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Friday 13 April 2018

Misty Gardens with the Ginger Cat





Here's Millie, doing gate duty.   Come on in, but please remember to shut the gate.




Photograph taken one day last year, hence the sunshine.





The last couple of days have been cold and foggy with barely a hint of spring in the air.   Luckily, the plants and trees are there to remind me that it will happen, eventually.

This is a twig on the quince tree, I am so looking forward to seeing the blossom.   The second quince is less active, enjoying a bit of a lie-in, not convinced that it is spring yet.    The apple, plum, pear and cherry trees are all thinking about it.





The rhubarb is wide awake and growing more vigorously than ever.   




Lots of daffodils, but the trees and hedges are still bare.     The greenhouse is full of seedlings, and needs a jolly good wash, one of these days.




As I walked around this part of the garden I had two companions following my every move - Toby and Millie, the little ginger cat.     She would like to be a dog.        Every morning she goes out with him first thing, just sitting on the wall and waiting until he is ready to come inside for breakfast.    Then in she comes, gobbles a quick bite before demanding to be let out of the other door.




Down in Owl Wood there is a little green showing on one of the hurdles - Millie is there investigating a rodent hole.     


This is the newer patch of wild garlic.   It makes me smile every time I see it.    The original patch is spreading like wild fire, so last year I asked my husband to transplant some into another area of Owl Wood.

He did, bless him.    They are in regimented rows.   Once a Royal Marine, always a Royal Marine.    I could show you a some daffodil bulbs that he planted for me, you can't miss them, they are marching in single file, neat and orderly.       I love him to bits, but I wish he would remember that plants are not soldiers and they look better when they look like happy ramblers.



The rosemary is still in flower and the chives are sprouting, mint is beginning to wake up.  Things are happening, slowly.



The old brick pathways are covered in moss, with tiny clumps of primroses to add a little interest.




The plants, trees, shrubs are all waiting for sunshine and warmth. 



Steps which lead to nowhere.   


A dull and dismal garden, but that is life under a cold fog.   

Bring on the sunshine and then the flowers and blossom will burst forth and all will be well in this tiny bit of Lincolnshire.


14 comments:

  1. No way dull and dismal! The daffodils bring marvellous colour, a little greenery on the trees and the mint! The mint coming back is the first sign of spring in my small garden. We're way ahead of you of course but 'courage, the fog will surely lift' ..... Won't it?

    Love the wild garlic and have to laugh at your Royal Marine. They have been programmed for life!

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    1. Hi Linda, Your sparkling island views are always a delight to these sun-starved eyes. At least we have been promised some warmth in the coming week so the plants will come alive and we'll have colour!

      No doubt your husband is still a Navy man - I suppose we are lucky - so much better than some of the alternatives!!

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  2. Your cat is adorable! And what a lovely lot of land you have; we have a titchy back garden in the depths of suburbia! But we also have mists rolling in from the sea on occasion. But yours is not a dull or dismal garden at all!
    Margaret P

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    1. Hello Margaret, You have a very beautiful garden indeed! Little Millie is not a smart cat, but that makes her so much easier to live with. She is often 'away with the fairies' but always happy to be with us, the black and white one is much harder work.

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  3. It looks beautiful. We are moving next Wednesday to our new house and garden with its wild wood and I am so happy Spring is late this year and I am going to see it wake up. I have a quince tree ready to go (I dug mine up from the allotment as I had only planted it a year ago) and the colour of the unfurling leaves is so pretty. I also have in pots a magnolia stellata in full flower and an acer Katsura coming into leaf so I hope they all survive the move. I was in London yesterday with my daughter and the tall buildings were shrouded in mist. We climbed the 131 steps to the top of St Mary’s tower which is the centrepiece of the Garden Museum next to Lambeth Palace and felt as if our heads were in the clouds. I have made one lot of wild garlic pesto this year and may go foraging again today with my daughter as a break from packing boxes. I am going to miss the Surrey Hills and woods but we’re only moving 30 miles to the South Downs so we can easily revisit. I shall also miss my small (36 x 54 feet) but perfectly formed garden especially my wildlife pond, my pear tree and sorbus tree and the wisteria growing over the pergola but I am sure once I am gone the new plot will completely hold me in its thrall. I am enjoying your blog Elaine.

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    1. Hello Sarah, Good luck with the move. How exciting, you are moving in at such a lovely time of the year! It sounds as though your new place will more than compensate you for what you are leaving behind. A wild wood! A place of magic, beauty and enchantment. I know from our little Owl wood that there is a lot of work to be done to maintain a woodland, to keep it in good condition and to enjoy it at its best. Well worth the effort though. I do hope you will be writing a blog about it, sharing some photographs. Fingers crossed for moving day. Best wishes.

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  4. Lovely photo's Elaine and I can definitely see spring appearing in your garden. Mine is till very bare but with the odd twig and piece starting to spring forth at long last.
    Mitzi

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    1. Hello Mitzi, Welcome! The weather forecast is for some much warmer days to come - not necessarily lots of sunshine, but warmth, so the garden will come to life. I hope your garden is going to do the same.

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  5. Looks like Paradise to me. I love ginger cats the best - although don't tell my black and white kitten. I just want to put my nose up to my computer screen and inhale all the early spring smells in your garden and woods.

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    1. Hello Susan, She is a real sweetie, uncomplicated is probably the kindest way I can put it. Our black and white cat is very intelligent, understands cause and effect and knows how to put that to good (naughty) effect. She exploits Millie and the dog, uses her knowledge to gain what she wants. I'm thankful that she is not a human or ruling the country!

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  6. As soon as the sun finally shines everything will be busting out blooming. Today is a warm day with sun and I can see from here on the 11th floor that the trees are budding green. Soon it will be a haze of green over the land below our windows. I wish I could capture that on a photo.

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    1. Hello Marcia, It sounds like Spring may well be on her way, at last! I hope that you soon have your green haze to look out upon and enjoy. I have great hopes that this coming week will see the flowers and blossom burst forth! We have been promised warmth and for that i am grateful.

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  7. Those steps that lead to nowhere!! Ohhhhh what a delightful photo, and area. Oh sigh, I love it so.

    We have cloudy weather, and warmer temps, and we finally went for a walk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -grin- Drum roll! Clash of symbols!!!! Etc.!!! It's spring enough, for me to venture OutSide!!! -grinnn-

    But your surroundings are so much more spring like, than mine. The blossoms will come of course. Won't they? It won't get cold again, will it???? -grin-

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    1. Hello Luna, I thoroughly enjoyed the walk around your lovely neighbourhood. There is some fascinating architecture. I'm glad that you had weather that lured you outside to enjoy it all. Here's hoping that it continues to do so!

      All the trees are getting ready to burst into blossom or leaf, everywhere is teetering on the edge, just waiting for the signal. There is a real air of expectation and hope around the place today. The sky is still grey, but fingers crossed that we see some sunshine with the forecast warmth - we don't always get that here on the east coast, unfortunately. Very grateful when we do though, we appreciate it all the more.

      I won't be putting away my winter woollies just yet though...

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