Thursday 20 February 2014

Flowers, fruit and fun - a garden for all seasons

I always feel guilty for neglecting my garden in the early part of the year as it's such an austere time anyway and the garden could probably do with some love - couldn't we all ? As I wandered round in the fine drizzle this morning taking photos wearing my oversized t-shirt bearing the legend 'idiot' (from a wonderstuff song - not high level and public self-loathing) I observed how much it's changed.

In the front the bulbs we planted last year are starting to poke through the ground - they're a bit subtle still, but the colours are lovely and vibrant.
The crocus revolution
Our daffodils are always early and they really are quite hardy - in previous years they've survived show and ice. These chaps are an inspiration !
My hardy daffodils
I had a lot of these plants taken out of the ground last year as I don't like their 'cabbage-y' appearance. The lovely pink flowers that they've sprouted have given these ones a reprieve for this year. They still look like cabbages though.

Unloved 'cabbage flowers' 
The far end of our garden - or 'the woods' as our boy calls them - are the reason we bought the house. When it's sunny this place provides shade and hiding places and in the winter it's a playground with a lovely soft floor and amazing trees and branches to climb over.
A pair of wellies and waterproofs and this is a playground !
I often call our garden the 'pudding garden' as we have apples, blackberries and - as I discovered last year - quince growing in it. The glut of apples last year had me handing out bags of them to anyone who came to our house, this included delivery drivers, Jehovahs Witnesses and random strangers. It's sad that they've all gone now and it's hard to believe these trees were covered in apples only a few months ago.
Not long ago these trees were heavy with apples 
We are so lucky to have such a diverse garden with so many different functions and facets. I'm looking forward to getting back out there and enjoying it again this year. 

This post is part of the epic Mammasaurus's How does your garden grow linky 

Mammasaurus and How Does Your Garden Grow?

13 comments:

  1. Your garden sounds lovely, especially the 'woods'! I need to work on ours as the weather and recent addition of chooks have somewhat wrecked it in parts. Looking forward to proper Spring and sorting it out! Loving your daffs and cabbage plant ;)

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    1. Thank you - we do love the woods. Before it was tidied we used to call them the 'deep dark woods' like in the Gruffalo.

      My neighbours have chickens and they had to move them up to the end of the garden as they wrecked the ground, but it was lovely hearing them in the morning :)

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  2. I do like the look of the end of your garden with all those trees. Good on you for sharing out the fruit you didn't need, that was a lovely gesture. x #HDYGG

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    1. We are lucky to have so much garden really - even if it is a lot of work.
      I have to be honest we can only eat so much apple crumble so I was glad that other people took them off our hands :)

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  3. spring colors!! how exciting! and thanks for the visual of you in the idiot shirt ;)

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    1. You are welcome - I like to share my sartorial elegance :)

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  4. I *think* you unloved cabbagy plants are Bergenia also know as Elephant's Ears ... I have to say they are not my favourite either but they are great for some early Spring colour. And I am VERY jealous you have a quince tree - quince jelly is just so delicious.

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  5. Aw now I feel guilty for not liking them as I really love elephants :(
    I didn't even recognise the quince tree until it was pointed out to me by a gardener - I made some quince jelly last year. Not perfect, but ok for a first attempt :)

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  6. Your garden sounds lovely, and to have your own 'woods' WOW, I would love that!

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  7. I can't believe your daffodils are flowering already, mine are only about 2 inches tall. Very jealous of your woodland garden area and all that fruit. If you end up with a glut of apples again this year I can highly recommend dutch apple cake - it freezes really well too.

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  8. Oh my gosh, the 'woods' are amazing, such a treat for kids!

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  9. I love different areas of your garden sound, oh to have a wooded area at the bottom of the garden! I planted an apple tree 2 years ago and so far have had the grand total of 10 apples from it but hold out great hopes for years to come! Lovely to see pops of colour poking up through the ground too!

    Thanks for joining in and sharing m'lady xx

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  10. Your son must love "the woods" such a fantastic place for children to play x

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