able to borrow many editions from our local library which is a wonderful service.  I really could not put this book down for long, it was gripping, and look forward to the discussions when we meet after netball next week.  At least it made me feel grateful for the rain we are having.

Sunday Breakfast the Sourdough Way

Our regular loaf is mainly sourdough and this week's supply coming out of the oven on Saturday morning, after a final banneton rise in the conservatory overnight, was a batch of Sunflower Seed Sourdough.

Later in the day there was a little leak of the overactive newly refreshed sourdough mother in the fridge, and obviously some had to removed.  I popped a few tablespoons into a dish, and added some wholemeal Buckwheat Flour from Doves Farm, added some milk and an egg, and popped the covered dish back in the fridge.

This morning we had three 'pikelets' each.  With fresh blueberries pushed into the raw side in the frying pan on half, and the second half had some chopped pistachios added.  Served with more fresh blueberries, sheep's yogurt for me, and goat's for him, more pistachios and a drizzle of local honey.  Pineapple Keffir with loads of tiny bubbles: my homemade 'buckfizz' and coffee.

Buckwheat and blueberry pikelets

Pink Grapefruit Marmalade

This where the pressure cooker makes show time of preparing marmalade. It takes just 10 minutes of cooking at pressure, with very little steam escaping into the kitchen.  The boiling up of all the ingredients takes place in a larger stainless steel pan.  Yesterday a small batch of marmalade was added to the store cupboard.  I revisited Grapefruit and Lemon Marmalade which I wrote about in 2012 on my other blog Mrs Mace Preserves.  This time I cut up the peel into fine shreds after initial pressure cooking, and the flesh and cooked lemon was pulverised, and added together with the fresh lemon juice and sugar.

Grapefruit and Lemon Marmalade

Six on Saturday - 1 February 2020

The morning found me busy and not inclined to contribute this week.  A quick dash up to a local nursery to buy compost ready for seed sowing, and a nice walk round got me thinking.  Some of the early winter stirrings ought to be appreciated, after all, if last year is to be repeated, and who knows, we could have a gallop into warmth, spring etc.  So here are a meagre few...for myself I shall settle down with a warm drink when I have finished and go off to see what Mr P and all our other gardeners have been up to this week.

We have had hail during the week.  Heavy downpours of the small white beads  rattle onto the windows and form a shallow white covering over the garden.  It feels wintry.  I am willing to go out and garden, but the soil feel too wet and claggy.  However the neighbouring cats  patrol the garden at night leaving their telltale destruction, so I try to protect emerging plants with twiglets.

(1) Androsace sarmentosa Watkinsii

The pretty pink flowering low 'alpine' has completely shed its outer leaves leaving small buttons or rosettes looking more akin to sempervivums. It is about at its lowest ebb.

 (2) Salix gracilistyla Mount Aso is having its moment, without its  bamboo supports and the fuchsia cut down. This year I shall prune it so as to form two or three 'legs' from which next shoots may grow, thereby giving it a little height with the advantage of encouraging more upright growth from a shortish stool.

(3) Crocus are ready to create a show and are just waiting for a little sunshine to encourage them to open.

Crocus fuscotinctus

Crocus sieberi Firefly

(4) Sorbaria sorbifolia 'Sem' is a couple of weeks ahead of last year at least.

Its pale green leaves with shrimp like uncurling shoots look very handsome against the pale duck egg blue of the shed.

(5) Cyclamen

This morning Mr S asked me if there was something unusual about the cyclamen leaves on the shed shelf.  He had yet to appreciate the many ways in which leaves can exhibit variegation.....just one of the subjects we covered during breakfast. He had been looking at Cyclamen hederifolium Silver Shield the second one along.

February is the month for the coums...right out of site below the Acer....

(6) Iris Reticulata:  Harmony is doing very nicely.  These are in their second year in the garden in this spot. I was surprised by how tall its leaves grow after the flowers are over.  

In the Aso bed a deeper Iris Reticulata Blue note is richer, and the first bloom is out, during its first season.