Away Days – Page 4 – Off The Edge Gardening

Je Regrette Tout

I should have. I didn’t. Je regrette tout.

Yesterday I attended, along with Hero and OH, the local Plant Heritage lecture day and lunch at Marwood Hill Gardens. I listened intently, notebook in hand, to talks on scented shrubs and later about botanising in Madagascar. I even remembered to pack my specs so I could actually see the slide show. I wandered aroundContinue reading “Inappropriate”

Rewind

It is time to indulge in a little healthy recollection. Let me take you back to a sweltering June day. I was visiting a good friend in Somerset and we had taken a trip to the Bishop’s Palace in Wells. The gardens were bountiful, seemingly not suffering from the unfamiliar sultry weather. From the herbaceousContinue reading “Rewind”

A Short Hike

My mind has been on overdrive. Not bad thoughts, just a noisy constant irritating chatter that I can’t seem to tame. I am having trouble getting to sleep and waking late with a headache. This will not do. Sleep is my specialist subject, I have never had trouble with it before. The number one suspectContinue reading “A Short Hike”

Pond

What was to be done on this wet and miserable day? Why not head off to the woods? Hero, OH and myself went to visit Rambling Ron. Although we had heard tales of Ron’s few acres of woodland on the edge of the village, none of us had ever visited. Rumours of a newly dugContinue reading “Pond”

Walk

This morning I went for a walk, slowly and carefully, around the gardens of Chambercombe Manor. It was mizzling and muddy, but I placed each step with caution, and managed a much longer walk than I had first envisaged. The camellia were full of fat buds, there was a lone flower on the hypericum, theContinue reading “Walk”

Reminisces

My yearly trawl through reams of digital photos, deleting and labelling as I go, has begun early. Not only does this attempt to impose some kind of order into my life give the illusion that I am in control, it also gives me an opportunity to share some of these snaps and the reminisces theyContinue reading “Reminisces”

Curmudgeon

I am not a fan of Halloween. Quite the contrary. However on this night, when my door bell rings, I attempt to go through the appropriate motions with at least a little feeling. I pretend to be terrified by the little ghouls and ghosties, I offer hypo-inducing sweets to the adorables in their costumes, IContinue reading “Curmudgeon”

Acer japonicum ‘Vitifolium’

Hero and myself spent a wonderful day at RHS Rosemoor, successfully dodging heavy showers and small children dressed as gruffalos. It has been very difficult to pick just one photo to sum up the day. The magnificent cheese scone from the restaurant before we got going was a contender (had to build up my strengthContinue reading “Acer japonicum ‘Vitifolium’”

So Much More

Gardening is so much more than being able to identify a tree or know which way a plant goes in the ground. Stating the bleeding obvious? Perhaps. After lunch today Lady Mantle whisked me off to visit a local garden, ostensively to admire some autumn colour. Which is exactly what we did. The on-cue afternoonContinue reading “So Much More”